As I write this (in 2021) Covid 19 has brought devastation to all parts of the world. Over the past two years, the pandemic has swept through just about every country on the planet. Many countries went into lockdown as the most pragmatic immediate response to slow down the impact of the virus on human populations. The human tragedy of illness and death on a global scale has destroyed families and communities. These lockdowns have also had a devastating economic impact on many industries, notably tourism. The broader impact has, in many cases, resulted in a general slowdown in economic activity and as a result on road freight as well. In this book, we explore ways in which we can improve our profitability and build business resilience in road freight operations, in order to mitigate this impact

Recent years have also seen increased pressure on the road freight industry towards a “Green Transformation”. Rising demand for commodities and goods has resulted in unprecedented demand for road freight services and the result has been a significant increase in CO₂ emissions over the past few decades. It is vital that forward-thinking companies develop and implement strategies towards a green transformation and also that these companies gather the required data and report on these reductions in CO₂ emissions. It is important that road freight companies create these CO₂ emissions reports for external supply chain partners as well as dashboards for internal visibility within the organisation in order to recognise the achievements and to inspire renewed impetus towards even better achievements in the future.

This book sets out to explore simple ways in which a road freight business can be analysed and transformed with a view to improving profitability whilst at the same time reducing CO₂ emissions. Most of the activities can be implemented with the existing fleet, through improved management and organisational behaviour. With a 20 to 30% reduction in CO₂ emissions achievable (and a 30-40% increase in profit), we owe it to ourselves and to future generations to make a difference in what we do, through how we do what we do.

A. K. Kamdar

“You are here to enable the divine purpose of the Universe to unfold. That is how important you are” – Eckhart Tolle