How to Make the Heavy Workload More Manageable
Transport companies have always been a pillar of our society. Regardless of where you are or how far back you look in history, transport companies are there. What started as people walking and selling their wares by foot grew into using horses and camels. Modern transportation has evolved massively, now we can transport items from all over the world in a matter of days; for the right price.
Transport companies come with massive amounts of admin work. Even with smaller companies that don’t ship internationally, the amount of work that’s needed to smoothly run a transport company is underestimated. You need to keep track of everything; fuel consumption, routes, customer complaints, all while trying to find ways to increase efficiency and cut costs without cutting quality.
You have people to manage as well as stock, and the bigger your company gets the larger these tasks grow. Communicating with your drivers to make sure everything goes smoothly is an important part of the transportation of goods. Having a direct line of communication with your drivers is essential, they’ll need to be able to contact you in case of emergencies. Creating strategies in case of unforeseen circumstances is an important part of transportation so being able to communicate with people quickly and efficiently is important.
Using a system with integrated messaging is a vital part of keeping you and your team connected, and up to date on any news that may impact the company. Especially for your drivers it’s difficult to stay connected, which is why using a system with a mobile app is favourable. Having your drivers be able to message you instantly with impactful updates will keep your company working like a well oiled machine.
Good communication between you and your drivers results in good communication between you and your client. Being able to keep your clients up to date with where their shipment is and any delays that have occurred is how you create repeat customers. Being honest and upfront with any delays goes a long way, communicating is the key to a well reviewed company.
Your business will need to keep track of any customer complaints too, this is a lot easier to manage digitally. Making a digital record gives you the ability to pick out the high priority issues with more ease, you’ll be able to identify any recurring issues and know where you need to take action.
Administrative duties can all be taken digital, using paper based records leaves room for error. Papers are easily misplaced, taking time to search through a pile of papers takes up more time than you’d think and decreases efficiency. Taking all your admin and HR digital and using a system like COGS makes your load a lot more practical. Saving yourself time to work on other projects, and creating a direct line of communication between you and your workers meaning they’re not sitting around waiting for instructions. Tracking things like vehicle maintenance appointments and the delivery of goods is more easily done digitally since the information can be recorded and accessed instantaneously.
Invoices, logbooks, record keeping are all much more effective when kept digitally. The daunting task of transferring all existing documents to digital copies may seem like it’s not worth the time, but ultimately it is beneficial for your business. It creates an easier way to evaluate your company and see where it could be improved, what needs to be changed and how changes can be made.
