The growth and complexity of today’s end-to-end supply chain is driving renewed focus on optimizing transportation costs for North American Shippers. By utilizing dock scheduling, shippers can reduce carrier wait time and accidents while increasing visibility and optimizing resource planning. I’d like to share a deeper look at the role that dock scheduling, particularly cloud based scheduling, plays in not only optimizing costs, but also in automating business.
Leveraging cloud based transportation management solutions enables your company to be able to optimize:
• Accurate and rapid shipment delivery with significantly reduced wait time
• Procurement and utilization of the best carriers, with the best rates while enabling total visibility from shipment load to shipment delivery confirmation
• Financial settlement activities
Long waiting times for pick-up and delivery are costing U.S. shippers, carriers and consumers millions of dollars every year. Prior to 2013, truck drivers were allowed to work 82 hours a week. Federal rules have changed reducing these hours to 70 per week. Drivers can complete no more than 14 hours for any shift and may not drive more than 11 hours during the shift. This dynamic really adds to the pressure felt by the executives to balance an already precarious Supply Chain. Dock Scheduling can uncover and enable efficiencies at the dock, enabling carriers, shippers, 3PL’s, and warehouses to coordinate carrier schedules with load and dock availability. By then utilizing multiple communication channels, the driver is allowed to maximize his 70 hours, enabling the required rest period while still providing delivery in a timely manner.
Using the requirements of the specific dock of delivery, Dock Scheduling enables the warehouse or shipper to stage their loads in order of pick-up or delivery while communicating with the carrier company and the specific driver of any loading dock issues. This level of optimization leads to greater efficiencies which produces substantial results.
All parties are able to seamlessly and effectively communicate throughout the entire process. This enhanced communication and visibility enables a faster close loop process of the entire shipping, delivery and reporting process resulting in:
• Reduced idle times at loading and unloading by 20 - 40% thus lowering fuels costs
• Increased loading/unloading productivity by 20% +
• Clarity in the loading-unloading process
• Decrease of transportations overall impact on the business
The key takeaway is to understand and to take action by moving forward with the visibility and automated collaborative insights that Dock Scheduling can bring to your company. One step forward with Dock Scheduling and your business will be on the way to experiencing significant spend optimization like TRANSPOREON Group Americas customers, Vinnolit, Swiss Steel and more.
