Transportation of goods is one of the most important factors in supply chain management. For centuries, technology has played a big role in upgrading and modernizing ways to transport products or people. Whole industries have grown based on the need to get from point A to point B. From carriages to trains and trucks, the transportation revolution has moved industries and prompted development.

With the option to get anywhere and anytime, companies and consumers can get products from the other part of the world. And it’s all thanks to technological advances that made it possible. The hauling or transportation industry is fast growing and it will not see a decline. We’ve witnessed what happens when there are transportation disruptions and how other factors are consequently affected.

To minimize such disruptions or errors, transporters have to adopt new technologies. They need a supporting system that will allow them to move goods faster and with more precision. With a complex network of haulers, companies will need a solution to keep track of them and their loads.

By introducing software solutions, companies will manage to connect dots in their supply chain. They can coordinate each hauler and load to maximize efficiency. Nowadays, software solutions have surpassed just scanning items and logging location and delivery time. They serve as a base for planning, quality control, and business process optimization. 

If you look at some of the main issues with customer satisfaction, they can be connected to extended or late delivery times. Consumers or clients are used to getting products when they want them. By optimizing the supply chain, companies can affect customer satisfaction and experience. 

If your company is production-oriented, you are dependent on the timely delivery of inputs needed for final product creation. When striving to achieve a smooth and ongoing production process, you need the inputs at the right time and in defined quality.

So, let’s take a look at one of the solutions that we have worked on, Mobile Manifest. It was created as a mobile application meant for haulers in the dairy industry. If we take into account that the client has to connect thousands of farms that produce huge quantities of milk, the stakes of quick and accurate deliveries are high. When goods are perishable and don’t have a long use date, you lean on fast delivery. But, getting goods quickly isn’t the only issue. You have to guarantee a certain level of quality to keep product properties at the same level. 

What Mobile Manifest does is, that in one place, keeps track of the load, and product information at the time of loading, seals the load and tracks it from one point to another. What’s beneficial with this application is that it gets rid of the need for paper manifests. Drivers are not required to fill out any paper forms, like delivery notes, and waste time properly managing documentation. And a lot of times issues arise when certain documentation is lost, which is an issue if your goods have to pass state lines. Furthermore, it gives assurance that product information isn’t going to be altered from pick-up time to delivery.

With a mobile application, dispatchers can more effectively track their drivers and plan routes. They can coordinate the suppliers with buyers and determine the best time that fits them both. It’s one part of the supply chain that affects other parts and could help achieve the JIT strategy. 

For most, transportation seems straightforward, but with so many things happening on the market it can prove to be complex. Disruptions and market changes have influenced how we move goods and forced companies to change their approach. Digitalization and software solutions have pushed forward new strategies to plan and manage transportation. It allowed companies to adjust goods loading and unloading to their business processes and objectives. 

Software solutions have the goal to simplify and improve business processes. They speed up the supply chain and stabilize operational processes so there are no hold-ups in product delivery. No matter the industry or its size, software solutions that optimize transportation can be applied anywhere. They can also collect data for additional analysis and better demand and production planning. So, whether you are a processor or just in the distribution industry, software solutions are there to serve you. They are your support in achieving your tactics and goals.