Whenever you implement a new technology, you face the daunting task of planning for a future that may change in a very short period. In 18 months, today’s latest PC computers will be outdated. In six months, the most advanced cell phones and handheld devices will share the same fate. Software may become obsolete in an instant. Although these “outdated” and “obsolete” tools may perform well for years to come, the real worry is locking into a particular technology when something better is just around the corner.

Soon after Thomas E. Keller Trucking Inc. bought the necessary software tools to participate in electronic data interchange, for example, its largest customer decided EDI “was not the way to go” and subsequently developed a Web-based exchange.

“We were stuck with all of the necessary tools to put EDI into place and really had no need for it,” says Aaron Keller, sales manager of the 60-truck, Defiance, Ohio-based carrier.

Whether you invest in a certain technology to satisfy a customer requirement, to save money or for any other reason, you should make your decisions with the future in mind. If you expect few changes to the scope and size of your operation over time, a solution that works well today may be all you need. But if you expect to grow significantly in the years to come, some approaches offer a better value than others from the standpoint of integration and flexibility.

Today, software developers can create software that spans every platform – Windows NT, Unix, AS/400 – and communicate directly with non-similar business systems through Web services, a concept that experts believe is the next Internet evolution. Many technology vendors already offer this next-generation software through an application service provider (ASP) arrangement to help fleets gain flexibility by not locking themselves into expensive development projects and hardware that may soon become outdated.

Having the latest advancements in technology, however, is no guarantee that your investments are future proof. To endure the test of time, a technology must continue to receive widespread support in the industry and from your employees.

Process improvement
Smart carriers will continue to spend money on technologies to improve processes they have to do already, such as getting invoices out faster, says Tom Weisz, president of TMW Systems. Similarly, Weisz says that shippers and logistics providers continue to invest in technologies to help them cut the costs of communicating with multiple carriers. Squeezing costs from your business and your customers’ business has become a competitive necessity.