Transport in modern logistics is an extremely important element, which often determines the success of implementation and significantly influences the assessment of the management of the entire logistics process.
A planned, damage-free, safely conducted and delivered to the agreed destination transport is one of the elements in the modern economy that decides on contracts, orders, the flow of goods, and the level of turnover and company revenue. When choosing a company that will be responsible for transport services and the carriage of goods, one should pay attention to such elements as: the company’s market position, experience, client list, whether cooperation with the company’s clients is long-term or if these are only one-off orders, the speed of order fulfillment and punctuality, reliability, and costs compared to competing companies. Aspects related to safety are also important: whether they are observed and guaranteed in relation to the employees themselves who are on the road and the means of transport that will be used for the carriage of a given cargo.
Transport safety in logistics must be appropriately matched to many variables (such as the value of the shipment, type of packaging, potential for damage, etc.), which should be individually selected for each order when determining, for example, the best means of transport, mapping out the transport route, and defining safety within the borders of the country/countries on the route. Such safety can be guaranteed through professional transport protection and/or through the use of modern methods related to the application of 24/7 monitoring of the means of transport. Such a system alerts the monitoring center and enables immediate action, for example, in the event of a vehicle breakdown on the route, robbery or hijacking, attempts at unplanned transshipments, etc.
Important elements of transport
In transport logistics, decisions made immediately after accepting an order are important. Knowledge is necessary regarding what will be transported: dimensions, weight, whether the given good is subject to ADR regulations, the type of shipment (for example, pallet, tanker, refrigerated truck, container, tarpaulin). The next stage is planning the transport, including, among other things, the collection and delivery point and its deadline, the quantity of products transported, choosing the appropriate route and the appropriate means of transport, and knowledge of the regulations to which the transported good is subject. Knowledge of legal regulations regarding the rules of carriage within the borders of EU countries and outside them is important.
The article comes from the magazine “Logistyka” 5/2009.