Many industries, including trucking and transportation, are discovering the power of big data. Big data involves the collection of data from a variety of sources. These sources could include on-board computers, GPS, drivers’ logs, or virtually anything where information is being recorded.
Big data provides a huge opportunity for businesses. However, knowing how to use big data to improve business operations is challenging for many organizations. Trucking companies are beginning to realize the value and power of big data, and are taking steps to integrate it into their practices.
Read on to learn more about how this could impact the trucking industry.
1. Students in Dispatch Schools May See How Big Data Improves Profit Margins
The transportation industry operates on tight profit margins. Unexpected and variable expenses like repairs, fuel, and overtime labour can cause budgets to go out the window. Therefore, finding a way to anticipate these unexpected expenses could help companies improve their profit margins. And with big data, it’s possible.
Big data can be analyzed for trends. For example, companies could use big data to review their most popular trucking routes. They may be able to find trends that show certain days or times when roads are busier. This could help graduates of dispatch schools modify plans for routes so that trucks use less fuel and truckers work fewer overtime hours idling in traffic. Or, it could allow dispatchers to anticipate better times to schedule shipments.
2. Students in Dispatch Schools May See Big Data Impact the Industry’s Safety
Traffic jams and high volume stretches of highway are a nightmare for trucking safety. As graduates of a transportation operations program well know, ensuring the safety of drivers, cargo, trucks, and other vehicles on the road is a top concern. Although trucking companies are already taking significant steps to improve safety, big data could play an important role in helping even more.
Every day, every hour, and every minute that vehicles are on the road, data companies gather information about traffic conditions. Trucking companies can use this data to their advantage to warn their drivers of roadways with dangerous conditions such as traffic or harsh weather. Being able to avoid these potentially hazardous situations could greatly improve the safety of trucks and even reduce costs generated by accidents.
3. Students in Dispatch Schools May See Big Data Improve Customer Service
Not only is traffic a recipe for unsafe road conditions, but it can also cause shipments to run behind schedule. An important part of running a successful trucking business is providing excellent and on-time service to clients. Using big data to avoid traffic jams and unsafe road conditions can help keep a driver’s schedule on track. In addition, it can help dispatchers provide more accurate time estimates for when the shipper can expect their delivery to arrive. Accuracy and punctuality go a long way when impressing customers and can make all the difference during your dispatching career.
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