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New Transport and Logistics Technology Can Slash Pickup, Delivery Times


The New Year promises increased adoption of transport and logistics technology, according to a recent survey by Intermec. [caption id="attachment_3443" align="alignright" width="150"]Delivery man Customers are demanding same-day delivery, increasing the need for better logistics technology.[/caption] Transport and logistics companies from around the world project that arming the mobile workforce with new technology could cut pick-up times by 30 percent, while also driving down delivery times by 29 percent, the survey indicated. As a result, customer satisfaction would increase even as operational efficiency improved. Intermec surveyed 375 managers of transport and logistics firms in six countries around the world. In the United States, 38 percent of survey respondents said their business most needed to drive operational efficiency. In addition, 77 percent of companies from the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Australia and New Zealand said customers are demanding same-day delivery, while 92 percent said that meeting this new expectation is a significant challenge with the technology their businesses are currently using. “Investing the time to review current processes may seem to be a daunting task, but the benefits show this is more than worthwhile,” said Jeff Sibio, Intermec industry marketing director for transport and logistics.

Demands for same-day delivery

“Customer expectations in the industry are growing higher each day, putting increasing pressure on mobile workers to meet tighter deadlines,” Sibio added. “Our survey shows that the use of technology not only reduces call and pickup times for workers, it also offers customers the chance to make fewer calls.” How can customer demand for faster pickup and delivery be accomplished? Survey respondents cited:
  • Automation of key processes during both pickup and delivery
  • Providing delivery drivers with new transport and logistics technology including GPS, integrated vehicle telematics, RFID, mobile and broadband communications
Together, these can cut pickup times by 2.68 minutes, while delivery times drop by 2.41 minutes.

Tools for back-office efficiency

Back-office staff could improve efficiency as well, according to the survey. Thousands of customer calls each day could be headed off through proactive shipment updates, which could be provided with location-based and mobile technologies. The time savings then could be used for other activities serving more customers. Beyond mobile technology investments, companies also are in desperate need of process re-engineering. Nearly 40 percent of respondents said they have not evaluated their existing transport and logistics processes for at least a year. Of those, nearly three-quarters have not conducted such a review in almost two years. Yet such an undertaking could improve efficiency by more than 13 percent, responding managers said.