Transport services market: features, participants, development, competition

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Transport service is the direct interaction between the carrier (service provider) and the consumer, which is the customer, passenger, or other interested party. It is also the result of the internal work of the carrier to meet the needs (both real and perceived) of the consumer.

Accordingly, such activity is represented in the market of transport services. In the article we will give its definition, characteristics. Let's consider which motor transport enterprises appear in such a market, how their competitiveness is assessed, what marketing methods are relevant.

Definition

The market of transport services is the area of transportation of goods and passengers. This also includes maintenance, repair of vehicles, ancillary and other services directly or indirectly related to transportation.

Features

Features of the transport services market are as follows:

• The absence of a specific location for the sale and production of similar services in space and time.
• Dependence of the market of transport services and the conditions for its further development on the state of the commercial type of markets. The decline in production volumes, respectively, leads to a decline in delivery volumes - both cargo, luggage, and passengers.
• Volumes of transportation are not equal to the volumes of production of material products, in most cases they even exceed the latter. What is it connected with? The same batches of manufactured products may be re-transported, moreover, several times - from the manufacturer to wholesale warehouses, from warehouses to retail outlets, from stores to specific customers.
• The market of transport services in Russia and many other countries of the world needs state regulation. This is due to the great economic, strategic and social importance of transport.

Members

In the structure of the transport services market, the main participant is a motor transport company. The results of its activities, in turn, are determined by two factors:

• External environment.
• Internal environment.

Let's get to know them in more detail.

Internal factors

In the logistics of transportation, the role of motor transport organizations is important. The internal factors that determine their activities are the following:

• Professionalism, training, work experience of the staff.
• Conditionvehicles.
• Intraorganizational management methods and functions.
• Financial internal activities.

These factors are directly dependent on ATP. The management of the enterprise can exert a certain influence on them to create the most optimal conditions for the functioning and further development of the ATP.

External factors

Various ATPs appear on the world market of transport services. The external factors that determine the activities of these enterprises are divided into two subsystems: the macro-environment and the immediate environment of the organization. What's included?

The macro environment consists of the following:

• Macroeconomics (mechanisms for the formation and further distribution of enterprise resources).
• Legislative framework (it establishes restrictions in the interaction of ATP with passengers, customers).
• Science.
• Politics.
• Social orientation of society.

The immediate environment of the ATP is represented by the following:

• Buyers of transport and other services.
• Demand for such services.
• Product suppliers.
• Competitors.
• Labor market.
• Capital markets.
• Audit firms.

Internal ATP factors are highly dependent on external factors. The latter regulate the internal activities of enterprises.

ATP Competitiveness

Let's analyze the competition ontransport services market. Competitiveness in this context is the ability of certain objects to outperform their competitors in specific conditions.

When it comes to the competitiveness of transport services, it stands out for three factors:

• Service cost level.
• The quality level of these services.
• Image of enterprises.

Hence, the cost reduction, the improvement of the quality of transportation, the image of the ATP directly affects the increase in the competitiveness of these enterprises.

How to increase competitiveness?

The development of the market of transport services, respectively, is associated with an increase in the competitiveness of individual ATPs. Let's see how this is achieved in practice.

Reducing the cost of deliveries can be achieved through the following:

• Fuel economy.
• Saving car parts.
• Savings on vehicle repairs.
• Improve auto performance.

Improving the quality of transportation is as follows:

• Making deliveries exactly on time. At the same time, the ATP should also worry about maintaining the quality and quantity of passenger and cargo transportation.
• Expansion of the list of services provided by the enterprise - transport, forwarding, etc.
• Introducing innovative projects faster than competitors.

In this area, the quality of services is expressed by their performance in full accordance with the schedule of vehicles, the level of convenience, comfort that the carrier can offer its customers and passengers. For example, in the field of taxi services, the time that is spent on transporting a passenger to the desired destination is important.

ATP image

In the international market of transport services, the image of a transport company also plays an important role. What it is? Image is an idea about the organization, its founders, owner, management team, which is formed in society under the influence of subjective and objective factors. The concept itself is divided into external and internal image.

External, respectively, will be determined by how the motor transport company is perceived in society, customers, investors, journalists, shareholders, and so on. Its formation is directly influenced by the quality of services provided by the company, the first impression that the client receives when using its services. The direction of the company's interactions with investors, shareholders, various media also plays a role.

The internal image of the ATP will be determined by the attitude of employees, the management sector towards their company, the system of service relationships existing in it, promotion methods, employee incentives, and career opportunities. The main determinant of the internal image of any enterprise is the devotion of its employees to the work they are engaged in, enthusiasm for work, sincere, friendly attitude towards the clientele.

I must say that the external image of companies changes much faster and easier than the internal one. The latter is difficult to correct. Therefore, for any enterprise, it is of great value to form and maintain a positive internal image.

Competitiveness assessment

Any ATP must thoroughly study the competitive environment in which it operates. It is necessary to highlight both the strengths and weaknesses of your own competitors. This is what will make it possible to legally suppress their activity and weaken their influence on the transport services market.

There is a special algorithm for assessing competitiveness:

1. Justification of the chosen method for assessing the competitiveness of a particular service.
2. Formation of requirements for this service.
3. The choice of those parameters that can be estimated.
4. Calculation of single indicators that form the assessment of the competitiveness of the service.
5. Calculation of competitiveness indicators by category: cost, image, quality, etc.
6. Calculation of integrated indicators of competitiveness.
7. Final analysis of the competitiveness of a particular service.
8. Develop effective measures to improve competitiveness.

Marketing

Features of the transport services market leave their mark on the use of certain marketing areas in this environment.

In this context, marketing is considered a comprehensive system for the sale of services at the level of motor transport enterprises. Her main orientation is a more completemeeting the needs of specific customers, increasing the profits of the ATP due to this.

Much attention is paid here to the study and analysis of the formation of demand for services in the field of transportation logistics. Demand refers to certain needs for transportation and provision of additional services.

The following features of demand in this market are taken into account:

• The unevenness of its occurrence in space and time.
• The secondary nature of the demand for this kind of service.

The formation of demand in this case includes the following activities:

• Providing high quality service.
• Application of flexible tariff policy.
• Establishment of warehouses for intermediate storage of transported goods.
• Provision of additional services.
• Application of automated order processing.
• Advertising campaigns, social media promotion, etc.

Offer in this context is the volume of transport work, the number of services offered for sale at a particular point in time on the market. Like demand, this is a value that can be represented both in value and in kind.

Marketing activities

For the implementation of various kinds of marketing projects and events, large and medium-sized ATPs establish special divisions and departments. In small businesses, this opportunity rarely arises. Therefore, here marketing functions are distributed among all employees of the company.

In any case, employees try to fulfillthe following marketing features:

• Client analysis.
• Study of competitors in the transport services markets.
• Analysis of own capabilities, competitiveness in the market.
• Targeted exploration of emerging markets for similar services.
• Planning to expand your own range of works and services.
• Tracking current, real market changes.
• Development of commercial terms of delivery and transportation.
• Negotiating, concluding contracts with clients.
• Design various commercial solutions.

The market of transport services has its own characteristics. But here there are general legal competition and standard marketing decisions are made. But there are also specific measures to increase the competitiveness of ATP.