Abstract
What is the efficiency potential of Information Communication Technology (ICT) in haulier operations?
Previous literature has focused on the aggregated level benefits that could be achieved once a large
proportion of hauliers have introduced ICT in their trucks. In reality, hauliers are only ready to invest in
technologies that generate business benefits, yet there is a gap in the literature regarding the linking of
technology to the actual efficiency improvement of hauliers. The purpose of this paper is to address this
gap and consider the potential of ICT to improve the activities in road freight transportation. The focus is
on the individual driver, and the level of analysis is the truck and driver activities. We have chosen time
as the primary measure of efficiency. We carried out three parallel research steps over a five-year period.
The first was a literature review on the potential effects of using state-of-the-art ICT as an enabler of
higher efficiency in road haulage operations. In the second step, detailed measurements of the hauliers’
daily activities were carried out in LTL transportation. In the third step, a framework was applied to
match the compiled potential achievements of ICT with the detailed time measurements of drivers’
activities in order to present potential improvement on this basis. This paper presents a unique
contribution to ICT in the haulier industry and provides extensive measurements of how time is actually
spent in road haulage operations.
Previous literature has focused on the aggregated level benefits that could be achieved once a large
proportion of hauliers have introduced ICT in their trucks. In reality, hauliers are only ready to invest in
technologies that generate business benefits, yet there is a gap in the literature regarding the linking of
technology to the actual efficiency improvement of hauliers. The purpose of this paper is to address this
gap and consider the potential of ICT to improve the activities in road freight transportation. The focus is
on the individual driver, and the level of analysis is the truck and driver activities. We have chosen time
as the primary measure of efficiency. We carried out three parallel research steps over a five-year period.
The first was a literature review on the potential effects of using state-of-the-art ICT as an enabler of
higher efficiency in road haulage operations. In the second step, detailed measurements of the hauliers’
daily activities were carried out in LTL transportation. In the third step, a framework was applied to
match the compiled potential achievements of ICT with the detailed time measurements of drivers’
activities in order to present potential improvement on this basis. This paper presents a unique
contribution to ICT in the haulier industry and provides extensive measurements of how time is actually
spent in road haulage operations.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1161-1168 |
| Journal | Computers in Industry |
| Volume | 65 |
| Issue number | 8 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2014 |
Subject classification (UKÄ)
- Other Mechanical Engineering
Free keywords
- Transport operations Road haulage Time efficiency Transport ICT