If you’re an automotive shipper — whether you’re shipping fabricated parts to assembly plants or finished vehicles to dealerships — you know how important it is to stay on top of your transportation data.
In fact, according to our latest original research study, 85% of automotive shippers agree that KPIs are an essential part of sound logistics management.
In the study, we worked with an independent market research firm to survey 1,000 shippers and carriers.
Our goal was to create a resource that shippers of all kinds could use to better understand how their peers are setting and managing their logistics KPIs.
But what about the research insights for automotive shippers, specifically?
Below, you’ll find a breakdown of the results looking at the automotive shippers only (50, to be exact). Get their top logistics trends and the industry standards they use for setting KPIs.
6 Data-Backed Logistics Trends for Automotive Shippers
1. Automotive shippers are all in on logistics KPIs.
85% of automotive shippers thought KPIs were an essential part of logistics management, and 66% are referencing their KPIs daily — the most of any industry and 21% above the average.
Furthermore, when asked how they’d rate their ability to take track KPIs, 51% of automotive shippers said they were advanced, 7% above the average and the second highest of any industry.
2. Making sense of the data is a challenge.
90% of automotive shippers agreed that turning logistics KPIs in actionable insights is both challenging and time consuming, 14% above the average and the highest of any industry.
When asked about their biggest challenges, using data to change strategy/tactics
Was tied for automotive shippers’ top choice, with 43% of respondents believing it to be a top challenge.
3. Automotive shippers have become more demanding on their freight providers.
When asked how increasing consumer demands have impacted their KPI standards for freight providers, 72% of automotive shippers said they have become more demanding — the highest out of any industry and 12% above the average.
4. But they do understand how their actions impact their carriers.
When asked what impact they think inefficient shipping practices (e.g., long loading times, inconsistent volume, poor appointment times) have on truckload rates from carriers, 53% of automotive shippers answered significant impact, which was the highest of any industry and 13% above the average.
5. Scheduling compliance matters the most.
All KPIs are important — the K stands for “key” after all — but when asked to rate every core transportation metric by level of importance, appointment scheduling compliance stood above the rest, with 45% of automotive shippers saying it was very important.
6. Automotive shippers tend to be more service oriented.
Both cost and service are important in freight shipping, but we asked respondents which was most important to their organization.
For automotive shippers, 64% said their organization prioritizes performance and service over cost.
Logistics KPI Standards, According to Automotive Shippers
We’ve covered the trends, now let’s look at what automotive shippers think are acceptable performance standards for the most common logistics KPIs: on-time delivery performance, shipment lead time, primary tender acceptance, demand forcast accuracy, and payment terms.
On-time delivery performance
We asked automotive shippers what they consider to be acceptable on-time delivery performance from their carriers. Here’s what they had to say, and how it compares to average across all industries in the study.
- Performance standard across all industries: 95% on-time delivery performance
- Automotive shippers’ standard: 95% on-time delivery performance
- Automotive vs. the rest: In-line
What is “on-time”?
We asked automotive shippers what they consider as an “on-time delivery” from their carriers. Here’s what they had to say, and how it compares to average across all industries in the study.
- Performance standard across all industries: On-time to an appointment with a 30-minute buffer
- Automotive shippers’ standard: On-time to an appointment with a 30-minute buffer
- Automotive vs. the rest: In-line
Shipment lead time
We asked automotive shippers how much lead time they think they should give to their carriers for truckload and LTL shipments. Here’s what they had to say, and how it compares to average across all industries in the study.
- Performance standard across all industries: 2 days of lead time
- Automotive shippers’ standard: 2 days of lead time
- Automotive vs. the rest: In-line
Primary tender acceptance
We asked automotive shippers what they consider to be a reasonable primary tender acceptance rate from their carriers. Here’s what they had to say, and how it compares to average across all industries in the study.
- Performance standard across all industries: 85% acceptance rate
- Automotive shippers’ standard: 85% acceptance rate
- Automotive vs. the rest: In-line
Demand forecasting accuracy
We asked automotive shippers what they consider to be an acceptable level of variance from their shipment forecast (in terms of load volume). Here’s what they had to say, and how it compares to average across all industries in the study.
- Performance standard across all industries: Within 10% of forecasted volume
- Automotive shippers’ standard: Within 20% of forecasted volume
- Automotive vs. the rest: More demanding on freight providers
Payment terms
We asked automotive shippers what they consider to be acceptable payment terms to their carriers. Here’s what they had to say, and how it compares to average across all industries in the study.
- Performance standard across all industries: Payment within one week
- Automotive shippers’ standard: Payment within 30 days
- Automotive vs. the rest: More demanding on freight providers
Keep Learning About Logistics KPIs
Want more interesting data from our logistics KPI research?
Read the full research study, an overall industry breakdown, or checkout out individual industry profiles: