There was a time when all trucking companies needed, aside from a few vehicles and a pallet jack or two, were a couple of phones and some basic desks and chairs. If it really was technologically advanced, it may also have had a photocopier, telecopier (the original name for a fax), and perhaps a telex machine. That, of course, has all changed and transport companies have been just as affected by the technological revolution as everyone else.

However, perhaps not all of these changes have been entirely desirable. Take the former shipping clerk as an example. There was a time when you could phone transport companies to request a quote, read over the phone the details of about 10 different shipments with their weights and dimensions, and expect an almost instant response, since the calculations and costs had been mentally calculated as you spoke. However, today we all rely more on computer systems and this may have weakened some of our mental abilities. It may also have reduced our ability to detect things that just can’t be right, since we automatically assume that if “the computer says yes” then it must be.

In truth, we may all have been guilty of it at one time or another. If you’ve ever sat down and looked at a shipping note and didn’t see that the pickup and delivery addresses were identical, you’re probably a victim of this syndrome! Other real life examples include:

• a delivery address indicating “Berlin – France”;

• a beautifully addressed airfreight shipment to a final destination in ‘Australia’;

• a vehicle assignment sheet showing that a 7 ton vehicle was dispatched to pick up an 18 ton load;

• a timetable showing collection in Glasgow at 9am and an estimated delivery time in Norwich at noon (yes, same day);

• a single driver assigned to pick up three different trailers from separate locations all at the same time;

• a vehicle sent to make two European deliveries that were listed as ‘close to each other’, one in Salzburg and the other in Naples;

• reserving the same vehicle on separate ferries on the same day, one departing from Dover and the other from Portsmouth.

Many trucking companies will admit to having similar automation problems, so almost all of us will probably say they were caught in advance and rectified before the humiliation(?)

However, it is doubtful that in the old days of the much-feared shipping or dispatch manager, such things would have been allowed to begin with.

Of course, the transport companies have had to adopt the new technology and, in general, it has been a great benefit. Maybe we just need to keep our wits about us when using it!