Advanced Resource Planning Changes the Ball Game

In today’s world of dedicated logistics, customers require more than a fancy sales pitch and marketing presentation to outsource their deliveries.  Detailed modeling and a proof of concept is normally required before a company will sign a contract and hand over the keys to their shipping operations.  Dedicated carriers are expected to know the latest trends in shipping and to use advanced planning tools to operate fleets at a lower cost.

It’s not enough to know that approximately 50 trucks and 70 drivers will be needed to operate a dedicated account.  If the estimate is off by 10%, who eats the cost for an additional 5 trucks and 7 drivers?  If the cost is absorbed by the client, are they as likely to offer additional business or award contract extensions to the carrier?  Chances are not very good.

Carriers that use advanced resource planning to demonstrate their capabilities and solution design have the upper hand in bidding new business each and every time. In ever-increasing numbers, these carriers are turning to Appian Logistics Software.  According to the 2008 Top 50 Logistics Companies list published by Transport Topics magazine, 9 of the top 20 Logistics Companies use Appian solutions to bid on new business and to manage their contract fleet operations. 

We sat down with VP’s, Business Development Managers, Analysts, and Dispatchers at major logistics companies to determine how to solve the complicated problem of competitive bid design with a fast turnaround time.  We found a universal problem. Customers did not want to wait two weeks to see an initial resource plan and another two weeks for a refined solution.  And, carriers themselves did not want to present a solution plan that was haphazard and open to risk due to errors or faulty assumptions.

Factors such as delivery windows, capacities, rolling DOT rules, slip-seating, and truck schedules had to be included for the resource modeling to be effective.  Trying to create a competitive bid by shifting stops and routes between trucks and drivers while continually re-calculating delivery times, capacities, and DOT hours was daunting – not to mention a huge opportunity for miscalculations.

Most companies attacked the problem with a team of analysts while sub-dividing the overall solution.  Any revisions to the plan or modeling scenarios required extensive man-hours and double and triple checking the plans for accuracy.

Enter Appian’s Direct Route and Resource Pro. . .a tool set that combines route and resource optimization and allows multiple scenarios to be modeled quickly and accurately.  Users could now provide detailed resource plans and effective presentations to their customers with the confidence that the calculations were accurate and included all updates.

This changed the ball game.  Carriers could go to their customers and provide a detailed solution design quickly and customers left with a sense of confidence that the carrier could handle their logistics operations.  Today, many leading logistics companies use advanced resource planning to both bid new accounts and to adjust fleet requirements based on business and volume changes.  These tools help carriers optimize resources and get their customers products to market as efficiently as possible.

For a free software demonstration or to discuss your specific initiatives:
Call:      1-800-893-1250 Ext. 110
E-mail:  sales@appianlogistics.com