For hundreds of years, the global economy has been built on trade. That has meant the movement of good and people from one corner of the world to the next – overseas, roads, railroads, and in the skies. But in the modern era, shippers and haulage firms have a key asset on their side, and that’s data. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at the data revolution taking over the shipping space, explaining how you, as a haulage or courier service, can benefit from the breakthroughs in data processing that this sector has experienced.
Fuel Tracking
In the past, managing the fuel economy of your fleet was a drag. It involved collecting hundreds of receipts a month and trying to work out just how much you’re spending per mile traveled – and sometimes per individual driver. This is inefficient and often produces inconclusive, confusing results. But data is there to step in, clarifying things for haulage firms.
You see, with Comdata payment solutions that truckers can use to pay for fuel, tracking fuel economy has become a whole lot easier. Indeed, the analysis of gas price data plus miles traveled will give you a granular view of how different trucks and drivers are costing you cash. This data, in turn, is incredibly useful for haulage firms that are looking to reduce their overheads in a competitive market.
Location Tracking
Meanwhile, there’s a continuing revolution in terms of how firms can track the progress of each of their vehicles throughout the day. With smart sensors in the trucks and a smart suite of software in the office, you’ll be able to call up a map of all your trucks and their live position on a map of North America or even the world.
The best software will even tell you the time to deliver each vehicle, highlighting those that are significantly missing their targets and those that are performing well. Giving managers a heads up when something goes wrong, this data processing helps placate concerned clients and customers while ensuring dispatch planning is conducted diligently within your firm.
Optimization
Finally, these data points – and more besides – can all filter into a larger suite of software that takes account of all the variables that your trucks might experience before spitting out recommendations on how you can increase your efficiency and drive towards business optimization in the shipping and haulage space.
When you see the possibilities delivered by this software, you’ll be astounded. The software can spot opportunities for efficiency savings that no human can spot. It’ll see when there’s a potential delay on the cards and when firms ought to shift their resources to more profitable partnerships and arms of their business. And this is all through the instant data that you can feed into these marvelous software packages. Trial this software in your firm to get an idea of how powerful it’s becoming in the modern world.
Software that processes data is driving a digital revolution worldwide. And that’s the case in shipping and haulage too, where firms are finally benefiting from the real-time data revolution.
