SOCIAL MEDIA
Organising the logistics for transporting goods and freight across the UK and Europe has always been incredibly challenging. Transport Managers Challenge is an increasing demand from customers who want their cargo delivered as quickly as possible.
Software and technical solutions developed over the last five to ten years have enabled managers to operate more efficiently but there are always additional hurdles to get over and an increasing amount of data to handle.
Over the next 12 months, however, transport manages face a number of specific challenges according to a recent survey by the Freight Transport Association.
1. Driver Recruitment and Retention
Nearly half of transport managers are unable to fill vacancies according to the survey and recruitment remains a significant sticking point across all areas of the industry. One big problem is the increasing age of drivers – they tend to be older than in other workplaces and many are now reaching retirement age. Without younger drivers following up behind to replace them, transport managers could be facing even bigger shortages in the very near future. One of the solutions is to use local recruitment agency who specialise in sourcing the best drivers. Read our tips on improving drivers retention here.
2. Expiring CPC
Another Transport Managers Challenge is The Certificate of Professional Competence for Drivers (CPC) which was introduced in 2014 to maintain standards within the industry and improve safety. With it came the requirement to take 35 hours of training every five years to update the certificate.
That means those who received their CPC when it was implemented are soon due to take their next batch of training in May of 2019. Transport managers worry that this is going to cause some sort of bottleneck with training companies that may not be able to cope with the volume. It could also lead to a driver shortage and put a much bigger strain on transportation logistics.
3. Fuel Costs
The price of fuel has always been a major issue for transport managers and is something that directly influences the bottom line of every company. Managers have also noted a significant increase in the amount of time it takes drivers to navigate city and motorway routes in recent years, something that adds to fuel costs overall. Even small changes in inflation can dramatically impact on company revenues and finding ways to cut costs is an increasing challenge.
4. Delivering on Customer Expectations
Pressure is put on managers from clients who expect faster deliveries and are prepared to go to another transport company if they don’t get what they want. A large part of this is down to competition and the need to deliver for the customer at home or in business who also want their products and services right now. Pushing the boundaries to deliver to tight deadlines can be dangerous and many transport managers worry that safety could be side lined at the expense of speed.
5. Processing Data
More and more often nowadays, logistics managers need to routinely deal with a large amount of data in order to run their fleet. That not only includes monitoring fuel usage and loading times but ensuring that HGV drivers get from A to B as quickly as possible. There’s no doubt that new technology has helped and is improving the way that transport managers operate. Some are still doing this manually, however, and it can take up a lot of their time, preventing them focusing on other important tasks.
There’s no doubt that transport managers have a lot on their plate at the moment. The biggest concerns, however, remain the recruitment and retention of qualified HGV drivers and attracting new and younger candidates into the industry needs to be a major focus over the next few years.
NN1 Personnel we specialise in supply and recruitment of qualified HGV drivers. Whether you’re an employer looking for quality staff or a dedicated driver looking for work, we want to hear from you.
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