Managing business operations is becoming quite a costly affair, particularly with the advent of digitization. While you’re running the business amid present-day scenarios, what is the key requirement? You might think of the mobile application or web app. Businesses have to spend a lot of bucks on creating a digital presence and offering services online to remain updated.
If we talk about the logistics industry, traditional ways of managing a business like manual bookkeeping and fuel consumption-based tracking have almost gone. The owners have shifted to digital apps. They constantly seek uber truck apps offering solutions like real-time tracking, accounting and bookkeeping, updated navigation, and more.
Are you thinking of the cost involved to develop such high-end apps? You might need to invest thousands of dollars in branding and app handling. Not just this, if you’re owning multiple trucks, the costs come multi-folded. Think of multiplying expenses related to fuel, maintenance, and transportation to a lot of trucks. Seems challenging, right?
However, every challenge has a possible solution, and here’s a list of ways you can attain cost-cutting.
1. Plan a Well-defined Budget
Like every business, start your trucking business operations by creating a well-outlined budget. Make a list of all the expected costs you could require to spend while running business activities.
While you’re budgeting, it’s always a better idea to divide the whole into two, that is fixed expenses and fluctuating ones. Allocate money to every department. Common fixed costs include insurance, licenses, and more that are incurred after every fixed period. The fluctuating expenses may or may not occur such as getting tyres repaired, fixing a broken part, or getting oil done.
Budgeting done rightly will help you understand the expenses better and aid in being economical succeedingly.
2. Develop App Based on Market Niche
What niche does your trucking business aim at? While you think of logistic app development, the industry you’re working in is the greatest determiner of features to be included. The logistics app could be built with several features such as automated accounting, GPS tracking, fuel monitoring, real-time truck tracking, driver monitoring, and more. The more high-ended features you opt for integrating, the more app development will cost you.
For instance,
- If it’s related to fish transportation, you will need to choose between the dry van business or the fresh produce and ask for building features accordingly.
- If it’s related to water, you need to think of developing an app consisting of features like determining volume, monitoring tanker capacity, measuring capacity used, and more.
- Other niches could be loaded trucks, mining machines, etc.
3. Regular Maintenance
It isn’t any out-of-the-head thing that timely maintenance is necessary for every business. While you’re involved in the trucking business, maintenance can help you avoid constant repair costs. If you’re expecting your truck to run consistently for a long time, you will need to get it repaired at regular intervals. This optimizes the performance of the truck and helps improve its fuel efficiency.
You should constantly monitor the truck’s condition and check if:
- Tyres are inflated accurately
- The truck is lubricated properly
- Oil levels are appropriate
- The lights are in good condition
- The radiator is functioning well (The truck is getting enough cooling effect)
4. Adapt Fuel-saving Techniques
You can’t deny the fact that fuel is an essential element of your trucking business, no matter how costlier it gets over time. Therefore, it is necessary for you to form and implement fuel-saving strategies.
Among several fuel-efficient techniques, the most common one followed by drivers is to opt for precise routes and directions. If the driver selects the wrong route or a comparatively longer route, it might require more fuel. Thus, they must be trained enough to find the best possible route and continuously examine to find better ones.
Following are a few other fuel-cutting methods:
- Minimize the time you keep your truck idle to power climate control during the night
- Investing in technology like fuel desks to identify the nearby fuel stations
- Integrate app features that determine the fuel needs of the truck
- Limit the speed as it is the main reason for higher fuel consumption
- Buy a truck with large or dual tanks
- Monitor MPG regularly
5. Enlist Insurance/Theft Prevention Ways
Thieves are always up with newer techniques and better ideas to commit cargo theft from your freights. The only way to escape this is by being aware of how truckers/drivers can be easy targets by robbers.
The common theft prevention methods to be considered by business owners, as well as drivers, include:
- Determining and protecting commonly stolen goods
- Tie-up with legitimate transportation partners
- Employ well-trained personnel
- Schedule employee training programs regularly
6. Build a Trucking Dispatch Software
Every trucking business owner thinks of getting a productive, yet smart solution to manage operations effectively. One such fully automated solution is trucking dispatch software. It works as a digital solution to monitor expenses, measure truck mileage, monitor drivers, prepare invoices, and more.
Moreover, if you’re out of time and often miss out on repair intervals, the trucking dispatch software is all that you need to install. It keeps you updated about the maintenance cycle and prevents you from facing huge servicing costs.
7. Track and Revise Budget
Budgeting is not a one-time affair. As an owner and operator of a trucking business, you need to perform budgeting at regular intervals. It’s always a better idea to track your expenses and incomes, know how they’re made, find alternatives if you can cut the costs anyway, and revise accordingly.
While referring to the P&L statement and Balance Sheet, you might come up with expenses such as subscriptions that are no more required. Thus, this method essentially helps in cost-cutting at greater levels.
8. Focus More on Insourcing and Limit Outsourcing
As far as it is concerned with insourcing and outsourcing, time and financial aspects affect the most to make a decision. Every task cannot be performed by the internal team, whereas, every small work can’t be done by outsourcing the experienced people. Owners have to analyze the situation and decide accordingly.
If you’ve got a skilled internal team that can perform key tasks required, it is always a better option to get it done through insourcing. Assess the task to be performed, whether it is mapping fuel consumption or servicing inquiry. Determine the skill set of your in-house employees and know if they have enough managerial abilities to perform the needed tasks.
Opting for outsourcing to a great extent could lead to excessive costs. However, if you have a lot of areas to focus on and feel short on time, you must reach a professional institution for the necessary work.
9. Train Your Drivers
Drivers are most responsible for the cost-cutting as they’re directly connected with the running of trucks. Owner-operators must train them about how to select the right routes, ways to optimize fuel consumption, accurate tire pressure, idling period, acceleration amounts, and more. If the driver has knowledge about such things, they can contribute a huge portion to reducing the marginal costs.
Final Thoughts
While involved in the trucking business, cost-cutting could seem simpler at the beginning, however, you need to focus on a lot many methods. The operations at such a business are more confusing and hectic at times. You have to manage your spending wisely by counting every bit of your expenses.
If you’re seeking trucking clone app development solutions, you must connect with aPurple. Functional solutions offered by the company will help you manage your finances and security all at once. Their proficient team will understand your niche and needs and develop the app accordingly. Even if you want to develop a high-performing app, aPurple will assist with an easy-to-operate app to help you simplify your tasks. It will lend you digitized logistic app services that assist with numerous features to meet all your needs.
