Freight companies are an essential transportation channel serving many other businesses across industries. They handle large equipment, goods, and shipment logistics, ensuring they are transferred from point A to the destination point B. Over the last decade, the demand for various goods, including skin and healthcare products, clothing items, electronics, appliances, etc., has increased. This increase has, in turn, put increased pressure on freight companies.
The pressure on freight companies demands them to be affordable, timely, and more environmentally efficient like the efficient freight carrier at ArdentX. But amidst these demands, how can a freight company boost its demands and break even in the business world?
This article walks you through some important factors to consider when planning an efficiency boost for your freight company.
Create a Plan
Plans are a great way to understand the problem and map the solution. A proper and detailed plan will give you a holistic overview of the problem, the possible solutions, the key players to bring about the needed change, and the most effective strategies for solving the issue.
To boost your freight company’s efficiency, you need a plan that details important factors like how you intend to procure goods, how goods will be delivered, and storage requirements. You also need to understand available equipment and their capacity, cost, time, and any software required to automate some or most of the processes.
A detailed plan with the above factors can help you understand where and where to cut costs, time, and other resources that make your business less efficient.
Take Advantage of Software solutions
Software solutions have become an important part of the modern-day business world. Software automation can help freight companies shed some load and make their business leaner while ensuring improved efficiency.
You can begin by researching software solutions perfect for automation while reducing or eliminating common human errors or inefficiencies. You can also introduce time-tracking apps for employees, GPS tracking apps for freights, fuel efficiency apps to monitor your usage, and confirmation apps to keep updated on the deliveries.
These apps can ultimately change how you run your business and ensure that you’re one step ahead at every point.
Optimize Your Warehouse
Warehousing is an important part of shipping and logistics. As a freight company, a properly optimized warehouse can save time, ensure efficiency, and overall improve customer satisfaction. You want to ensure that your warehouse is properly optimized such that goods and packages are easy to locate, reducing the time spent searching for goods and effectively cutting down the time taken from order to delivery.
Warehouse optimization can also benefit from automation and other software solution that ensures the careful placement of goods checked into the warehouse for easy recall. Optimization can also mean better space management, ensuring you make more from your storage facility when goods are properly arranged into sections.
Focus On Packaging
Packaging is just as important as the product. Most customers are interested in the packaging of their goods, as it gives them the first impression of what to expect. The right packaging not only impresses the customer but also ensures that the products are safe and delivered in one piece.
Getting the right packaging is one thing, the cost and time requirement are another consideration. Consider how long it takes to pack the goods and how much cost is incurred on each packaging solution.
You can make your freight business much more efficient by choosing the right packaging solution to cut costs. You can also introduce automation to the packaging side of your business, effectively cutting out human inefficiencies and saving time.
Reduce Your Carbon Footprint
Fossil fuel burning, amongst other things, greatly contributes to greenhouse gases and climate change. Reducing the effect of your operation on the environment can also be a great way to improve your business efficiency and cut back on the environmental impacts.
You can achieve a greener operation by considering operational efficiency. In fact, operational efficiency can help cut your overhead cost by at least 30%. Some considerations include;
- Number of cargo moved per vehicle
- Phasing older equipment for greener alternatives
- Exploring carbon-efficient transportation options.
Track Business Performance
An excellent way to track your business’s growth and trajectory is through its performance records. You want a viable business, and your performance records will show whether you are one or how far away you are from breaking even and becoming profitable.
By assessing your performance records, you can pinpoint areas for improvement, ensuring that you are constantly turning the wheels to improve performance, efficiency, productivity, customer satisfaction, and overall revenue generated.