Seven-hundred billion: the current dollar value attributed to the American trucking industry, and a figure representing that industry’s significant contribution to the nation’s annual Gross Domestic Product. In the United States, trucks handle approximately 70% of all freight shipments. Considering these numbers, it is not surprising that the US trucking industry is occasionally referred to as the backbone of the national economy.
Like all business enterprises, however, the transportation management industry faces mammoth challenge as evolving market trends compel it to discover methods to reduce operating costs, accelerate revenue growth, enhance customer service and meet hardline corporate objectives. To this end, the industry has slowly come to embrace technology and seek out fleet management solutions. By not keeping pace with the robust technology investments seen in other sectors, the transport management industry is rife with disruption – but solutions for navigating current and future market trends and associated challenges exist.
Companies seeking strategic guidance should look to innovative business intelligence and logistics software options that integrate and optimize services. Among these cutting-edge technologies: Master Data Management (MDM), in which comprehensive data is stored in one secure master file. This single reference point refines information sharing among staff and departments, and helps users make more knowledgeable decisions surrounding rating, planning and expediting.
