New year, new bulk logistics management system?

A new year is a perfect time to take stock and consider how we can improve the status quo. In the bulk logistics workplace, this could mean anything from reviewing the tea and coffee rota to upgrading your digital infrastructure – after all, both are essential systems for an efficient office environment. So, how do you know when it’s time for a new bulk logistics management system?

A new optimisation solution is a considerable investment and, if your business has a functioning bulk logistics system in place, you may feel that it’s worth putting up with the odd feature that doesn’t do exactly what you need it to. But there will come a time when your current system’s shortcomings start to add up, resulting in a situation in which not upgrading could cost you more in the long run than making the switch.

If it no longer meets your business needs, an outdated and inadequate bulk logistics management system will hinder operational performance. The following weaknesses can signal that it’s time to invest in a new optimisation system for your bulk logistics company.

Your system doesn’t support strategic business growth

The aim of most businesses is to keep growing while increasing market share. But, while it’s essential to have a solid business strategy and clear growth pathway, in reality, an organisation’s development can often be multidirectional.

Today’s bulk logistics firms are under increasing pressure to be agile in their service provision; able to deliver a wide range of goods, while also offering supplementary services. An optimisation system that doesn’t support a range of applications across all logistics sectors can limit overall business growth and ultimately, profitability.

Your system is expensive and unsustainable

Following on from the scalability issue, if you’ve had your bulk logistics system for several years, chances are you have had to retrofit features and functionality to keep it viable. This is a self-perpetuating problem; the more additional functionality you need, the more expensive your old system is to modify. Many legacy management systems require considerable hardware investment, too. The heavy-duty servers that solutions used to need are expensive to run and awkward to house, as well as a burden to maintain on premise.

Your system doesn’t provide real-time or granular data 

The picture of a bulk logistics fleet in action is constantly changing. But if your management system cannot receive live data from your drivers in the field, or is slow to download it, you won’t have all the operational information you need to make fully informed fleet management decisions on the fly. For example, if one of your drivers was to finish their scheduled drops early, only an up-to-the-minute view of your vehicles’ locations and job progress would enable you to maximise the driver’s time and quickly assign them an extra job within a feasible distance.

The ability to drill down into data and combine different datasets is also key. A bulk logistics management solution that doesn’t gather all levels of core and transactional data against your business’s KPIs won’t reveal the kind of insight that facilitates smoother and more efficient working practices.  

Stop letting your management system stall your bulk logistics operation Putting up with an old and out-of-date bulk logistics system can be more detrimental to your business than not having a system at all. Instead, we can help you implement a flexible and futureproof optimisation system that offers multi-level applications, a cloud-based infrastructure and real time performance data in a single solution. Ready to find out more? Please don’t hesitate to get in touch.