“What makes a hero a superhero?” With this question, Leon van der Laan, CEO of Cargo stream, opened his speech during Webfleet CONNECT, the annual event about fleet management. The answer? “Superpower.” And that, according to Van der Laan, is also what the world of logistics and mobility needs. But what superpower is he talking about specifically? You will discover that in this blog.
Reduce CO2 emissions
More than 7% of global emissions are caused by logistics. Van der Laan: ‘That is an enormous amount when you consider how many sectors there are. Therefore, billions are being invested in new technologies, clean fuels, and electric vehicles. To reduce CO2 emissions. But I ask myself: is that really the superpower that logistics needs? Are we really going to make the difference with that?’
65% of work time on emails
According to Van der Laan, the difference can be made by looking critically at the work tools that logistics managers use every day to manage and communicate. Van der Laan: ‘Email, telephone, Excel, scanned documents and paper are still a daily routine at 80% of the companies in the logistics sector. An average logistics manager processes around 350 emails per day. As a result, they spend ‘;cf xvb,65% of their working time with e-mails and 20% on looking back for old communication in those e-mails.’’
Inefficiency leads to higher emissions
So you can imagine that using e-mail is not very efficient. ‘Research itself shows that at companies where e-mail is the main means of communication, employees are less satisfied,’ says Van der Laan. ‘Satisfaction is directly in line with profitability. And what happens if a logistics manager cannot work in the most efficient way? Then mistakes are made. For example, a truck at a warehouse gets delayed by 24 hours. That is absolutely not sustainable, because other trucks are also affected by that delay or even depart empty.’
20% of food is lost in the supply chain
Sometimes entire container ships are anchored for weeks, waiting to be discharged due to these inefficiencies. Van der Laan: ‘25% of what is on those ships is food. If such a ship is then delayed, this food is wasted. In fact, around 20% of all freshly produced food is eventually lost due to supply chain issues. ‘That keeps me up at night. I find it unbelievable that we were on the moon in the 1960s and now we throw away 20% of our food due to inefficient work processes’.
Tools for better decisions
But, according to Van der Laan, we don’t have to give up: ‘The road to sustainable logistics is long and of course we have to follow all roads. We must not forget the impact of the daily tools.’ Efficient tools are needed to enable logistics managers to act quickly. No more emails and paper. Van der Laan: ‘By giving logistics managers efficient tools, they can make better daily decisions. Decisions that are data-driven and with which they improve sustainability and profitability’
Integration Cargo stream and Webfleet Solutions
Cargo stream offers a user-friendly system for daily logistics management and communication in the Cloud. This system integrates with Webfleet Solutions. This allows users to book, change and track deliveries, communicate in real-time and inform everyone involved about what is happening in the logistics chain – from shipper to receiver. All on the same platform where they can also view their fleet performance, trip data, GPS tracking, and fuel consumption.
Insight into relevant information
Instead of communicating via e-mails and telephone calls, within the Cargo stream platform, everyone is informed at once, in real-time. Is an order being booked for transport? Then the transport partner receives a notification so that a truck with a driver can be immediately linked to the order. After that, all those involved in the logistics chain have relevant information, such as location, the departure and arrival dates, and what is happening on-route.
A sustainable future for logistics
The integration of Cargo stream and Webfleet Solutions gives logistics managers a clear overview of reliable data. Van der Laan: ‘This data helps them to make better, sustainable decisions. All these decisions are visualized on a dashboard. How many emissions do I have on a certain route? What is the percentage of electric vehicles? But above all, it brings everything together in one tool, with which they can work and communicate. In a much more efficient way. Cargo stream, together with Webfleet, wants to give logistics managers the superpower they need to become the future heroes of sustainability.’
Curious whether Cargo stream’s solution with Webfleet Solutions can contribute to the (sustainability) goals of your organization? Please, contact us.