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RouteiqueApr 13, 2022 3:22:00 PM6 min read

Setting Up Your Transportation Team For Success

Setting Up Your Transportation Team For Success

Ensuring that the entire transportation team is set up to succeed is crucial, and spans across the entire administrative team as well as drivers and the warehouse team. Keep reading to discover some of the best practices that our team recommends.


Key Takeaways:

  • A Service Level Agreement (SLA) gives you and your client a comprehensive view of what is required by all parties.

  • It’s essential to track important transportation KPIs such as perfect order rate, time at each stop, cost per order, and more, and define what success means to you and your clients.

  • Defining support protocols is an important step to take before your first orders are even delivered.


 

Customer Onboarding

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Within the various stages of the transportation process, you can use many human or technological processes to ensure optimal operation levels. The onboarding process is a very crucial first stage that may not be immediately clear as a stage in the transportation process, but should never be overlooked.

However, this is the all-important first step.

Here you can meet with your customer and confirm key aspects of the transportation process such as:

  • Setting and managing expectations
  • Establishing physical processes and technical requirements
  • Developing KPIs and measurement tools
  • Clearly defining roles and responsibilities on each side
  • Establishing a process for support and escalation

Setting and Managing Expectations

Beginning with a clear understanding, between all parties involved, of any operational goals and requirements is crucial for future success. Building a comprehensive SLA establishes clear expectations and criteria for the successful operation of your transportation partnership. 

An SLA can include:

  • The minimum expected performance of metrics such as on-time delivery and perfect orders
  • Outlines of specific requirements such as delivery windows, technology implementation/integration, and quality assurance protocol.
  • Other information that is important to gather beforehand such as route data, proof of delivery requirements, and current/projected sales.

It is important when outlining an SLA to take into account all the various factors that are in play to ensure the maximum level of success as well as compliance. Say you had a narrow SLA that specified delivery windows that were themselves narrow. Your costs may increase because your system is prioritizing these windows over other key areas of your fulfillment process. 

Having this guide will allow you to align your transportation team with other teams, such as the warehouse and accounting staff, to ensure that the proper steps are taken to fulfill your services completely and efficiently right from the first delivery. 

 

Establishing Physical Processes and Technical Requirements

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As mentioned above, proper outlining of your physical and technical requirements is essential and should be covered in your SLA as well. Everyone on your team should know what needs to be done, how it needs to be done, and what sort of tools and technology are required to effectively complete their tasks.

  • If your client sells items that require refrigeration to maintain their integrity, are you equipped with the necessary cold storage and transportation equipment to maintain that required integrity?
  • How do your customer’s products need to be shipped and handled, and do you have the facilities to not simply handle the delivery, but do so while maintaining your other performance metrics outlined elsewhere in your contract?

Establishing these processes and requirements must take into account not only the bare minimum of compliance, but compliance with your entire SLA as well.

 

Developing KPIs and Measurement Tools

Developing a list of comprehensive metrics allows you and your partners to monitor and track your performance and compliance with your outlined SLA.

Some important metrics you should consider include:

  • Perfect order rate: The number of orders delivered on time, in their entirety, and in their ideal condition, divided by the number of total orders.
  • Time at each stop
  • Cost per order
  • Number of customer complaints
  • Number of reported safety incidents

There are a vast number of other metrics you can track that cover areas like compliance, safety, logistics, and more. However, it is important to highlight the ones that are most important for your client's definition of success.

 

Clearly Defining Roles and Responsibilities

A transportation network involves a lot of individuals working together to make a seamless connection between suppliers and end customers. Clearly defining who is responsible for what decreases the chances of information being lost, caught up, or not even recorded at all. This relates to the idea of Proof of Delivery, which involves everything necessary to show you, your partners, and your clients that everything from A to B has been recorded and is accounted for.

Examples:
  • When a driver delivers an order, what technology is necessary to record its completion?
  • Additionally, what is necessary to show completion and what are the requirements for gathering that information?
  • Are drivers gathering the proof of delivery and either confirming or adjusting products on site? In some operations, for example, a driver may, at the end of their route, fill out any information or signatures they missed when making the actual delivery, but this is bad practice and not compliant.
  • Establishing these roles and responsibilities outlines what proof of delivery means, how you will accomplish it, and any checks and balances to ensure compliance.

Establishing a Process for Support and Escalation

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Issues are inevitable when dealing with something as complex as a transportation network. It is important to outline your processes for support and escalation before it occurs, as scrambling to solve an issue as it happens appears unprofessional and can decrease customer satisfaction and retention.

This ties back into the roles and responsibilities outlined previously. If an issue arises at delivery, is that something the driver should handle then and there, or should it be passed on to a sales rep? Does that change if the issue is a return rather than missing product?

 

Investing in the Right Technology

Finally, once all of the above considerations are handled, the right transportation tools can help your team operate efficiently, seamlessly, and in real time.

App-Based Transportation Management Tools

These solutions allow for the digital collection of proof of deliveries, easy viewing of the day’s orders, and more. Additionally, when paired with IoT sensors and route optimization technology, it allows for drivers to carry out deliveries in the most efficient manner possible.

Yard Management Tools

A Yard Management System allows for higher coordination of inbound and outbound vehicles coming to and from your operation, creating a more seamless flow for product entering and exiting your operation.

Digital Control Tower

A Digital Control Tower acts as the main hub for your admin team to monitor your transportation process. Allowing them to see every aspect of your transportation network in real time, making it much easier to react when action is needed.

This also allows for ongoing monitoring and review with your clients to give both parties a chance to bring up any areas where optimization could be achieved or any processes that may need adjustments in order to meet standards set forth in the onboarding process.

 

Conclusion

Setting up your transportation team for success involves developing a mutual understanding between your team and your customers. Understanding what is required by them, and having them understand how your team can meet those needs, as well as any limitations you may have, is crucial to providing a transportation experience with no unwanted surprises or errors. By creating this understanding and using tools and technologies to optimize the various stages of the process, your team can set up, manage, and monitor the process optimally.

Routeique has the team and technology to optimize your transportation network to its fullest extent. We provide a level of visibility and insight unprecedented in the supply chain industry. Our team has the know-how to take that data and create a seamless connection through all aspects of your network.

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