If you run a transport company, you’ll be well aware of the many expenses involved in your day-to-day operations. And when you’re looking for an edge over your 60,000 competitors on the roads in the UK, you’d always rather cut those than raise your service costs.
Trying to avoid upping prices for your customers means streamlining your expenses but, when you’re used to doing things in certain ways, it can be hard to identify in which areas you can save money. That’s where we come in. Here, we’ll explore some of those avenues and empower you to handle difficult economic times by making savings.
Find cheap fuel or alternatives
Fuel prices remain at a frustrating high due to the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which continues to make things difficult for transport businesses. Prices rose to an all-time high in July 2022 and, while they’ve dropped since, refuelling is still costly. That’s why shopping around to get the cheapest fuel is a must when it comes to keeping your expenses to a minimum.
It might be a good time to look into switching to using fully electric vehicles to transport your goods. The gradual shift away from fossil fuels is on its way to becoming less gradual. Not only would making the switch boost your business’s eco-friendly credentials but it could help you save money, with the running costs of electric vehicles usually lower than more traditional models.
Driver training
While you can also consider appropriate levels of transport insurance for dealing with the aftermath of accidents, investing in your drivers to prevent accidents is just as valuable. The fewer accidents on the road, the fewer expenses you’ll have from them – not to mention that more efficient drivers can make their fuel go further. This could look like accelerating more gently, driving at lower speeds or slowing down naturally instead of slamming on the brakes.
Optimise your routes
Creating shorter routes for your drivers means transportation of goods takes less time. This could allow you to save on driver wages and fuel, reducing the overall cost of each of your successful deliveries. Simple ways to optimise your routes include the following:
- Plan deliveries according to delivery types like kerbside or contactless deliveries
- Create a route that puts delivery addresses in the most efficient order
- Make sure you’re utilising all the space in each vehicle so thateach driver can deliver more parcels
- Analyse your data and track logistics to help spot potential delays, so you can take action and become more efficient next time a driver goes along a specific route
