Budget restrictions could be creating a technology capability gap, according to survey by DA Systems into attitudes towards technology amongst firms within the UK transport and logistics industries.
88 per cent of respondents see tech as an essential source of competitive differentiation, but over 50 per cent have no real-time track and trace capabilities and 58 per cent of delivery fleets are not using mobile data, and 80 per cent cited budget restrictions as the main barrier.
“The research showed up some surprising results, for instance, companies understand the role technology needs to play but have some way to go to making the investments required. And clearly, although there is a perception that ePOD (electronic proof of delivery) is a mature market, many within the industry remain reliant on paper based proof of delivery processes, which cannot be good for profit levels,” says David Upton, Managing Director of DA Systems.
When given a wish list of improvements they would like to make to their own service offering, ensuring the highest level of customer satisfaction was clearly an ongoing business priority.
70 per cent of the survey respondents said they would like to offer an estimated delivery ETA messaging capability and have the ability to send an email or text to recipients alerting them to expect their delivery at a particular time of day.
A further 41 per cent said they would like to allow recipients to change the delivery drop location for convenience.
“It is clear from the findings that delivery firms have not understood the potential to reduce costs and generate additional profits as a result of investing in technology and working more efficiently.
“Being constrained by budgets is a short-sighted view because the business case for an investment in proof of delivery software, or a messaging system that notifies consumers with an ETA for their parcel deliveries, will deliver an immediate return,” said David Upton.
