MISSISSAUGA, Ontario, May 18, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- An increase in e-commerce sales of up to 27.6% in the last year is causing transportation and logistics (T&L) companies tremendous strain as they work to fulfill a surge in orders due to the global pandemic. To scale their businesses and deal with changing consumer and business behaviors, a new global research report by mobile and IoT management solutions provider, SOTI, found that 74% of T&L companies had already begun to invest in mobile technology, wearables and IoT solutions in 2020. A significant 80% plan to continue to invest in mobile technology throughout 2021.
The Mobilizing the Delivery Workforce: State of Mobility in T&L 2021 Report interviewed 550 IT decision-makers in the T&L industry across eight countries (U.S., Canada, Mexico, UK, Germany, France, Sweden and Australia), to understand the trends and solutions that are driving their organizations and how the pandemic affected operations.
Legacy Systems Not Integrated With New Investments Continue to Hinder Success and Result in Employees Losing Two Days of Work Per Month Due to Mobile Device Downtime
Despite this widespread investment in technology from T&L companies in 2020 and 2021, SOTI’s research indicated that this investment was not delivering the desired outcomes, with respondents suggesting that a lack of integration with existing systems is limiting productivity, creating siloed workflows and ultimately causing workers to lose valuable time when out in the field.
The delay due to mobile device downtime has led to 98% of global employees losing valuable work hours. Nearly one-third (32%) state that the main cause of downtime that cause shipping delays is the lack of IT support to address mobile device downtime issues, and self-serve applications that allow drivers to diagnose and troubleshoot device issues independently while they are on the road. On average, organizations are losing 3.3 hours per employee each work week dealing with technical or system difficulties (device downtime), with a global average of 14 hours lost per employee per month.
Average Downtime Around the Globe Among T&L Companies (Per Employee):
| Canada | 17 hours per month |
| U.S. | 15 hours per month |
| UK | 15 hours per month |
| Germany | 15 hours per month |
| Sweden | 15 hours per month |
| France | 12 hours per month |
| Mexico | 11 hours per month |
“The pandemic put a spotlight on the need for an integrated technology strategy,” said Shash Anand, VP of Product Strategy, SOTI. “While we are seeing a clear investment in technology from T&L companies, we are not seeing a cohesive strategy for the implementation of new tech to counteract the repercussions of the pandemic. It is crucial for T&L decision-makers to understand that by not taking these factors into account, their organizations are wasting time and leaving money and productivity on the table.”
Transportation and Logistics Companies Reliant on Pen and Paper Processes Making Errors
Once investments have been made, an even bigger cause of employee downtime is the lack of integration with existing systems. This creates inefficiencies, often causing employees to rely on paper-based processes, causing further inefficiencies and room for manual errors. The following examples were more frequently cited:
- 45% say staff are updating multiple systems manually
- 31% say legacy tech is not fully integrated with new systems
- 29% say that information is not shared across all systems used
When asked about the issues causing downtime and delaying shipments, T&L employees cited the following:
- Updated information is not automatically shared across all the systems used (28%)
- There is a lack of staff training on the usage of technology (26%)
- Systems are not upgraded frequently enough (24%)
“There is a clear disconnect from the technology that T&L companies recognize they need, to the seamless adoption into their existing infrastructure,” continued Anand. “With an integrated mobility and IoT management platform, T&L companies are not only able to increase speed, but also minimize costs and ensure transparency in the delivery channel..”
SOTI’s Mobilizing the Delivery Workforce: State of Mobility in T&L 2021 Report can be downloaded here.
Report Methodology
Commissioned by SOTI, Arlington Research, an independent market research agency, conducted 550 interviews using an online methodology among IT Managers, IT Directors, Senior Management and C-Suite (all disciplines) working in the T&L vertical across eight countries. All respondents are aged 18 and over and work in companies with 50 or more global employees. Fieldwork was conducted March 18 to 30, 2021. The 550 interviews were split across eight markets as follows: U.S., Canada, Mexico, UK, Germany, France, Sweden and Australia.
About SOTI
SOTI is the world’s most trusted provider of mobile and IoT management solutions, with more than 17,000 enterprise customers and millions of devices managed worldwide. SOTI’s innovative portfolio of solutions and services provide the tools organizations need to truly mobilize their operations and optimize their mobility investments. SOTI extends secure mobility management to provide an integrated solution to manage and secure all mobile devices and connected peripherals in an organization.
For media enquiries, please contact:
SOTI Media Relations
press@soti.net
1 (519) 998-1966