Digital transformation in transport, a matter of culture, collaboration and trust

Digital transformation in transport is one of the great challenges facing the sector. However, far from being a priority, companies do not perceive it as an urgent issue. Why is this happening?

The celebration of the 24th National Transport Forum organized by the Association of Manufacturers and Distributors, AECOC, served to shed some light on this issue.

Will digital transformation in transportation gain speed?

During the meeting it became clear that companies in the transport and logistics sector are still dependent on the use of paper, mainly due to resistance to change.

However, the experts who participated in the round table ‘The challenge of digital management in transport’ were optimistic and assured that this situation is already changing.

In this sense, the experts, managers of companies that have already begun the process of digital transformation, explained that digitisation goes beyond moving from paper to a digital format, but that it involves a change of mentality and bringing the digital transformation to all levels of the company and to all links in the chain.

Causes of the low rate of digital competence in transportation

As pointed out by Angel Soret, Deputy Director General of Road and Rail Transport Inspection of the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, there are several factors that account for the low rate of digital competence in transport.

One of the most salient is that the transport business ecosystem in Spain is made up of many small companies, for which tackling digitalisation is a major challenge.

On the other hand, the second factor is the sector’s lack of conviction about the advantages that digital transformation brings to companies, despite the existence of success stories that validate the benefits of digitalisation.

Benefits of digital transformation in transportation

During this round table discussion, the main competitive advantages of digitising the entire transport process were outlined:

• Increased efficiency in the supply chain. Digitisation optimises processes, resulting in cost and time reductions.
• Increased sustainability by reducing the use of paper. Having an integrated system that manages all logistics will reduce the carbon footprint by having more efficient routes.
• Improved customer service. This is one of the main objectives of any company, and digitalisation, by simplifying processes and providing more and better information, makes it possible to improve this aspect.

The challenge of document digitalization

Among the challenges of digital transformation in transportation, the challenge of document digitalization stands out.

Despite the fact that the use of electronic transport documents is fully supported by regulation, their use is very low among companies.

To find out the reasons for this situation, AECOC posed a question to the companies: “What factors hinder the adoption of digital documentation in transportation? The answers focused on:

• The existence of doubts about how to develop a digitization project, with 45.24% (45.24%).
• The non-existence of a standard that obliges companies, with 37.3% of companies
• Customers and suppliers do not require it, with 11.9%.
• Fear of a roadside inspection, with 5.56%.

How to face a digital transformation process in transportation

Many companies do not know how to approach a digital transformation project, mainly because of the difficulty of involving the entire team, both internal and external, in the implementation of solutions.

Thus, coinciding with the results of the AECOC survey, in the ‘I Study on the Degree of eCMR Implementation’, the majority of companies (33.33%) with eCMR recognised change management as the biggest challenge when implementing eCMR solutions, above costs or data security.

In this regard, the round table participants agreed that the most important thing when starting a digital transformation is to convince the general management and start with small projects that involve a low investment, but provide a high degree of learning.

It is also essential to involve the entire team to make the entire digital transformation a success. They also pointed out the need to involve suppliers, transport partners and customers.

Mandatory use of electronic transport document

During the 24th AECOC Transport Congress, the paradox that the transport sector is the only sector that waits for a regulation before applying a technology was also highlighted.

Normally, he explained, technologies are applied and then the Administration develops the regulation. On the other hand, the transport sector is waiting until it becomes mandatory to implement a document digitalization solution, even though it is aware of the many advantages it brings.

In this same sense, if we look at the results of the I Study on the Degree of Implementation of eCMR in Spain, 60.91% of the companies were waiting in 2024 for the entry into force of the mandatory use of the electronic control document, marked by the Sustainable Mobility Law.

Change leadership

Another issue of particular relevance to the success of digitalisation in road freight transport is the lack of benchmarks.

Although this round table has witnessed three successful cases of digital transformation, two of them from FIELDEAS, the truth is that many companies are waiting for their own customers or suppliers to require them to use electronic documentation.

Roadside inspections

Although regulations have allowed for years now the presentation of a QR code to security officers at roadside checkpoints to show the control document, the truth is that the industry is still very dependent on paper for this procedure.

Therefore, this fear reflected in the AECOC survey is unfounded and only requires, once again, a change of mentality and proper change management.

Collaboration, communication and trust

The 24th AECOC Transport Congress provided an opportunity to learn about success stories in building connected digital ecosystems.

Within these ecosystems, communication and collaboration are key. In fact, the most repeated advice is that if you start a digitisation project without involving your internal team and your collaborators and customers, the whole chain, it is likely to fail.

Likewise, another barrier to be overcome in the digital transformation of transportation is the lack of trust when it comes to sharing data. Companies that have already embarked on such projects recognize that interoperability has been a stumbling block and that a trust exercise for supply chain efficiency is essential to make it viable.

FIELDEAS Track and Trace as an ally of digital transformation in transport

At FIELDEAS we have the Track and Trace solution, a Supply Chain Visibility platform that drives the digital transformation of road freight transport.

This end-to-end solution enables all companies in the supply chain to gain real-time visibility of all operations, from point of origin to final delivery, by monitoring key information.

In this way, FIELDEAS Track and Trace helps you to improve operational efficiency, reduce costs and increase customer satisfaction.

Likewise, one of our great differentiating values is the accompaniment of our clients throughout the implementation process of each of our solutions, both at a technical and human level, as we are aware that change management is the real key to the success of digital transformation.

SeamLess eCMR

FIELDEAS Track and Trace includes our SeamLess eCMR module, the most advanced transport document digitalisation solution on the market in terms of information processing, reliability of records and legal guarantee in their custody.

The FIELDEAS SeamLess eCMR Track and Trace:

• It provides a complete view of the loading and unloading process with full legal guarantee.
• Streamline logistics processes with electronic documentation.
• Reduces administrative management costs by up to 90%.
• It facilitates the processing of information by digitizing information that until now was handled on paper.
• Eliminates errors in the transmission of documentary information between the different actors in the chain.
• It provides greater transparency with customers by making all the documentation available to whoever needs it without further intermediaries.
• Drives sustainability in transportation processes by proposing a paperless environment.