Transportation Management Report 2011 - Capgemini

Figure 3: Transport planning complexity -
past
Company
13
Economy
Transport
Figure 4: Transport planning complexity -
present
Company
Economy
Transport
When plotting the trends in
transportation planning against these
three dimensions, the complexity
of the planning is indicated by the
total area covered in each of the three
accompanying graphics.
In the next paragraphs we look at
these dimensions by plotting them
against three axes.
Past (through the mid 90’s)
Complexity of transportation
planning was restricted to relatively
easy to manage variables like:
availability of the driver, right
vehicle for transportation, and
the complexity of the actual
transportation (Figure 3).
Transportation companies were
relatively small, operating in a local
market against local competitors.
Focus of the planner was on
optimization of short-term planning
and execution. Most companies
supported their planners with low
tech tools, like whiteboards, plan
boards, or spreadsheets.
Present
Transportation has become
increasingly more complex. Planners
have to deal with rigidly enforced
laws on driving time and emission
regulations for trucks driving into
cities as well as higher customer
expectation regarding time-windows
and flexibility in service (Figure 4).
On the company level we see an
increase in mergers, resulting in more
resources (drivers, vehicles) that need
to be planned.
In these consolidated companies
there are often multiple planning
departments, each covering its own
area, like: container transport, liquid
bulk, (palletized) general cargo, etc.
In addition, planning departments
often have a decentralized structure.
Targets for the planning departments
and planners are focused on local
goals.
As an example, a large French
transport company with branches
throughout Europe manages each
of the by profit/loss responsibility at
the branch level. Each branch also
manages its own drivers and vehicles.
As a result of such a structure,
branches and planners are only
interested in allocating their own
resources, regardless of the effect
on overall company efficiency. This
“camembert method”, as they call it
themselves, is not the best choice.
Availability of information in the
logistic supply chain has increased
dramatically in recent years thanks
to the Internet and information
technology. This increase also makes
the planner’s job more difficult
since it means there are more
variables to manage. Tools like ERP,
Transportation Management Systems
(TMS) and sometimes even Advanced
Planning and Scheduling (APS)
applications are available to assist
planning.