3 Ways Technology Helps Transportation Firms on a Daily Basis

The transportation industry has been at the center of the ongoing pandemic. During the first months of COVID-19, most people quarantined in their homes. But truck drivers left the safety of their dwellings and transported everything from point A to Z and everything in between.

The pandemic has shined a light on how every business is utilizing technology, and how it could better leverage the systems at its disposal.

Take a look at three ways technology helps transportation firms on a daily basis:

Real-time Data

These days, customer experience is a catchphrase in almost every industry—because it is not just about how we think we service our customers anymore. It’s also about the experience they have working with us. Our clients need to know how we are best servicing them. Part of the way we attain this knowledge is via communication—in real time.

For example: a fuel injector pump manufacturer gets a customer complaint from a car manufacturer because they received defective parts. Right now, they don’t want excuses about why it happened. They just need proper fuel injector pumps, so car production isn’t halted because of defective parts.

The fuel injector pump manufacturer stays open for 24 hours a day over the weekend. The team quickly accesses the situation and gets quality parts made and shipped out.

It’s Monday afternoon, and the car manufacturer is looking for an update on the parts. So the fuel injector pump manufacturer reaches out to its transportation firm to ask for an update. The transportation firm customer service agent logs into the CRM or TMS system and accesses information about where the shipment is. Then the manufacturer can have an update in real time to report back to its customer.

Without technology, there would be a further delay in information. The fuel injector pump manufacturer could have to sit on the phone waiting for someone who knows what they are talking about.

Artificial Intelligence

Transportation firms that have started leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) are ahead of the game. This area will continue to expand because it reduces traffic congestion and accidents, which creates safety for both your drivers and your customers’ goods.

AI is expanding its capabilities in a lot of different industries, but this is especially true in this industry. According to reports, transportation is expected to reach 3.5 billion dollars by 2023.

Individual Customer Service

In the transportation industry, continued customer support is imperative. For instance, maybe you’re a 3PL and just nabbed a load from a new customer. If so, you still want to gain all their other shipments, too. By having an industry-based CRM or adding in customizable modules that specifically suit your needs, you can cater your software and offer individual customer service to your customers.

So not only does your CRM allow you to have access to the most up-to-date information about your customers, it empowers you to slice and dice the data that matters to your customers. CRMs are not a one-size-fits-all solution, and they don’t need to be.