Every business sector and industry have its own set of myths and misconceptions that never seem to go away. For whatever reason, this phenomenon is especially true for transport and shipping companies. Where do myths come from? In a way, the origin doesn't matter as much as making an effort to dispel inaccurate information as soon as you see or hear it. If your business earns profits by selling and delivering goods to wholesalers, retailers, or directly to consumers, take note of the following misconceptions so you'll be able set the record straight whenever one pops up.
Fleet Management is Expensive
Fortunately, in the digital age, the old fleet management costs too much myth is finally starting to wither away in the face of reality. The fact is that fleet solutions are not only inexpensive and easy to implement, but they offer dozens of essential features that managers can use to improve efficiency all around. To learn more about the latest fleet programs and their capabilities, you can review a comprehensive online guide that explains how vital fleet maintenance management is. Plus, the guide talks about how to select the best solution for your company. This is an important consideration if you want a fleet system that not only reduces your downtime but offers a wealth of real-time data so you can monitor every aspect of each trip.
On-Time Delivery is the Only Goal
On-time delivery is essential, but it's far from the sole aim of companies that design, manufacture, sell, and transport goods to wholesalers or end-users. In fact, there are many factors, in addition to on-time delivery, that take place between the moment a customer places an order and receives it. So, while it's fair to say that timely shipment is near the top of the list of customer satisfaction factors, others include polite communication, follow-up, delivery of goods that are undamaged and look exactly as they appeared on e-commerce websites, offering reasonable shipping charges, correcting problems in a timely fashion when something goes wrong, and more.
You Can't Outsource Shipping and Delivery
At one time, this myth was very close to being correct, but in today's complex marketplace, it no longer holds true. That's mostly because there is a massive cottage industry made up of ad hoc delivery companies who are happy to augment any company's fleet during busy seasons or when regular trucks are out of service for repairs.
Fuel Prices are Impossible to Control
This bit of misinformation continues to circulate, even though it's just plain wrong. Not only do companies maintain their own repositories for storage of huge quantities of vehicle fuel, but managers often make long-term agreements with fuel sellers for locked-in pricing. Additionally, even though it's impossible to predict exact price changes that might take place in the market, it's entirely possible to make reasonable estimates and base future budgets on realistic data. These days, as more companies opt for using fuel-efficient vehicles, price volatility doesn't have as much of an impact on sellers as it did in past decades.
