While we use planes and ships for most of our logistics needs, trucks play an important role when it comes to in-city deliveries. That’s right, how else do you think businesses like fast-food chains, clubs, clothing lines, and so on get bulk orders delivered. This is what makes truck drivers so important in today’s economy. Without them, port operations will come to a standstill.
Because of how important they are, any good port manager or import/export business owner must take truck optimization seriously. A port manager that makes a mistake in the scheduling of daily operations can cause severe financial damages to the company at large. But that can be avoided with a good transportation management system (TMS). If you’re not familiar with the logistics, you might wonder what we mean by truck transportation optimization. Not to worry, we’ll be getting into that right away.
What is Truck Transport Optimization?
A lot goes into managing a freight yard or port and the most important element to consider is transportation. After all, that is the point of a port, to transport goods from point A to point B in the most efficient way possible.
When we say “truck transport optimization” in logistics, it encompasses various topics. But to put it simply, it has to do with examining available and incoming shipments, load plans and scheduling, current rates, and more. The point of doing all this is to “optimize” operations at the port.
When optimizing truck transportation, you should look into the following:
Drop-Offs
This is where most logistics problems start. Establishing multiple drop-offs and pick-up zones will improve the way goods are moved from the ports to consumers. This can also help reduce the time drivers spend on delivery, thereby increasing the rest period.
Proper Shipment Planning
Improving shipment planning will not only help truck drivers work more efficiently but also every port worker. It is a well-known fact that most trucks sit in the port for hours before they’re eventually loaded. With better shipment planning, this time can be reduced, thereby increasing productivity by a huge margin. You are also able to properly manage shipment deliveries to reduce “less than truckload” incidents.
Delivery routes are also a crucial part when it comes to proper shipment planning. You see, when it comes to freight delivery, everyone’s looking for how to deliver in the shortest time and save transportation costs. When planning delivery routes, you should consider factors like:
- Bridges and electrical wiring seeing how most of these trucks are intimidatingly large.
- Traffic situation of the route and roads that are accessible. You might find Google maps very useful in this area. Visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Maps to learn more.
- Events that might affect the timely delivery of goods. This could be a parade or trade fair going on in the city. In cases like this, alternative routes need to be mapped.
Other factors to consider for proper shipment planning include:
- Differences in load types. This is because not all goods can be moved conveniently together. For instance, moving flat-screen televisions and gym equipment together could spell disaster.
- Drivers. They are human, so, you can’t expect them to be available at all times. Proper route planning lets you take into account every driver’s availability.
- What would be needed to offload and load the trucks. These labor requirements are always addressed with proper shipment planning.
- Some trucks are better suited to enter specific sections of a city. Most times these are areas that are highly congested. The size and weight of the truck are factors that must be considered as different cities have their own rules and regulations when it comes to the movement of trucks.
Why is Truck Transportation Optimization Important?
A business is like a book. By doing the right thing consistently, you understand it better. When optimizing truck transportation, you can quickly identify parts of your operation that cost the business more money. By replacing these parts with more efficient ones, you save money and possibly time.
Final Thoughts
Optimizing your truck transport system is something every major import/export business owner and port manager should concern themselves with. As we mentioned earlier, by doing this you’re saving both time and money. Now, this could be done manually which could be a painstaking process but with the right pieces of technology and software, truck transport systems could be optimized rather effortlessly.
