Automation in Trucking and Logistics – Solving Bottlenecks

The freight business is 12% of the global economy, and 40% of the global economy is dependent in some way on freight and logistics. If talking about the U.S. only, nearly every good is put on a truck at some point. Trucking is the largest contributor to the global supply chain and logistics. There is fierce competition in the trucking industry because of low barriers to entry.

There has been a shortage of labor and quality truck drivers that put high economic pressure on trucking and logistics companies in recent years. The issue made them look for technological innovations – touchless networks through intelligent automation. It helps companies utilize the right hardware and software for a process and optimize available resources to achieve greater efficiencies. Thanks to advanced technologies – Artificial Intelligence, the Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, machine learning, and data analytics, they can meet the increasing demand and stay ahead of the competition.  

Advanced automation has become increasingly apparent for fast processing also, especially bills of lading and freight bills. While this is just the tip of the iceberg, automation has huge potential to improve efficiency at a reduced cost with end-to-end logistics solutions. Automation can help in the logistics processes, from issuing load statements to auditing.

• Freight Billing
  Processing your freight bills quickly, accurately, efficiently while reducing your overhead.
• Bill of Lading
  Ensuring high accuracy in BOL processing of your cargo and freight shipments.
• Shipment Tracking
  Accurately track your shipments using real-time data. 
• Order Entry
  Accurate order entry services while providing direct and Indirect resolution support. 
• Freight Rate Auditing
  All your freight rate issues get resolved with advanced auditing services. 
• Data Extraction
  Automated solutions extract valuable data from your documents with unmatched precision. 

• Fuel Cost: After ranking 1st in 2005, increased fuel price is once again in the top ranking of industry issues. The trucking industry has been developing with a heightened emphasis on productivity and maximum efficiency. But the unprecedented rise in fuel price is affecting the operational costs in the form of increased fuel surcharge and professes challenge in trucking and logistics.
• Driver Shortage/Retention: The scarcity of labor is no secret. Employment rates are at a 50-year low, and wages are on the rise. Driver shortage and retention of quality drivers at low wages is a significant challenge in the logistics industry. 
• Processing Costs: Challenges with billing processing costs make the supply chain system of a trucking company less efficient in terms of financials.
• Account keeping processes: Accounting requires continuous reconciliation of costs involved in different processes of logistics. A long chain of multiple intermediaries is also making the accounting process complex to manage.
• Environment issues: Another challenge is the corporate CO2 emissions that require regular monitoring of trucks’ conditions in the supply chain. Technological advancements support the companies to meet the environmental regulations and adopt safe practices.
• Customer Satisfaction: Like any other industry, this industry also faces a challenge for improved customer satisfaction. Real-time updates and increased transparency can resolve the issue.
• Affordable Cost: Rapid technological advancement can be an effective solution for all above issues trucking and logistics companies face. Still, it is also necessary to stay up-to-date at an affordable cost. Outsourcing can be considered a solution here.

Advanced technologies can relieve you by offering benefits like high accuracy, streamlined operations, increased efficiency, and overall reduced cost. 

• Leveraging Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence
  Annual repair bills of a trucking company go as high as $15,000, plus $4,000 for tires. These are preventable issues with scheduled repairs and planned logistics. Through predictive maintenance – a form of artificial intelligence, it is possible to know potential hazards before they become more severe and expensive.   
• Automation in Warehouses
  Warehouse automation technologies can majorly assist in the movement of goods and improve their handling. An improved speed of loading and unloading at a warehouse allows companies to complete more orders in less time. It is possible with the latest technologies. Automation alleviates issues that arise due to worker shortages and saves millions in the industry.

• Data Entry Automation 
  With the increasing demand for trucking services, the number of clients is also increasing. As a result, back-office work like invoicing is increasing. 
  -It is inevitable to make accurate data entry of a bill of lading (BOL) document accurately.
  -Another critical task is freight bill entry, and companies need to ensure accurate billing for each shipment. It can be LTL (less-than-truckload) and FTL (full truckload) freight. 

Automated data entry solutions can fasten the process and ensure high accuracy. Automation also helps in LTL and FTL with increased visibility and streamlined processing. 

Expect most of the repetitive activities in logistics to be automated by 2030. Trucking and logistics companies turn to business process outsourcing (BPO) service providers like ARDEM to handle their high-volume invoicing data entry accurately and timely.  

Most companies opt for logistics outsourcing services as they often use automation technologies to offer operational efficiencies. One of the leading BPO providers with the latest technologies is ARDEM. What they provide their clients in the logistics industry:  

• With Real-Time Processing, errors are eliminated, no more duplicate bills, accurate processing of requisite paperwork, and timely sharing.
• Streamline Back-Office Support – the processing of your freight bills, bill of lading, invoicing, and load confirmation statements are handled to streamline your workstream efficiently.
• Boost Visibility – using advanced automation and effort-based processing, you witness results with greater speed and accuracy for each shipment.
• Automated data entry for all shipping documents using remote desktop services, automated data extraction for multiple orders/deliveries, including billing information – the billing method, fuel cost calculation, etc.
• Data mining services can help trucking and logistics companies to find the best possible route to reduce fuel surcharge without going through time-consuming manual processes. Automation makes data collection and analysis cost-efficient, especially for small and mid-sized companies, and quick process. 

Thus, trucking and logistics companies can rely on ARDEM to handle their large volumes of invoices, freight billing, and load order processing with a boost in supply chain efficiency. For more information please reach out to us at  pricing@ardem.com  or call us at 908-359-2600.