Freight transportation market: what we need to do to stay competitive
The global freight transportation market is growing intensively, an important stage in its development was the pandemic, when the demand for services increased several times, and fulfillment was complicated by limited communication and disruption of logistics processes. However, despite the difficulties, the segment is growing and improving approaches, and this is true not only for the global market, but also for the domestic Russian market.
Changing consumer needs and high demands on operators are forcing the latter to regularly improve the level of services provided. According to customer expectations, the target for delivery time in Moscow is 15 minutes from the time the order is placed until the parcel is received. These high demands can only be met if all processes within the company are properly organized and each stage of work is optimized. At the moment this can only be achieved with the use of modern solutions – unmanned vehicles, artificial intelligence technology and digitalization.
The competition on the Russian market is enormous, and it benefits consumers. They can choose the company by delivery time, level of service, and additional systems of incentives. At the same time, operators are actively implementing innovations to get ahead of the other players. A good example of improving the company’s approach is Delovye Linii. It was practically at the origins of the development of the Russian freight transportation market, and successfully holds leading positions to this day.
The story of Delovye Linii began 20 years ago with a $250-a-month office lease. Through subcontractors, the company hired cars and drivers, and through the Yellow Pages looked for clients. In 2002, the company purchased its own truck. During this period, the market was growing tremendously as the need for services grew and carriers were scarce. A few years later, however, it became clear that simply transporting cargo from point A to point B was not enough to keep the business successful and growing. Then Delovye Linii was one of the first in the segment to launch an online service, thanks to which the client base began to actively grow. In addition, the company invested and continues to invest a lot of resources in building an internal management system for warehouses, fleets and other processes. This approach allows optimizing delivery operations and making them more accessible to customers. To date, Delovye Linii has automated more than 60% of operations, saving about 25-30% of the time and cost. The company uses a flexible business model and is not afraid to try new approaches. A simple rule is used here: if an innovation does not pay off within 3 months, this option is abandoned and another solution is sought. Thus the carrier is regularly improving its approaches and modernizing its operations, making it successful in terms of profit and attractive to clients.
