Process work for logistics and transport companies

Logistics runs on events: scans, delays, handovers, signatures. The work that goes wrong is the work in between, where one system knows something and a person finds out a day later.

Where the time usually hides

• Exception handling. A delay is detected by the customer calling, not by the tracking system. Staff then re-key the answer from a carrier portal.
• Proof of delivery. Signed documents arrive as photos or PDFs and are matched to invoices by hand, which holds up billing.
• Quotes and bookings. Rates are copied between email, a spreadsheet and the TMS.
• Billing disputes. The paper trail for a disputed charge lives in four inboxes.

What we look at first

We start with the exception path, not the happy path. A shipment that arrives on time costs almost nothing to manage. The shipment that is late, damaged or refused is where staff time goes, and it is where a map shows the most. Our logistics process map shows a typical delay-and-exception flow with its loops and approval step.

Next

For the improvement work, see process improvement for logistics companies. For a practical guide to the automation side, read workflow automation for logistics. A worked example is the delay alerts case study.

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