Running head: NEW CHALLENGES WITHIN TRANSPORTATION AND LOGISTICS MANAGEMENT1 NEW CHALLENGES WITHIN TRANSPORTATION AND LOGISTICS MANAGEMENT8 New Challenges within Transportation and Logistics Management October 6, 2018 Abstract The area of transportation and logistics management is one of the most important spheres in today’s society. Succinctly, the activities of this realm immensely contribute to the sustenance of the global economy and to the success of an innumerable sum of businesses all over the globe. While logistics operations remain critical, various developments have had an unwanted impact on the smooth flow of transportation activities in the recent past. In particular, rising costs of transportation, challenges processing vast quantities of information, workforce management concerns, and challenges in complying with regulations have posed significant concerns for logistics managers these days. On a positive note, various measures that transportation companies can put into practice to address such concerns are available. If implemented fully, transportation firms can avoid these challenges, hence enabling their operations to run smoothly. H New Challenges within Transportation and Logistics Management Introduction The realm of transportation and logistics management is perceived to be one of the most critical areas in the contemporary world, and justifiably so. Logistics is a reference to the manner in which the flow of goods from one point to another is managed so that the needs of customers can be lived up to as efficiently as possible (Christopher, 2016). For logistics to be run in an effective and efficient manner, an array of parties involved in any given supply chain has to take part. However, although there is no doubting the fact that logistics plays an essential role in the facilitation of trade and contributing to the realization of successful business undertakings, logistics managers continue to grapple with mounting challenges in their efforts to come up with and maintain efficient and effective approaches to logistics. Thus, this paper seeks to attain an enhanced comprehension of these challenges by seeking cogent responses to this research question: what are the new challenges facing logistics managers and how can they be tackled? Literature Review Research indicates that logistics managers have to contend with a wide spectrum of challenges in their efforts to see to it that they attain optimum outcomes these days. Waters and Rinsler (2014) noted in their study that cutting costs of transportations continue to be cited by logistics managers to be one of the greatest challenges in their area of operation, and with good reason. Rising prices of fuel, increased remunerations, as well as climaxing inflation indexes, continue to work with each other to bring about a surge in the costs of transportation. As such, for logistics managers to ensure the effective and efficient running of their operations, t.

1. Running head: NEW CHALLENGES WITHIN
TRANSPORTATION AND LOGISTICS MANAGEMENT1
NEW CHALLENGES WITHIN TRANSPORTATION AND
LOGISTICS MANAGEMENT8
New Challenges within Transportation and Logistics
Management
October 6, 2018
Abstract
The area of transportation and logistics management is one of
the most important spheres in today’s society. Succinctly, the
activities of this realm immensely contribute to the sustenance
of the global economy and to the success of an innumerable sum
of businesses all over the globe. While logistics operations
remain critical, various developments have had an unwanted
impact on the smooth flow of transportation activities in the
recent past. In particular, rising costs of transportation,
challenges processing vast quantities of information, workforce
management concerns, and challenges in complying with
regulations have posed significant concerns for logistics
managers these days. On a positive note, various measures that
transportation companies can put into practice to address such
concerns are available. If implemented fully, transportation
firms can avoid these challenges, hence enabling their

2. operations to run smoothly.
H
New Challenges within Transportation and Logistics
Management
Introduction
The realm of transportation and logistics management is
perceived to be one of the most critical areas in the
contemporary world, and justifiably so. Logistics is a reference
to the manner in which the flow of goods from one point to
another is managed so that the needs of customers can be lived
up to as efficiently as possible (Christopher, 2016). For
logistics to be run in an effective and efficient manner, an array
of parties involved in any given supply chain has to take part.
However, although there is no doubting the fact that logistics
plays an essential role in the facilitation of trade and
contributing to the realization of successful business
undertakings, logistics managers continue to grapple with
mounting challenges in their efforts to come up with and
maintain efficient and effective approaches to logistics. Thus,
this paper seeks to attain an enhanced comprehension of these
challenges by seeking cogent responses to this research
question: what are the new challenges facing logistics managers
and how can they be tackled?
Literature Review
Research indicates that logistics managers have to contend with

3. a wide spectrum of challenges in their efforts to see to it that
they attain optimum outcomes these days. Waters and Rinsler
(2014) noted in their study that cutting costs of transportations
continue to be cited by logistics managers to be one of the
greatest challenges in their area of operation, and with good
reason. Rising prices of fuel, increased remunerations, as well
as climaxing inflation indexes, continue to work with each other
to bring about a surge in the costs of transportation. As such,
for logistics managers to ensure the effective and efficient
running of their operations, the majority of them have been
forced to spend increasingly vast sums of money.
Further, another prominent challenge that regularly crops up
within transportation and logistics management these days
relates to the processing of vast quantities of information.
According to the findings of Wang et al. (2016), logistics
managers must handle an immense quantity of data and figures
every single day, in addition to the coordination of smooth
discharge of tasks, these days. Succinctly, logistics managers’
range of work is quite vast today and more often than not
entails seeing to it that the fleet and staff are safe, making sure
that the fleet is loaded, double-checking route maps, among
others. In situations in which these roles are executed manually,
such an approach has the potential to result in the consumption
of too much time and cause tedium, hence taking the focus of
the manager away from the important details to which they are
always expected to pay great attention.
Additionally, the management of workforce also represents an
immense challenge to logistics managers today. Although
challenges in managing workers tend to be evident in virtually
every given managerial system, the concerns are often amplified
when it comes to logistics management. This is owing to the
fact that drivers, as well as other employees, are more often
than not placed in diverse geographical places with a view to
maintaining rapid supply chain speed. Finally, Speranza (2018)
deduced in his study that compliance with regulations is a
significant challenge for logistics managers nowadays.

4. Regulations, security standards, as well as rules, that govern the
sphere of transportation tend to vary from one city to another,
from one state to another, and, as one may have predicted, from
one nation to another. In particular, in case an organization
serves different clients all over the globe, staying abreast of the
varying rules and regulations, as well as ensuring that one’s
pool of workers is familiar with them, can be very challenging.
Put together, these challenges represent some of the most
disconcerting developments in the realm of transportation and
logistics management.
Discussion
It is clear that numerous new challenges exist within
transportation and logistics management. If not addressed the
right way, all of the existing challenges have the potential to
have far-reaching negative implications for companies that offer
transportation services. Due to such unsavory possibilities, it
has become increasingly imperative that transportation
businesses pay a great deal of attention to such matters lest they
risk finding themselves in undesirable positions (Christopher,
2016). Transportation companies provide critical services to
clients who need a wide range of products to be moved from one
place to another. Usually, these clients expect excellent service
from the companies that they work with because they often pay
huge sums of money. Consequently, transportation businesses
that fail to live up to the frequently evolving demands of
customers risk suffering various unwanted outcomes or even
fade into operational oblivion.
For businesses involved in the realm of transportation and
logistics management to remain a cut above their competitors
and to enjoy longevity in this critical societal area, they must
prove that they are dynamic enough to evolve and to streamline
their operations in line with the transformations in the industry.
Of course, not all developments in the industry have a negative
aspect to them (Grant, 2012). Nevertheless, in situations in
which worrying phenomena crop up as shown through the new
challenges facing logistics managers, organizations have to act

5. though the implementation of various measures that have the
potential to generate positive outcomes even in the face of
mounting problems. In this way, these challenges can be kept in
check, hence giving transportation companies the opportunity to
prosper.
Solution
s to the New Challenges within Transportation and Logistics
Management
Although the new challenges facing logistics managers these
days are immense, there are a number of solutions that can be
put into practice in a bid to deal with them effectively. To begin
with, companies need to adopt a strategic approach with a view
to eliminating or diminishing bottlenecks (Waters & Rinsler,
2014). Succinctly, this has the potential to prove critical when it
comes to the revamping of network designs and, as a result, lead
to the reduction of transportation outlays. For companies to put
these strategies into practice in the best way possible, logistics
managers need to get their hands on consistent information on
current and future orders.
Further, logistics managers can tackle the problem of vast
quantities of data and figures by investing in various automated
solutions or applications. These solutions or applications can be
used to fulfill various responsibilities that revolve around bills

6. of fuel, data entries, as well as the loading and unloading of
ledgers (Wang et al., 2016). Through the employment of these
solutions or applications, transportation companies can
streamline their undertakings by giving logistics managers a
great deal of time to pay amplified attention to the finer nuances
of their respective companies’ operations.
Moreover, transportation companies can deal with the problem
of workforce management by decentralizing responsibilities.
This can be implemented through the appointment of logistics
managers in regions that are of the utmost imperative to the
operations and success of the organization (Christopher, 2016).
Combined with the employment of relevant work-order
management solutions, the move to decentralize responsibilities
has the potential to aid in the realization of increasingly
efficient workforce management. Work-order management
solutions are particularly critical because they have the
potential to aid logistics managers in managing team utilization,
schedules of the team, showing evidence of work, generating
quotes (as well as invoices), among other equally impressive
possibilities. Overall, with these solutions in hand, logistics
managers can execute a vast array of important workforce
management responsibilities with relative ease.
As a final point, transportation companies can deal with the
problem of compliance with regulations through the
collaboration with effectual audit software (Wang et al., 2016).

7. More precisely, these software are vital because they have the
potential to relieve organizations of the pain of having to
frequently assess the rules and regulations that govern their
activities in a given area and better their compliance. In this
way, transportation companies can ensure that they always act
in accordance with the law and steer clear of the unsavory
implications that typically arise as a result of contraventions.
Conclusion
Judging by the findings of the paper, it is more than apparent
that a wide range of new challenges is facing logistics managers
these days. These challenges have the potential to have an
unsavory impact on the smooth flow of operations within the
realm of transportation and logistics management, hence the
need for companies partaking in the sphere to put into practice
various practices to tackle the concerns and prevent them from
cropping up.
References
Christopher, M. (2016). Logistics & supply chain management.
Pearson UK.
Grant, D. B. (2012). Logistics management. Pearson Higher Ed.
Speranza, M. G. (2018). Trends in transportation and logistics.
European Journal of Operational Research, 264(3), 830-836.
Wang, G., Gunasekaran, A., Ngai, E. W., & Papadopoulos, T.

8. (2016). Big data analytics in logistics and supply chain
management: Certain investigations for research and
applications. International Journal of Production Economics,
176, 98-110.
Waters, D., & Rinsler, S. (2014). Global logistics: New
directions in supply chain management. Kogan Page Publishers.