Put yourself in the shoes of a customer who gets to hear, "The ETA for your shipment is.. hmm...I don't know. Could you please check back later?"
Depending on the urgency and your patience, your response could range from polite to being extremely angry.
Fundamentally, a customer having to call up a Logistics Service Provider (LSP) for shipment updates - in this technology age - signifies LSP's dependency on manual methods. As an LSP, if you don't have complete visibility of your shipments, it could mean trouble arriving from all sides.
Using modern freight software, forwarders have been able to:
- Receive information about shipments in advance
- Be prepared to take action in case of delays or disruptions
- Achieve on-time delivery of shipments
- Prevent lapses due to miscommunication
"Poor visibility into operation" was the top challenge cited in a survey of over a hundred logistics professionals.
Why must Visibility be Real-Time?
Due to the pandemic lockdown and restricted measures and without accurate information, logisticians found it difficult to even book shipments. The information itself should be real-time to manage the movement of the freight. An event like a vessel arriving being delayed may lead to missing loading of a container on the vessel.
Real-time visibility is an essential tool for companies looking to have a holistic view of their operations. Using digital modes of communication frees you from manual and tedious ways that are error-prone. Real-time visibility gives you the capacity to respond almost instantly and to make data-backed decisions.
Knowledge is Power
If you have accurate information about the location of your assets and their availability, it puts you in control, even in tight situations. The visibility of your resources can bring significant cost savings. If your transport truck arrives too early at the pickup location, you incur the unnecessary cost of paying for the wait time. This can be avoided if your transport is booked only once the cargo is ready for pick up. In ocean transport mode too, you can avoid detention and demurrage charges if your freight solution can equip you early for the free time remaining for the container.
Transparency in Seeing Operational Costs
Losing track of uncleared invoices, payments to be made and received causes gaps in your steady revenue. This data is required to be propagated to the concerned teams to avoid scenarios like duplicate payments and missed payments penalties.
Freight visibility helps handle disruptions and exceptions during shipping. Extending pricing transparency to customers supports improving their satisfaction levels too.
Using Automation to Inform Stakeholders
Every shipment must go through a repeated series of steps to get the necessary clearances. Following manual methods can be monotonous and is often the cause of mistakes. Using freight software like Logi-Sys, you can automate most of your tasks.
Your stakeholders can be auto-notified about shipment progress, thus relieving your staff of manual effort. When your customers can self-login into a portal and view all their booked shipments with you on a single view, you eliminate any need for them to email or call you for any updates.
Visibility should not be just desirable for LSPs but must be an integral part of the processes. Enhance visibility by implementing Logi-Sys and gain a competitive edge over your competitors.
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