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Demanding customers in logistics.
How to deal with them?  

As a logistics service provider, you face high Service Level Agreements (SLAs). These contracts specify customer-specific performance levels and responsibilities. Have you also noticed that customer demands and expectations are increasing and changing more frequently? That’s why ensuring SLA compliance has become more important. You need clear agreements to ensure a smooth collaboration. In this blog, you will learn how to set service levels per customer and maintain an overview.

Customers expect efficiency, reliability, and quality. A high level of service has become the norm. Your customers also want to track shipments in real-time and be proactively informed about any delays or issues. In the e-commerce era, they want to know precisely when orders will be received, down to the minute. Moreover, they require more information, such as photo proofs, certificates, and signatures. As a logistics service provider, you certainly don’t want to handle hundreds of phone calls and emails. With today’s technology, you can address these challenges. How can you make the lives of planners and drivers easier?

Demanding customers require flexibility.
To provide up-to-date information, drivers need to have the right tools. When you expect a lot from them, you must empower them as well. After all, drivers need to indicate when each package is delivered. Each loading and unloading address has its own rules and instructions, depending on the product and the client. One customer may want a photo of the unloaded cargo, while another wants a package delivered to a neighbor. Drivers cannot possibly remember all these details, especially when instructions change regularly per address. Moreover, in many logistics companies, there is not enough time for training.

Board computer are no longer sufficient
Mobile devices offer a lot of flexibility with an endless number of features and sensors for smart support and scanning. Is using a board computer still adequate in this day and age? Drivers need a device for handling transports both inside and outside the cabin. Moreover, such a device should be easy to use. Many fleet managers struggle with board computers because they are often not user-friendly. The software and technology are outdated.

Are you considering purchasing new board computers? Especially today, it’s crucial to work with a modern and flexible solution. Being able to adapt quickly to customer needs has become a prerequisite. To meet SLAs effectively, the worlds of transport management and board computers need to come together, in a user-friendly manner for planners and drivers.

Drivers want satisfying work
Driver shortages are becoming more severe. Competitors are ready to lure away your best employees. In this tight labor market, you want to keep your drivers happy. It’s important that they go through the day with a smile and not get frustrated with all the administrative tasks. How can you make their work easier? What role can new systems and technologies play in this? After all, you don’t want to train drivers for every customer’s request.

Planners want insight
In recent years, planners have gained more control over their own fleet. However, managing drivers, charters, and exceptions remains challenging. Additionally, planners need to consider SLA instructions for each loading and unloading address, which can be cumbersome. How can they ensure optimal fleet occupancy, routing, margin, and minimal CO2 emissions? How can they be proactively informed about delays such as traffic jams? How can the planner maintain control and oversight through a central dashboard?

The advantage of an App
Everyone is familiar with the images of offices in the 1980s. Various devices such as a telephone, fax, and calculator cluttered the desks. Nowadays, all these functions are integrated into our mobile phones. Whether you want to take a picture, send a message, or perform calculations, your mobile phone can do almost anything.

This philosophy is also the basis of the plug & play Driver-App. The app that combines order information, vehicle data, and hour registration can be easily downloaded from the App Store. You can centrally handle all order-related information: order management, track & trace, POD scans, barcode scanning, damage registration, photos of shipments, and pallet registration. You can also monitor vehicle data in real-time: mileage, fuel consumption, CO2 reports, driving behavior, tachograph data, tank data, and traffic information. Driver data is fully transparent, including hour registration, delays, overtime, and rest times.

Real-time communication
Add to that the ability for planners to communicate in real-time with their own drivers and charters. It provides control when receiving proactive notifications of any deviations from the schedule. With such a Driver-App, you provide your drivers and charters with the right information at the right time, both inside and outside the cabin. Real-time updates make their workday easier, more efficient, and more enjoyable. With the right app, they can be productive every day.

Benefits drivers
As a native app, drivers can download it directly from the Apple App Store (iOS) and Google Play Store (Android). After a short registration, they are linked to your system, and seamless communication can begin. Register, download, and go.

Drivers need a user-friendly and ergonomic solution that requires no training. They deal with an influx of information every day. With our Driver-App, they only see what’s necessary, allowing them to make the most of their day.

With the Driver-App, drivers can take photos of shipments and scan documents. It supports drivers both inside and outside the cabin. With a press of a button, all information is instantly available to everyone. All of this is done intuitively. With the app, you always have evidence that shipments were delivered on time and correctly.

Simplifying IT processes
Regardless of how you look at it, there are increasingly more challenges for logistics service providers. SLAs require simplification and process optimization. With the Driver-App, you can streamline your processes, increase your fleet occupancy, and enhance the visibility of your operations. Your drivers can easily meet the growing demands. As a result, their job satisfaction will increase, making them more loyal to your company, which is crucial in a tight labor market.

The introduction of the Driver-App also leads to more control and efficiency in the office. Planners can provide specific instructions and ensure that activities at loading and unloading locations are in line with the SLAs. They can proactively respond to changing circumstances. Are you ready to simplify IT? Take the step towards the Driver-App. During the summer period, we offer subsidies for onboarding the Driver-App. Take advantage of our summer subsidy now! Limited subsidy spots available. Send an email to: subsidie@simplydeliver.com 

Logistics is like a top-level sport. Each generation has its own challenges. Continuously innovating is the key to success. What is top of mind for the current generation of logistics entrepreneurs? Huib Claassen of Claassen Logistics, Roy van der Heijden of Van der Heijden Transport, and Osman Akdemir of Simply Deliver share their vision on the next generation supply chain. They explain why sharing real-time data is a must to make the transition to the future. 

It is spring 2015. Two students from Breda University of Applied Sciences are working on a case about digitization within logistics. Huib and Roy are in complete agreement that the time has come to optimize beyond the boundaries of their own business. Together, they fantasize about the opportunities that real-time data sharing offers. Imagine how much smarter you can set up your processes.

Client portal provides insight
It was therefore to be expected that the two entrepreneurs would cross each other’s paths again. Both of them use a customer portal that allows customers to have real-time insight into the status of orders. Exactly in line with their thoughts on data sharing in 2015. The men are thrilled that their foresight has come true. And this is just the beginning.

From ‘on premise’ to SaaS
Huib explains how Claassen Logistics has a different perspective on IT today: “In the past, you would buy a system and there was little development in it. Nowadays, software systems keep evolving. Ideas that are suggested are immediately incorporated into the product development. We also benefit from the improvements that others come up with. It’s like joint innovation. This way, you are assured of an up-to-date solution.”

From Capex to Opex
Osman adds: “Especially with Software as a Service (SaaS), you make solutions available to the entire market. From implementation fee (Capex) to a monthly fee (Opex) based on usage. This way, IT is delivered in a fair manner; if you do less, you pay less. A new generation of logistics entrepreneurs also requires innovative IT that provides continuity. You choose ICT solutions for years, and such a monthly model removes mental barriers.”

Flexibility and continuity
Roy is excited about the implementation of the customer portal: “From the first conversation to go-live it took 3 months. The limited front-end investment and standard TWS/WMS integrations were the deciding factors. If you want to move quickly and seek flexibility, SaaS is really the way forward. The standard processes are easy to tailor to customer needs.”

Personal attention and IT go hand in hand
Despite the fact that you can automate many processes with IT these days, customer contact remains essential. “Actually, you want to digitally relieve the customer while being accessible when necessary. Customers must, of course, have a positive feeling about the company and its employees. Personal contact is necessary to feel whether a customer is happy or not,” emphasizes Huib.

A future with chatbots?
Osman sees a future for chatbots in logistics: “I’m always looking at other industries. They are often ahead of developments. How great is it when you can just ask a chatbot for proof of delivery, invoice or CMR? That is valuable for everyone. You immediately have the information you need. A chatbot and human contact is a winning combination.”

Generational connection
Roy thinks that young people are more likely to embrace new systems: “Of course, there are enough older people who also want to move forward. In general, you can develop faster with young people. Innovating is also about trying and daring to make mistakes. You have to be open to this and be willing to fail. Fortunately, the older generation sometimes pulls us back, so that we don’t make unnecessary mistakes. This way you make use of all the qualities within an organization.”

Competitive advantage
Everyone struggles with a lot of manual work. A tight labour market requires smart solutions. Huib says: “When you take the lead in this as an organization, you can gain competitive advantage. It’s all about processing orders quickly and being transparent to customers. It is precisely by digitizing and automating that you can fulfil the Service Levels Agreements.”

Information on delivery
Roy takes it a step further: “If you don’t start working with automation and digitization, you’re done for! We process a thousand orders per day. Our goal is almost 100% ‘information on delivery’. That means sending a message in real-time when a shipment is delivered, including additional information such as a signature, packaging, and photos. Customers ask and we deliver. This way, you can move along with the customer’s wishes and increase your market share.”

Ready for the future
Osman notes that there is still resistance from the market: “Many parties talk about sharing data, but only a limited group actually does it. Our customers see the importance of it and are already reaping the benefits of digital collaboration. Everything becomes more efficient, you can free up your employees to satisfy customers instead of plugging holes. This new generation sees the added value of SaaS solutions. Especially through real-time exchange of information, they are ready for the future.”

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