Innovate to keep ahead of the competition, FTA urges logistics industry

Tuesday 25 April 2017

Failure to adapt to new technology and the solutions it offers could be a massive lost opportunity for freight and logistics operators, according to James Hookham, Deputy Chief Executive of the Freight Transport Association, the UK’s largest membership association in the freight sector with more than 16,000 members.  Speaking ahead of the Commercial Vehicle (CV) Show, Hookham urged businesses operating in the sector to ensure that they embrace new and innovative technological solutions to traditional challenges, in order to reinforce business efficiency and remain competitive in an increasingly pressurised operating environment.

“Freight and logistics has always been a highly competitive sector,” he said, “with operators looking for efficient solutions to cut down time spent on administration while maintaining the highest levels of compliance.  New technologies can provide welcome assistance in ensuring that goods are moved as efficiently as possible, and failing to grasp the opportunities which they present could be costly, especially in a trading environment which is set to become even more competitive as the UK leaves the European Union.

“Nowhere does technology have a more important role to play than in the implementation of DVSA’s new Earned Recognition scheme,” he continued. “With its history of compliance excellence and innovation, FTA is ideally placed to support the introduction of the scheme across the sector.  We’ve created a unique one-stop solution to help operators complete all the necessary steps to demonstrate they have achieved the required standard for Earned Recognition.  Using already-recognised markers of achievement such as Truck Excellence, combined with our leading compliance platform Vision, we are looking forward to advising and supporting anyone who wants to take part in the scheme.”

The co-ordination of systems and reporting processes for drivers’ hours and maintenance could prove daunting for operators at first glance, so FTA has partnered with R2C to provide an integrated Earned Recognition compliance solution for both vehicles and drivers.  Customers of R2C and FTA already enjoy access to market-leading platforms spanning all aspects of commercial vehicle compliance, and can now access an additional dashboard for Earned Recognition for maintenance or drivers’ hours.

And in a recent move in response to industry concerns over fragmentation, administration and the potential cost of pulling together the maintenance data required for Earned Recognition, FTA is considering creating an independent, industry-wide solution to this data challenge.  Visit FTA on stand 4F20 at the CV Show to find out more.

FTA’s presence at the Show also gives visitors the opportunity to understand more about FTA’s leading driver and fleet compliance platform, Vision, and discuss other ways in which technology can drive efficiency, cut costs, increase performance and reduce risk.

James Hookham said: “With Vision, 2+2 really can equal 5!  Through combining industry leading services such as tachograph analysis, vehicle inspection, training and licence checking, our management information platform integrates data to drive insights into operational efficiency.  Another powerful feature of Vision is the ability to benchmark your performance against your peers in easy to understand dashboards, at an industry, country, regional, sector or even depot level.”

To find out more, please visit FTA on stand 4F20 at the CV Show or go to www.fta.co.uk

FTA Press Office

01892 552255
press.office@fta.co.uk