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Using eCommerce to Maintain Good Service

by Don Dovgin

Today, most freight firms are focusing exclusively on using the Internet to automate relationships with their traditional customer base. Typically, they have gone online with their data on rate specials, flight schedules, load planning, used asset sales, claim filing instructions, company tracking and tracing, and shipment booking functionality. Also, a few are addressing suppliers with electronic procurement (eProcurement), while others are addressing employees’ needs with Internet access, web-based education and job postings.

At the same time, a host of informational web sites have sprung up providing abundant information on freight, logistics and transportation. Examples include the Bureau of Transportation Statistics’ www.bts.gov, the US Department of Transportation’s www.dot.gov and RailServe’s www.railserve.com. Impressive as they are, results like these will seem paltry as soon as the potential of Internet-based business plays out. By 2003, total eCommerce revenues are expected to top US $1.3 trillion, and while major consumer sites, such as eBay and Amazon.com, will continue to garner the greatest attention, savvy observers know the future — nearly 90% of it is in business-to-business sites.

eCommerce and uCommerce offer abundant opportunities for freight firms to deploy solutions in order to determine their own destinies. Although some solutions will help companies streamline internal processes, the most important ones will feature an external focus. To take the best advantage of the wired world’s new opportunities, carriers must understand these business models that are emerging now- they must decide how they can fit into them and then choose the tactical solutions that can make the models a reality.

The Bottom Line
Start with a new mindset that embraces change. Then adopt an approach that lets you think big, start smart and scale fast. Soon you will be on your way to a reinvented electronic reality and ready to react immediately whenever and to whatever forces of change come your way.

Customer Service

A recent survey by Traffic Management revealed that these attributes are what customers look for in their transportation service providers:

• On-time delivery
• Pricing options to better reflect costs
• Customer responsiveness
• Broad-based geographic coverage
• Single-source control
• Tracing capabilities

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