The biggest digitalisation challenges facing the transport industry
These three digitalisation measures are changing transport processes

Erkrath,
Germany, 2019-07-26 – there is still a big gap between the amount of
digitalisation available in larger transport and logistics companies and small
to mid-sized ones. Logistic giants have been working digitally for years, but
small and mid-sized transport companies often have trouble affording complex
software solutions. What is required in order to keep up with market demands
and trends, not to mention big industry names?
Basic
digital services for the broader public combined with stable technological
infrastructure are the prerequisites for participation in digital supply chain
management. For transport chain participants, the most important steps involve
digitalising individual phases in order to optimise the entire transport
process. Here are three examples:
1. eCMR: less
administration and more control
Along
with the transport order, the consignment note is the most important transport
document. Known as the CMR, it will soon be available in electronic form as an
eCMR. In the best case scenario, eCMRs will be automatically created and
transferred from the warehouse - allowing road hauliers to access them on a
smartphone or tablet. This significantly decreases the amount of bureaucracy
required and provides an additional positive benefit. Delivery confirmation
(PoD, proof of delivery) will also eventually be generated electronically,
leading to a simplified digital process.
Whether or not this is actually beneficial for both the road haulier and the freight forwarder is questionable, as Dmitry Yatckevich from the Association of International Road Carriers, or BAMAP (http://bamap.org), explains. “The eCMR tests are under way, it’s true. But it still isn’t clear how best to handle the accompanying documents, like the packing list, certificates and specifications that still have to be provided on paper.” The biggest challenge according to Yatckevich is the realisation of a legally binding electronic signature. However, he believes that road hauliers are flexible enough to adjust to the new conditions in the future.
2. POD (proof of
delivery): shorter payment periods and digital documentation
Proof
of delivery will, in the future, be realised within the eCMR. Up until now, the
documents were provided to the freight forwarder by the road haulier, and then
sent via post to the transport customer. This creates additional shipping costs
and work for the transport companies. Not only that, it slows the payment
process. Payment is only made once proof of delivery has reached the transport
customer. Which means that a freight forwarder may have to wait between one and
three months for payment after a successful delivery. However, if proof of
delivery is provided digitally, and therefore much faster, the payment process
will also speed up. This makes income easier to plan, providing more financial
leeway to the company. And of course, transaction data will be collected in
connection with the eCMR, meaning that delivery routes will be monitored more
closely and data can be sent in real time to the delivery location. According
to Yatckevich, however, this raises more questions: “On the one hand,
digitalisation of the POD will speed up receipt of payment for transport
companies. On the other hand, this means that freight forwarding companies will
have to pay invoices earlier, which could effect their planning.”
3. Dynamic loading dock
management:
Smart
use of GPS data is responsible for advances in solving loading dock issues.
Bringing together telematics data and time slot management can solve familiar
congestion problems at loading docks. The transport service provider grants GPS
tracking permission. This data is regularly compared to positional data from
the truck, and the estimated arrival time (ETA) calculated from this
information is sent to the loading dock operator. The operator is then able to
work and plan using data in real time. This carefully calculated prediction
shortens HGV driver’s waiting times or, in the best case scenario, eliminates
them completely. The BAMAP representative considers this a major industry
innovation: “The fact that there were entire seminars devoted to this subject
at the transport logistic (4th-7th of June 2019) in Munich, which is the
leading trade fair in the industry, shows how important solving loading dock
issues is for all supply chain participants.
Conclusion:
The
advancements listed above clearly demonstrate that efficiency is increasing in
the transport business, in particular thanks to improved communication between
all participants. The improvement is based on more than simple networking
between parties; centralised communications are key: “Which is the principle
behind TIMOCOM’s Smart Logistics System. We facilitate communication between
participants and systems without taking on an executive role in in the actual
process”, explains Philipp Schmidt, Portfolio Manager at TIMOCOM. To do this,
TIMOCOM has to meet the needs of their customers. The goal is to help
digitalise smaller companies to ensure that everyone, even the largest
companies, can profit.