Every day, trucks and trains carry increasingly large amounts of freight around the country. This is only expected to rise in the coming years. The value of all of this freight is also going up. By 2040, it is expected to reach $1,377 per ton, up from $82 in 2007, according to the United States Department of Transportation. If you work in a field where freight management is something you care about, there are ways to make your system run more smoothly.
- Get the right transportation management software. Using the right software is critical to most industries today. Freight management software is a crucial part of any company’s freight system. Using the right package in the way it was designed to be used can do a lot of great things for your business. You will optimize your shipments, track all shipments being made and can reduce the amount of menial labor needed to get the job done. You do need to make sure all of your workers have been trained to use the software packages you use.
- Use apps to augment your freight management software. While the apps that are made for smartphones and tablets will never replace the software you use to track and manage your freight, these new tools can do a lot to improve your efficiency and efficacy, which will improve your bottom line. Many people are familiar with the global positioning system (GPS) apps that can be downloaded for tablets and smartphones but those are only one of the many tools that you can use to augment your transportation management software. You can get apps to help with delivery and status updates. These will give you a better way to manage shipments all over the country with ease.
- Spend time learning about the places to which you will send your freight. This is really important when you are thinking about expanding to a new area. You need to get the lay of the land before you can be effective at moving your business into an area. In baseball, they tell players to “go where the ball is.” When it comes to moving freight, you find where what areas are starting to move more in the way of goods, perishables and the like.
- Be on the prowl. You cannot wait for opportunities to come to you, you need to always be on the lookout for places where you may find them. Never stop learning more about your industry and where it is headed. This also means that you need to always be prepares for new markets and new ventures. As you work in freight management, your experience will prove to be invaluable in helping you guide your business towards new areas and markets. You need to be ready to learn but as you learn new lessons from the work you do, you will be able to develop skills that make your business more profitable.
- Make sure everyone communicates all of the time. You can rely on the mobile apps and your main freight management software but to make sure your shipment tracking integrations are complete, you need to communicate often with your staff. Better communication about all of the aspects of delivery of the products you are shipping is essential to success in any industry that manages freight. You need to know what the conditions are out there for the people making your deliveries. Without that information, you are not in the best position to provide the best service you can.
- Make sure your freight is packed properly. This cannot be overstated. It will not make one bit of difference if you are able to get your freight to a place on time, if it is broken and useless when it gets there. Having the right system in place to handle your packing process is one of the most important parts of any freight management system. Get this wrong and your clients and customers will just say, “Bye, Felicia.” to your company.
At the end of the day, it is possible to develop the most effective and efficient way to handle freight management. There are great tools and apps out there that were made to help you.
