The end of 2023 was marked with hope for shippers and transportation companies to emerge from the freight recession. The freight crisis was caused and intensified by the global lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Even at the beginning of 2023 global freight movements continued to dwindle. Fortunately, in Autumn 2023 the dynamics of global logistics started to evolve.
2024 is going to become a decisive year for many companies and industries. The development of software for trucking companies and services will play a life-changing role. Before delving into forecasts for the transportation industry in 2024, please check out our previous article on the top transportation companies in 2024 to gain a full understanding of industry specifics.
And now let’s get back to the point. To name just a few benefits the best software for transportation business can offer, we’ll mention:
Saving time
Manual operations can be minimized through proficiently developed logistics and transportation. Logistics planning software solutions can save time and staff working hours. In such a way they optimize overall efficiency and improve the time management of a company.
Improved freight management
Shipping and logistics management software can make many things simple for you. The right logistic app can compare routes, freighters, and costs. It can gather quotes from different companies and provide the optimal solution.
Better control
The best transportation management software can help you increase control over your business logistic operations. It can consider multiple aspects, not only transportation itself.
Increased profits
The key focus of any business enterprise is maximizing profit. A custom software solution development can help you make the most of your operations. By implementing the latest technologies like ML and AI, you can eliminate manual guesswork and the factor of human errors. Thus, you can cut your extra costs in many ways and boost profit.
Overview of the Transport Industry in 2024
During the recent crisis, the rising fuel costs and the falling freight rates made more than 31000 trucking businesses close or shift their services to larger fleets. In 2024 they expect a slight turnaround in freight volume. The expectations vary between a 5% and 15% increase, but only in the second half of the year.
What is more, a revolution in transport is here and the changes are going to rev into gear from now till 2030. Autonomous buses, electric vehicles, car and freight-sharing schemes, and drone deliveries are already here. All these shape modern logistics more and more.
Every supply chain needs to be maintained. At present every big industry heavily relies on trucking operations. Raw materials, resources, and goods must be transported to be delivered to the end users or consumers.
Efficient logistics operations are the backbone of every company's success across its sector. Faster and on-time delivery is in high demand since it’s an important factor in quick and efficient business operations. So, a custom TMS or 3PL logistics software can streamline your company’s logistics operations. It can become a game-changing and revolutionary solution for your business success.
The transportation management software allows you to optimize your business processes. It may provide:
Centralized Data Storage
With a single solution operation managers get an opportunity to manage all the data that is logistics-related. The software can gather all the details like vehicle data, driver info, order specifics, delivery details, and more. Companies using TMSs claimed to save up to 12% of their transportation costs. This is a significant factor in adopting a software solution for managing operations efficiently.
Optimized Route Planning
Modern software solutions can boast advanced AI-based algorithms for route planning and optimization. To get orders delivered, route optimization software can consider multifaceted aspects. They are traffic conditions, distance, weather conditions, delivery windows, etc.
Optimized routing can also bring business owners up to 20% of savings. They come from fuel reduction and mileage improvement.
Enhanced Visibility and Tracking:
Companies and customers nowadays are very much focused on real-time visibility and tracking. It helps to ensure seamless logistics processes. An advanced software solution can allow you to keep track of carriers through a system of sensors, and track and monitor cargo. With it, you can get real-time order delivery status. The best transportation management systems reduce shipment delays by up to 30%.
Timely deliveries mean happy customers, enhanced brand loyalty, and consequent revenue growth.
Some more benefits top transportation management systems have in store for you are :
- Warehouse and inventory management
- Reports and analytics,
- Efficient load handling,
- Convenient fleet audit and driver payouts,
- Scalability and flexibility to adapt to changing market conditions,
- Improved collaboration and communication inside the company and with partners,
- Compliance and adherence to GDPR, PDP, and other regulatory requirements.
With every market growth come opportunities and competition. Custom transportation company software development can become the secret ingredient to achieve success and take the firm ground in the market during recovery time.
Let’s get inspired a bit by the leaders of the industry. For sure, you can take some pages out of their books and implement their best experiences. It'll help you improve your transportation business or 3PL software for the small business you develop.
Ivanna
Client Manager
Contact us, and we will share our case studies related to transportation software development
Get a Free ConsultationTop 5 Transport Companies in 2024
Fusion Transport
Fusion Transport was founded in 1995 as a non-asset LTL (Less-than-truckload) transportation broker for the chemicals industry. However now, the company is a combination of two 3PL businesses: GTLi and Am Trans. By 2011 the company not only transported parcels as a part of US postal service, but also consumer packaged goods and food. Soon it resulted in the dedicated consolidation program for Walmart shippers. The program started in New Jersey, but in several years expanded to California and Texas. Now it includes many more retailers, like Dollar General, Target, Walgreens, and others.
Since 2015, Fusion Transport has combined brokered 3-party capacity and the internal fleet. The latter is constantly growing. About 50% of the company’s revenue comes from freight services through the proprietary capacity network.
As of now, Fusion Transport deals with storage, shipping, and supply chain.
The success of the company’s smooth and effective operation is behind the smart data solutions it uses.
Sisense built intelligent analytics helps to get AI-driven insights. It also integrates analytics into the work stream.
The integration with cloud-based Oracle assists with managing inventory, financial aspects, and CRM systems maintenance.
Descartes Aljex streamlines and automates transport management and freight processes. It also provides brokerage solutions.
Mercury Gate is a single board that allows all freight shipments' management.
SynapseWMS is a warehouse management software. It facilitates a more efficient form of tracking both supplies and inventory as they move. It makes receiving, picking up, and putting away product procedures faster, more accurate, and transparent.
Project 44 helps the company to enhance shipping performance and operational efficiencies, and reduce costs.
The Company stands the ground of a proactive, technology-based approach. They are focused on reducing end-to-end cycle times to yield greater efficiency and lower cost.
Glydways
It’s a transportation company that aims to improve mobility, considering it a basic human right. Glydways claims to have the aim of delivering the most affordable 24/7 on-demand private mobility service. At the same time, the company focuses on providing the best user experience and the highest capacity.
They have developed a system of consistent carbon footprint-neutral transportation networks. The company uses closed roadways and standardized autonomous vehicles. They see their mission as “better lives and communities with better transportation”.
Developing innovation only happens with technology nowadays.
Naturally, they develop their own software, which is even more nuanced.
The majority of the intelligence sites of the closed roads’ vehicles are outside, on the cloud and infrastructure elements. So, the company develops a smooth interplay of vehicle and infrastructure elements. It makes technology magic happen.
A custom leading-edge software platform developed along with the necessary apps as parts of it runs on-premise, on robots, in the cloud, and in the hands of users.
Thus, Glydways has the benefit of first-mover innovation leadership in switching to electrification. Even Tesla’s technology is 5 years behind.
Forward Air
The company has operated in the market for over 40 years. It provides surface shipping for businesses of all sizes.
The company’s services include LTL, Expedited LTL, Full Truckload, Intermodal, Final Mile, and Brokerage services. They are already an integrated part of their clients’ supply chains. It became possible due to a superior level of service.
Their scalable and adaptable software provides their shipments' full track and trace visibility. The package includes
- ground-breaking trucking software,
- Electronic Data Interchange option for customer base forming and development,
- Crown Mobile module for drivers to exchange shipment details with them and
- integrated GPS mapping to track driver locations.
The software allows receiving electronic shipment tracking information whenever it’s needed.
ARDI EXPRESS.
ARDI Express is Clutch’s 2023 Global Award winner for the services of Warehousing and distribution among B2B service providers. The company specializes in fast goods delivery to the US warehouses of Amazon from China.
ARDI Express provides:
- Freight forwarding: Ocean & Sea and Door-to-door sea,
- DDU Shipment,
- DDP Shipment,
- LCL Shipping,
- LTL Shipping.
They also carry out cargo storage, counting, marking, and packaging products, drayage, and many more services to help businesses all over the world!
ARDI Express ensures high-quality logistics services thanks to the usage of modern-day software. Through the personal account, the client will be able to trace all the stages of order fulfillment from packaging and its scanning to dispatch.
Effective E-commerce Warehousing is impossible without innovative software solutions. ARDI Express has its own logistics WMS. It covers all the freight operations: getting the cargo into the warehouse, the management of the placement and storage of goods, tracking, picking, packaging, and shipment.
The software ensures the transparency of the supply chain and helps to inform customers about all the order processing stages. WMS identifies products with a high risk of return and ARDI Express organizes logistics operations to minimize them.
Ground-breaking software supports speedy warehouse operations even during periods of heavy loads. At the same time, the quality of the services provided remains unchanged.
FlixBus
We are honored to mention Flixbus here as a top transportation company. Having merged with another company in 2015, MeinFernbus became the №1 player in Germany's passenger transportation market. Today, the company operates in 40+ counties covering 2300 different destinations.
An innovative German forerunner in the area of passenger transportation uses a fairly powerful and flexible system of transport company management. It consists of 3 main components: the sales site, company management system, and API. The portal of agencies and partners is set in separate services which provide reports and statistics to partners and agencies’ representatives.
Besides, the company offers its passengers a simple but very interactive app. It has 3 sections: Station, Booking, and Information. The advantage of the app is that it’s intuitive and simple to use, and users don’t need to register to purchase a bus ticket.
Stfalcon Case Studies
Software is the key to business efficiency optimization and cost efficiency.
Busfor
Busfor is an online service for ticket sales operating in Ukraine, Europe, and South-East Asia. The client wanted to move away from using a mobile browser and trusted Stfalcon mobile app development for iOS and Android.
Our team used the existent high-quality adapted version of the company’s site for quick and effective native mobile application development without compromising quality.
Busfor successfully entered the mobile realm of bus ticket distribution. The company now services over 50000 routes across Ukraine and Europe. Busfor successfully entered the mobile realm of bus ticket distribution. The company now services over 50000 routes across Ukraine and Europe.
Read the full case study
BBGO
The client, a car ordering service, came to Stfalcon with a clear understanding of where he wants to move as a business. Our team helped them to identify the needs of the users, to study competitors and market leaders, and developed scenarios of app’s usage.
We also prepared screens’ designs, developed native iOS and Android apps, and created an API and a backend. In the process of development, we created a complete set of flexible services for launching the new system on the market. This allowed our client to develop the business further, optimize, and scale it.
Read the full case study
FAQs
How were the rankings and reviews determined for the top transport companies?
We have analyzed the recent ratings of Easyleadz and Clutch.co. We also investigated the present-day companies’ state and the software solutions they use.
What role does technology play in enhancing the efficiency and services of these transport companies?
The role of technology is huge. Since the transportation business is a multicomponent matter, digitization is possible at every stage. Technology allows you to compare and optimize routes, freighters, and costs. It also centralizes your business data, improves management, analytics, and reporting, enhances vehicle visibility and tracking, etc.
As a result, many processes can be automated and optimized, and costs cut.
What is the outlook for the future of the transport industry, and how are these companies positioning themselves for continued success?
As we have mentioned, the transport industry is going out of the freight recession. As to the companies, Fusion Transport stands the ground of a proactive, technology-based approach. They deal with storage, shipping, and supply chain, increasing their fleet and capacities.
Glydways develops autonomous technology. They equip their vehicles with many sensors specific to closed roads. They incorporate innovative design elements of their vehicles and optimize them. Their focus is to move lots of people comfortably, fast, reliably, and efficiently.
Forward is a leading ground transportation and shipping services provider. Besides, it's a trustworthy and cost-effective alternative to air transportation. The company goes on scaling its business.
Final Thoughts
Stfalcon has carried out several projects in the realm of transportation and logistics. We’ve got the highest appraisal from one of the clients, who noted that the software development process solved also many business problems for them. We are sure modern solutions are a must for present-day transportation companies. It’s their great chance to win in the highly-competitive market. As a company dealing with complex custom developments, Stfalcon is the right vendor if you are resolute to take the dare and win. Contact us to discuss all the details on a highly skilled level.
