Published by Todd Bush on December 1, 2022
New report finds high fuel cost is motivating supply chain professionals to consider adding electric or semi-electric trucks to the fleet
Fear of cost increases continues; Driver shortages remain a challenge
CAMPBELL, Calif., Dec. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- DispatchTrack, the global leader in last mile delivery solutions, released a new report, the Last Mile Sustainability Perspective, which explores how supply chain organizations are currently thinking about last mile operations amid accelerating economic headwinds. The study pays particular attention to how organizations are thinking about sustainability and optimization today as well as other factors impacted by the current economic climate including rising costs and driver shortages. Findings are based on a survey of over 140 supply chain professionals from a variety of industries conducted in October and November.
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Despite growing inflation, 77% of companies claim to be prioritizing sustainability or have plans to do so in the coming year, a notable jump from 69% in August. Even more, 8 in 10 supply chain organizations currently have sustainability efforts underway. And, while many of those believe they are making progress, less than half (38%) of the companies surveyed are able to actually measure the results of their efforts.
It appears electric or semi-electric trucks (EVs) aren't among the sustainability strategies underway. Findings signal supply chain professionals are hesitant to add EVs to their fleets. Only 14% are using or have plans to use EVs in the near term, though nearly half acknowledged they don't know enough about EVs to make a decision. Limited charging stations and worries about running out of miles top the list of their concerns. Strikingly, the report found 85% of companies would consider adding EVs in order to save on fuel costs. Far fewer (60%) would consider using EVs to reduce their fleet's carbon emissions.
The report also explored business outlook and found rising operating costs were far more concerning than demand reduction. Three-quarters ranked rising costs as their top concern while 37% pointed to reduced demand. The group identified a number of areas where last mile operations can be better optimized for cost savings including delivery execution (42%), customer communication (41%), and routing (40%). The report also found the vast majority of supply chain organizations (73%) still struggle with driver shortages, though not as significantly as the previous year.
"There's no question the economy is having a major impact on all aspects of business and the supply chain certainly is no exception. Everyone is facing pressure to do more with less. At the same time, the C-suite recognizes that the last mile delivery experience is crucial to customer retention so they have to find a way to reduce costs without breaking their promise to customers," said Satish Natarajan, DispatchTrack co-founder and CEO. "Fortunately, a superior delivery experience and cost efficiency aren't an either/or. Route optimization not only ensures deliveries are made on time but is also critical to cost savings by reducing miles driven and trucks on the road, which also happens to cut carbon emissions."
Key findings from the report include:
The online survey was conducted via SurveyMonkey October 18th – November 2nd, 2022 among 142 logistics professionals. Industries include furniture and appliances, 3PLs, building supplies, medical, agriculture, auto parts, and food, beverage, and grocery distribution. Employee sizes ranged from 1-10, 11-50, 51-100, and 100+.
DispatchTrack is the global leader in last mile delivery solutions, helping top brands around the globe power successful deliveries 180 million times a year. Since 2010, DispatchTrack's scalable SaaS platform has made delivery organizations more connected, agile, and intelligent using highly configurable capabilities designed to empower better delivery management from end to end. Our proprietary AI-powered routing algorithm ensures 98% ETA accuracy in last mile deliveries, and we're constantly innovating to improve performance and better serve our 2,000+ global customers, including Walmart, Coca-Cola, Ashley, Ferguson Enterprises, Cargill, McCain Foods, and many others. When businesses make promises to their customers—DispatchTrack makes sure they deliver.
You can follow DispatchTrack on LinkedIn and Twitter.
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