Every transportation firm sees the utility of having a transportation management plan. It is essential in organizing activities in the transportation industry effectively and efficiently. The challenges that the transportation industry faces are enormous. Challenges such as increasing fuel prices, pressure on volumes and the low-profit margins of the sector are rampant. Government regulation that touches on aspects of volume and carriage is another force that’s in play in the industry. Thus, it becomes inevitable for transport companies to devise a transportation management plan that factors in all these variables. This article will cover some five tips that you can use to write an effective transportation management plan:
1. Identify the Authority Concerned
The transportation management plan is a document that bears a legal face. It assesses the work activities and further, the work site for any hazards. It assesses the risks that are associated with the work activity and the proposed mitigation measures.
In some circles, it is considered as the traffic and risk management plan. It further contains all the traffic control diagrams that will be used, including road furniture, traffic flow, etc.
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This document should not be prepared by just anyone. Only those people who have duly completed the advanced traffic management course or its equivalent should write it. He/she should write it after assessing the site and activities beforehand.
2. Describe the Inbound Transportation
This description covers the process by which an ordered product moves from the vendor and gets delivered to your warehouse. An illustration is as follows:
- Create an inbound load that will get shipped
- Assign a stipulated route and rate to the load created
- If there is more than one shipment, you can consolidate them into one load
- Place a confirmation for shipping with respect to the load
- Set a date on which the load will is to reach
- Track the check-in and check-out points of the driver concerned with the delivery
3. Describe the Outbound Transportation
This description covers the movement of an outbound load from the company premises/warehouse to the customer’s destination. This can be written against the backdrop of finance and operations within the company just as a cause and effect essay.
Here’s an illustration:
- Creation of the outbound load
- Assignment of rates and routes to the load
- Processing of waves and releasing it manually
- Picking the outbound load and preparing it for delivery through packing
- Consolidation of shipment into one load
- Planning delivery times
- Tracking the check-in and check-out points of the driver concerned with the delivery
- Confirmation of loads for the final shipping
4. Identify New Opportunities Presented by Technology
Since every transportation company is concerned with improving their bottom line, it is beneficial for them to integrate technology into their plans. Of recent time, it has become important to integrate real-time information into transport management. With technology, transport companies are able to improve the ideals of transparency, service and employee satisfaction. This has been enhanced by the introduction of mobile communication devices that keep drivers, customers, and the management in touch.
Another opportunity that’s presented by this integration is the centralization of transportation within company divisions. For example, managers can consolidate their shipments across various depots into one load through the creation of synergies between their various divisions. Only 28 % of the transportation industry can claim to have digitized. It is a challenge therefore to the remaining 72% of the transport industry who have not.
Manufacturers have integrated their production and transportation needs to have a more efficient transportation plan. On the other hand, routing is also done with respect the inventory management practices on the customer destinations. This enables the transportation company to only make shipments as soon as items are depleted at the customer’s site.
5. Statutory Requirements
These are the standard operating procedures that are laid out by the company and other competent authorities in the transportation industry.
Some of them include:
- Occupational Health and Safety
These are guidelines that outline the various hazards that are present in the course of transportation. They could emanate from the workplace, transport infrastructure, site operations, and the performance of roads. Every transport management plan should outline the measures that have been put in place to mitigate or absorb these hazards.
- Legislation
These are the legal provisions that have been enacted in relation to transport management. They are conveyed in acts of the legislative body in a particular jurisdiction. Transport managers should keep up to date with these legislations and oversee their implementation.
A traffic assessment should also be part of the transport management plan. It highlights the following:
- Present and forecasted traffic volumes (both pedestrian and vehicle)
- Types of roadways
- Guiding methods for vehicles
- Operating speeds
- Types of vehicles permitted
- Prescribed traffic control measures, etc.
Conclusion
Transport management covers many variables. It is a hands-on activity which relies on real-time data. The five tips discussed have highlighted the basic elements that make a transportation management plan. They can be applied to optimize the processes of any transport company that is operating in this the digital age.