Transport planning for small hauliers

Good transport planning is all about getting the right vehicle and the right driver for the right job at the right time.

For a small haulier, planning often has to be done at short notice during the course of the day. A customer calls with an extra trip. A driver is running late. A pickup time changes. A vehicle is tied up for longer than expected.

That is why a transport planning system must, first and foremost, provide an overview.

What is transport planning?

Transport planning is the process of organising a company’s transport assignments.

It typically involves:

Which trips need to be made.

When they need to be made.

Which vehicle to use.

Which driver is to drive.

Where the trip starts.

Where the trip ends.

Which customer the trip is for.

How much the trip costs.

What documentation needs to be kept.

In small transport companies, much of this information can easily be managed manually.

However, as the number of trips increases, it quickly becomes difficult to maintain a complete overview.

Excel, a calendar or a transport management system?

Many hauliers start out with a phone, a calendar and Excel.

This can work well when the business has only a few trips.

The challenge is that the information often ends up in different places.

An address is in an email.

The driver receives information via text message.

The price is in a spreadsheet.

The waybill is in the vehicle.

The invoice has to be created later.

As a result, the same transport job is handled several times.

A transport management system, on the other hand, brings together all the information relating to the trips themselves.

How to plan a trip digitally

When a new transport job comes in, the trip can be created directly in the system.

Here, for example, the customer, the collection point, the delivery point and the time are recorded.

A vehicle and driver are then selected.

The driver can receive details of the trips, whilst the person responsible for planning can maintain an overview of the day’s other trips.

If the company has recurring trips, these can be set up as recurring trips so they do not have to be created manually each time.

More vehicles require a better overview

When a haulier moves from one vehicle to several, planning requirements change rapidly.

It becomes necessary to be able to see which vehicles are already booked.

The same applies to drivers.

If a job requires a specific type of vehicle, it must also be easy to identify the right one.

For example, a company may have vans, forklift trucks, refrigerated lorries or other vehicles with different characteristics.

Transport planning must therefore not only show whether a vehicle is available.

It must also make it easy to select the vehicle that is suitable for the job.

Recurring transport jobs

Many hauliers operate fixed trips.

This could, for example, be a daily delivery, a fixed distribution route or a customer who requires the same transport service every week.

If a trip is the same time and time again, it should not have to be created from scratch every time.

Recurring trips can save time whilst reducing the risk of information being overlooked.

From the day’s schedule to invoicing

Transport planning does not necessarily end once the driver has completed the trip.

The trip undertaken often needs to be documented and subsequently invoiced.

It therefore makes sense for planning and invoicing to be linked.

When a trip already includes the customer, price and details of the trip, this information can be reused once the trip is complete.

This reduces the need to enter the same information multiple times.

Transport planning with Boxboxbox

Boxboxbox has been developed for small hauliers and transport companies seeking a simple overview of their transport assignments.

Among other things, the system brings together trips, drivers, vehicles and invoicing.

The aim is not to make transport planning more technical.

The aim is to make day-to-day operations easier to manage.

Frequently asked questions

What is a transport planning system?

It is software that helps a transport company organise trips, drivers, vehicles, customers and other information relating to transport operations.

Can transport planning be used by small hauliers?

Yes. A simple transport management system can be useful even for businesses with just a few vehicles.

Can you plan recurring trips?

Yes. Recurring transport tasks can be set up so that the same trip does not need to be created manually each time.

Can different types of vehicles be used?

Yes. This may, for example, be relevant for companies with vans, refrigerated lorries, forklift trucks or other vehicles where specific tasks require specific vehicles.

What is the benefit of digital transport planning?

The main benefit is that information about trips, vehicles, drivers and customers can be gathered in one place, rather than being scattered across phones, emails, calendars, paper and spreadsheets.