Transport providers unable to resource your needs due to the driver shortage could affect getting your goods delivered when your customer needs it.
Hauliers may pick and choose delivery lanes and leave the too difficult or uneconomic deliveries. They may even dictate when those deliveries will be made.
Save costs – don’t create them
The same is true for an outsourced core fleet solution with fixed costs or an open-book arrangement. In both cases, the single operator is also more exposed to the driver shortage than multiple asset operators in different parts of the country.
A single-provider haulage solution for national coverage would usually require contracting with the large-scale providers where you would be very distant from the decision-makers and competing against other large-scale customers for a finite resource.
The driver shortage has not gone away, with market volumes significantly down, this has given the illusion that the issue is resolved.
However, significant shortages just prior to Christmas with a last-minute peak has clearly demonstrated that the shortage is still a significant issue just under the surface, and could stifle recovery and growth, in 2023.
How to combat the driver shortage
One option for companies is to utilise a 4LP solution where a single management organisation employs multiple logistics partners to deliver the service on your behalf.
This solution provides all the benefits of a single provider but has multiple options for all delivery points and types, spreading the risk with no single point of failure.
The question you need to be asking is do you currently have access to these key logistic elements?
Take this quiz below and see what your results are.
- Are you able to transport your goods or your customer’s goods locally or nationally around the UK or into Europe?
- Do you have a range of vehicle and equipment types to service your customers?
- Do you supply to difficult or more challenging areas and locations across the country
- Do you struggle to operate a core fleet of your own
- Have you faced the challenge of variations in demand within a week across a month or seasonally?
- Are you currently managing multiple suppliers to enable you to deliver to your customers and can’t find a single provider who can or wants to do it all?
- Use different companies to deliver different consignment sizes?
If you answered YES to any of the above X2 will be able to help you.
Knowing when to scale up your logistics
In the face of driver shortages and everything else, don’t waste time solving problems that eat into your time. X2 can offer bespoke solutions that fit your supply chain, no matter the size or the demand.
If you’d like to discuss your logistical options from 3PL to 4PL or even general haulage questions, get in touch with us today and we’ll be happy to guide you through your best solution.
