Marketing and PR in the TSL industry

What challenges does the TSL industry currently face? How can marketing help transportation and forwarding companies cope with customer acquisition in these uncertain times? These and other questions are answered by Katarzyna Syta, President of the Management Board, KAES Logistics.
In recent years, the TSL industry has experienced many problems. This is one of the sectors that has been the hardest hit by the pandemic. In addition, there were the consequences of the introduction of the Mobility Package and the war in Ukraine. How to deal with the crisis in the logistics industry?

It cannot be denied that the last few months have not been the best for the transport industry. When the situation after the pandemic slowly began to stabilize, war broke out. Back then, transport and forwarding were the economic sector that was the first to feel its consequences. Entrepreneurs from the industry once again find themselves in a situation where they cannot be sure of anything. You can only grope in the dark and hope that the decisions you make will ultimately turn out to be the right ones. And the actions taken, including marketing, will bring the expected results and stabilization.

How to deal with all this? Observe your surroundings carefully and learn from your own and others’ mistakes. The last two years of finding our way in the pandemic situation and the experience gained cannot be wasted. Negative events can be turned into resilience, which allows changes to be made to prevent similar crises in the future. It is also worth focusing on marketing and technological development. It may seem that currently incurring additional costs may turn out to be a shot in the arm. But in reality, at a crucial time for a company, it can give it a competitive advantage.

What other challenges is the TSL industry currently facing?

One of the most difficult challenges is the growing debt of the entire industry. Despite the increased demand for transport services, the debt of companies in this sector has been increasing for years. The sums are significant due to large payment backlogs and long payment terms — in order to function normally while waiting for payment from the contractor, you often have to incur further obligations. It is easy not to notice that this is a self-perpetuating machine, and the debts will also be influenced by Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.

As a result, transport costs increased significantly, although the most noticeable price increase was that of fuel. Nearly 90% of the cargo transported by Polish carriers is carried by trucks, so fuel is the basis of everything. The armed conflict also deepened the problems with the driver shortage in Poland — Ukrainian citizens make up one third of them. As a result, up to half of the drivers left many transport companies.

How is marketing helping the industry deal with these crises?

Marketing in the TSL industry is not particularly popular. Companies in this sector typically lock themselves in their own bubble. It’s a pity, because it blocks their path to acquiring new business partners. Marketing, of course, helps in finding a new customer, which in times of crisis often means “to be or not to be”, but this is not its only role.

Personally, I have the impression that the TSL industry is… invisible. Not in the sense that people are not aware of its existence, but in the sense that they do not know how important it is. It’s a bit like we forget where the goods on store shelves come from. Logistics problems can have a significant impact on many other sectors of the economy, and through marketing we can talk about them to society and increase awareness that this sector cannot under any circumstances be neglected.

And what is significant — through marketing, you can show your employees that their work has deeper value. People do something with special commitment when they feel it makes more sense, it’s not just a matter of salary.

The strength of a company is its employees — if they care about it, it will be able to cope with almost any crisis because its employees will fight for it. Therefore, as an organization, we can give this meaning by showing that our activities are significant to others — we can achieve this through marketing.

What is the greatest value that marketing can bring to companies in the TSL industry?

Marketing not only shows others that a given company exists, but also helps build an image that inspires trust. And this is my task — the greatest value that marketing can give to companies from the TSL sector. Trust in forwarding companies and the entire sector in general is very important, and this is probably the case with every company in every industry.

A client who wants to cooperate with us, as well as a new employee looking for employment, gives us a certain amount of trust, and the fight goes on whether he will give it to us or the competition.

The crisis in the TSL sector has made trust increasingly difficult to obtain. Now you can’t be a no-name company, because it will result in losing the race for survival on the thankless and difficult logistics market. Contrary to appearances, logistics and marketing have a lot in common. Both industries operate thanks to planning and simultaneous flexibility — the ability to adapt to changes.

A well-thought-out process is the basis for success, which is why the TSL industry should stop being afraid of marketing and consider it a completely unnecessary element that only generates costs. In times of crisis and great changes, it is appropriate marketing that can decide whether a given company will remain afloat.

What are the future forecasts for this market?

We are in a place where it is difficult to make any forecasts, mainly due to the effects of Russia’s attack on Ukraine. They are difficult for us to predict at the moment. One thing is certain — they will be significant in a very negative sense of the word.

Due to our country’s direct neighborhood with Belarus, Russia and Ukraine, Poland is no longer perceived as a safe country for long-term investments for foreign companies. It cannot be denied that the current situation of the TSL industry is difficult, which, unfortunately, will have a significant impact in the near future both on it and on the economic sectors dependent on its functioning.

Many companies are facing transformation and provisions aimed at preventing system failure in the event of sudden and unexpected crises. To sum up, we need to prepare for shocks that will hopefully ultimately make the Polish TSL industry much stronger than before.