Over the past couple of decades, technology has increased rapidly across a wide range of sectors, including the transport industry. Technological changes have helped the transport industry in a variety of different ways, including improved customer service & retention, faster work turnaround & improved vehicle management, with more information about how these changes have helped develop the transport industry listed below.
Improved customer service & retention: The internet & online booking systems
One of the key things all businesses should aspire to is excellent customer service & retention – recent developments in technology have helped many companies increase their customer service, including those within the transport industry. The advent of the digital age means transport companies can now use the internet and social media to advertise their services and therefore increase revenue.
In the past, customers were usually only able to contact a business during their posted working hours, but digital advancements (for example, the use of live chats) mean that customers can now contact transport companies around the clock. Train and flight time information is now available online, and customers can book tickets at any time of the day when using online services. By using online services like this, transport companies can improve their customer service, leading to current customers wanting to retain their services in the future.
Improved vehicle management: Telematics & fuel management
Recent technological developments have also led to improved vehicle management across the transport sector, with services such as telematics and data tracking being very popular nowadays. Vehicle telematics (for example, within a car) such as GPS systems, black box technologies & onboard vehicle diagnostics are now available in the majority of new cars created, with some of these technologies also being used for other forms of transport.
Telematics can be used for data tracking purposes, allowing vehicle manufacturers to record information about the said vehicle on their systems. These technologies allow automobile users to have more control over their vehicles, meaning that they are more likely to buy from a manufacturer using telematics. This increases customer retention for vehicle companies providing these services, and also allows the companies themselves to record information about their vehicles.
Another example of businesses using telematics is where a business uses lorries for shipping and transporting goods and produce. Lorry drivers are only allowed to drive for a certain amount of time before resting, with telematic allowing lorry drivers to log their journeys times and distances automatically when driving, which in turn allows the company they work for to track them, to ensure they are following the law when driving.
Fleet telematics have the ability to report faults back to the transport company as soon as a fault appears, and are used on a range of vehicles, such as automobiles, trains and even aeroplanes. They can also be used to schedule preventive maintenance to the vehicle (for example, when the mode of transport has completed a certain mileage), and can be used by transport companies to monitor the driving behaviour of those piloting their fleet, in order to decrease accidents. These examples are just several ways in which technology has helped to improve vehicle management over the years, usually with the aim of decreasing the risk of accidents from occurring.
Fuel management systems can also be used for company vehicles to monitor and control fuel consumption within a fleet, meaning fleet managers can track the amount of fuel needed and prepare for this in advance. Digital flow meters are used to provide information about a range of different things within the said vehicle, and can also be used to accurately measure the quantity of fuel dispensed. Whether your company uses diesel, petrol, or biofuel, the latest fuel management systems can help you efficiently monitor your fuel usage.
Faster work turnaround: Using telematics and GPS
Telematics can also be used to increase the speed of work turnaround, which should in turn, increase customer satisfaction and profits. As previously stated, telematics can be used to schedule preventive maintenance to a vehicle, meaning work can be planned and carried out on the vehicle within a chosen time period, instead of the company needing to suddenly deal with a fault out of the blue. There are many ways that technology improves businesses and with the advent of modern GPS technology and the internet, delivery companies can send their drivers out on a route without the hassle of resorting to maps, which should speed the process up, allowing them to deliver to more people within a set time period.