| Past
Issues |
February
2005 |
| Global
Supply Chain Services |
|
 |
Integration will be the keyword
PIETER SMITS - Technology should
be simple to use |
Last
year was an exceptional year with a lot of changes - some for the better, some for the worse. However, all things considered, we have found that the transport industry is growing and getting stronger by the day.
What we see is a shift from large transport companies to owner-drivers that operate for a larger transport company. This allows for lower overheads and gives freedom to owner-drivers. Nevertheless, there are a lot of administrative headaches attached to it such as 'how do we manage a fleet that is not ours' and 'how do we plan trips'.
Besides the above, there hasn't been sufficient IT integration within the transport industry. Different computer systems have been put in place to make different administrative, planning and management jobs easier. Since the systems have been installed, a lot of people find them inappropriate or not user-friendly - mostly because the systems are all different and not linked together.
We at Global Supply Chain Services believe there is a shift towards integration of different systems. For example: Users do not want to utilize three different databases to access the same information. Integration of systems and processes will be the keyword of 2005; making life easier for everybody while reducing costs.
Pieter Smits
MD, Global Supply Chain Services
