How Location Intelligence Streamlines Transport and Logistics Businesses

Location intelligence (LI) is a process of collecting and analyzing geospatial, GPS, and other location data and transforming it into actionable business insights. Organizations are embracing LI tools to increase their operational efficiency and strengthen business processes.

Transport and logistics companies are leveraging location intelligence to optimize their supply chain and reduce delays in deliveries. Maps and spatial analytics play an instrumental role in planning, managing, and monitoring the first and last mile deliveries.

Utilities of Location Intelligence for Logistics and Transportation

Let’s take a look at different ways in which location intelligence can assist transport and logistics businesses.

1) Ensuring On-time Delivery

Location intelligence software helps to streamline delivery to provide consistent and accurate predicted times of arrival. Fleet managers can leverage location data to reduce delivery time to the end-customer as well as control the loading and unloading time taken at warehouses.

In the case of inaccurate routes, companies can witness driver idling, late deliveries, or re-scheduling, thereby leading to overtime expenses and penalties. Uncovering traffic patterns and performing accident analysis is also possible with location analytics. Location intelligence is helping improve last-mile delivery, ensure on-time delivery, and result in better customer satisfaction.

2) Fleet and Driver Safety

Location technology enables seamless fleet management. It is vital to monitor driver behavior to limit potential liability and cost of operations. Real-time location intelligence via vehicle tracking is useful for field service businesses. GPS tracking will let you know the exact location of your vehicles at all times and view the estimated time of arrival (ETA). In the case of fleet safety, location analytics data can help protect assets with all-time visibility, alert if there is any unauthorized movement during off-hours, and provide theft detection.

3) Route Optimization

Long delays or difficult weather conditions can be risky while transporting shipments. Logistics companies can use LI platforms to optimize routes and provide vehicles with faster routes after considering key factors like weather, road, and traffic conditions. Location intelligence data, coupled with real-time traffic information, can offer a detailed picture of current road conditions that will impact the arrival times. The right LI tools will also provide data like optimal green times for traffic signals, potentially heavy traffic routes, closed roads, and newly opened roads. Companies can also get real-time insights and ETA predictions with live tracking.

4) Control Transportation Costs

The right location intelligence tools can reduce and control transportation costs as businesses get full visibility over their spending. Location intelligence data enables tracking expenses and helps analyze the cost to distance ratio. It helps in reducing costs associated with delays as it allows fleet managers to make informed decisions.

5) Monitor and Control Fuel Consumption

A report from the Office of Energy Efficiency on fleet vehicle idle time states that nearly 40% of their subject’s fleet vehicles idle time is 3-4 hours every day. On average, fuel represents 60% of a company’s total fleet operating budget; hence, it is essential to manage this expense to monitor and control fleet budgets. Real-time monitoring and predictive analytics of fuel consumption on certain routes help in calculating accurate fuel consumption.

Final Thoughts

The global fleet management market is expected to increase with the valuation of the sector, surpassing USD 29 billion by the end of 2030, according to a new report. Many organizations are already experiencing better customer engagement by harnessing the power of mapping technology. Improved productivity, efficiency, and reduced costs are the top benefits of location intelligence for logistics businesses.

Dista is an AI-enabled location intelligence platform that offers an array of solutions to improve fleet management and optimize last mile deliveries. Click here for a demo.

Sneha Bokil

Sneha is a Content Strategy Lead at Dista. She is responsible for all things content and works closely with the product team. In her spare time, you can find her talking about plants, podcasts, and her next travel plans.