Digitalization is omnipresent in the supply chain industry. Therefore, it is critical for the freight forwarders as they act on behalf of many stakeholders; importers, exporters, carriers, shippers, customs brokers, government bodies, transporters, and so on to organize smooth, efficient, and cost-effective movement of goods. Freight forwarders are in constant communication with all stakeholders involved and are exchanging information among themselves. A collaborative platform presents a great potential to enable an uninterrupted flow of information. Without digital collaboration, communication between various parties involves numerous phone calls, emails, paper documents, re-entry of data, mistakes, delays, etc. Above all, the remote work environment pushed the freight forwarders to rethink their digital capabilities for collaboration.
In a recent survey by McKinsey, it is said that the companies acted 20 to 25 times faster than expected when COVID-19 demanded a response. Notably, some of the changes implemented included extensive digital collaboration and increased use of advanced technologies in logistics and freight operations.
A collaborative platform is a user interface that allows different parties from anywhere in the world to access and work on the same databases even, from any mobile device.
Bringing stakeholders on a common platform
The sudden remote working situation left freight forwarders with disparate mediums of communication like phone calls, emails, and multiple software. Due to the different mediums, freight forwarders found it challenging to coordinate with carriers, transporters, customs brokers, and warehouse personnel. A single integrated Freight ERP system provides unified processes, simplified synchronization, and collaboration to customers and various business partners, eliminating multiple systems.
In addition, in collaborative platform reports, on customers come handy to follow up on customers' behavior. Customers can benefit from a simplified ‘‘Single’’ platform to submit their requests, view their shipment status in real-time, and connect from anywhere as collaborative platforms exploit the cloud and IoT functionalities.
Advanced Documentation Management system for Going Paperless
Freight forwarding and logistics are known to make widespread use of paper for regulatory and compliance reasons. Now the question is, how do the companies manage to carry out their operations with reduced paper transactions or completely paperless? The answer lies in digital documentation is enabled by integrated freight software.
Every shipment requires several documents handy to pass necessary clearances at transport, warehouse, ports, and customs. In place of hard copies of the documents, the logistics management solution prepares a bundle of virtual documents and sends them via email or EDI to the stakeholders. Another advantage of digital documentation is the possibility to apply a digital signature that assures authenticity. Thus digital documentation eases clearances at government and other regulatory compliance.
Seamless digital processes with automation
Shippers that were earlier not enthusiasts of the digital world are now finding it easier to request and make shipment bookings online. Freight software enables digital collaboration between forwarders and shippers to view, edit and approve documents digitally. With the help of technology, LSPs have been able to automate tasks such as sending outstanding payment reminders to their customers. Dashboards allow managers to view air, sea, and land job status for the entire organization. Further automation in LSP's processes are:
- Schedule sending of reports to stakeholders
- Document signoff mechanism from a higher authority
- Setup escalation alerts for missed deadlines
- Moving ahead with greater trust
There is no surprise that the freight forwarding industry is moving to a new collaborative and customer-centric approach. Small and medium logistics and freight companies generally need a bit more convincing than others to invest in technology. Better today than never, they have recognized the potential of collaboration platforms as a catalyst to accelerate growth and streamline their services.
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