greg334
Veteran Expediter
John,
Here is the problem, the ROI wont be realized for at least two year to three years out with what I am talking about. This is not about logistics management through new technology (like trend forecasting) but rather real time transaction and fleet management system.
for example; if the contractor has access to information that a dispatcher has, like how many loads came out of Detroit today as real stats with the ablity to drill down to see the weight, size and even *cough* the rate, then they can make better decisions and act more business like in the long run. The people who are not into this as a business will not use it and eventaully fall out of the fleet.
The investment doesn't come from the need to buy a prepackage set of applications like Oracle's Logistics & Transportation Management system but rather to find the right advisors to guide you to a solid flexible system that allows you to expand or migrate to something better in the future.
I know of two companies who bought into the MS idea of flash over perfromance and it has hurt them by having their contractors be stuck with limited access to the info they need, including their own info.
Now when you talk about unifying the infromation, it can be done easily if it is internal but may be difficult if it is external - but it is doable. I know that once the information is in a database, it can be drilled down by a number of means but don't let these programmer fool you, the simpler the system - the better.
A company say like Panther (don't know much about them but I will use them anyway) may already have the data streached across three different databases and it may look like it is an impossible task to pull it all togther without some major overhauls but it can be done easily. We used to do it in the pharma industry all the time.
Anyway here is the thing, for every dollar a company puts into the proper IT projects, they can get three dollars back. On the contractors end of things, the return happens to filter back to the company through two ways;
1 - better management of the contractor's business through data, hence the return is a more profitable contractor who can operate even at the bottom of the rate cycles.
2 - the retention of the contractor because they can now manage their business by their standards and needs, not the company's limitations.
Here is the problem, the ROI wont be realized for at least two year to three years out with what I am talking about. This is not about logistics management through new technology (like trend forecasting) but rather real time transaction and fleet management system.
for example; if the contractor has access to information that a dispatcher has, like how many loads came out of Detroit today as real stats with the ablity to drill down to see the weight, size and even *cough* the rate, then they can make better decisions and act more business like in the long run. The people who are not into this as a business will not use it and eventaully fall out of the fleet.
The investment doesn't come from the need to buy a prepackage set of applications like Oracle's Logistics & Transportation Management system but rather to find the right advisors to guide you to a solid flexible system that allows you to expand or migrate to something better in the future.
I know of two companies who bought into the MS idea of flash over perfromance and it has hurt them by having their contractors be stuck with limited access to the info they need, including their own info.
Now when you talk about unifying the infromation, it can be done easily if it is internal but may be difficult if it is external - but it is doable. I know that once the information is in a database, it can be drilled down by a number of means but don't let these programmer fool you, the simpler the system - the better.
A company say like Panther (don't know much about them but I will use them anyway) may already have the data streached across three different databases and it may look like it is an impossible task to pull it all togther without some major overhauls but it can be done easily. We used to do it in the pharma industry all the time.
Anyway here is the thing, for every dollar a company puts into the proper IT projects, they can get three dollars back. On the contractors end of things, the return happens to filter back to the company through two ways;
1 - better management of the contractor's business through data, hence the return is a more profitable contractor who can operate even at the bottom of the rate cycles.
2 - the retention of the contractor because they can now manage their business by their standards and needs, not the company's limitations.
