Transportation, Logistics, The Cloud, and CRM

Transportation and logistics and crm. Typically, the state of transportation and logistics (T&L) mirrors the state of the economy, with FedEx earnings serving as a reliable indicator of how the rest of the players in the industry are doing. However, the past few years have been anything but normal. The pandemic led to a surge in demand, marked by container-filled ports and a nationwide hunt for truck drivers. After navigating two years of high intensity, T&L now faces challenges such as inflation, the Ukraine war, ongoing supply chain disruptions, the threat of recession, climbing interest rates, higher fuel costs, and overly cautious consumer behavior.

Where are the Challenges?

Compounding these issues is a staffing crisis in the industry, with a global shortage of warehouse workers, dock personnel, drivers, pilots, and rail crews that is expected to persist. In such uncertain times, successful transportation and logistics companies are taking strategic steps to future-proof themselves.

One key strategy involves unifying customer data on a single platform to enhance efficiency and readiness for various scenarios. Smart transportation and logistics organizations plan for best, expected, and worst-case scenarios by monitoring critical signals such as capacity in key lanes, customer spending by lane, and customer lifetime value. Unifying customer data across sales, service, and operations enables informed decision-making, focusing investments where needed and optimizing resources.

Manual Processes

Despite this, much of T&L business, especially in sales, marketing, and customer service, relies on manual processes like phone calls, spreadsheets, and email. Centralized customer data is crucial for applying intelligence and analytics to process trends, segmenting customers, and analyzing their value. Companies investing in data unification report significant cost savings and efficiency benefits, including a 25% reduction in IT costs.

Centralized customer data is also leveraged to enhance shipper experiences. T&L leaders use artificial intelligence (AI) to predict customer retention and potential churn, allowing proactive steps to be taken. Real-time data intelligence empowers customer service agents to make informed decisions swiftly. Access to shipper-specific on-time delivery performance provides valuable insights and strengthens client relationships.

Transportation and Logistics and CRM

More than half of T&L organizations are investing in cloud connectivity and data sharing, with 18% deriving the most value in sales and marketing, customer relationship management (CRM), distribution, and end-to-end visibility. These strategic investments are proving instrumental in navigating the complexities of the current economic landscape.

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