3 Reasons Freight Forwarding Platforms Improve Resiliency

TLDR: Through digital processes and other advancements, freight forwarding platforms improve supply chain resiliency. ????

The demand for digital transformation remains paramount within the global supply chain.

Unfortunately, digital transformation is starting to challenge the ability of independent freight forwarders and brokers to secure and maintain clients. It is becoming increasingly difficult to keep up with their expectations and demands, as companies such as Amazon, DHL, FedEx, and many others have advanced rapidly with large tech budgets and innovation teams. And rightfully so.

After all, what good does it do to maintain relationships with freight forwarders if shippers can obtain the same services through a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform? 

The answer is ironic; forwarders that take advantage of freight forwarding platforms and forwarder-specific software to offer a digital freight forwarding quoting process and completion of booking can secure their future because they are able to provide a better customer experience than their competitors. It’s a clear differentiator that can keep loyal clients coming back again. 

Furthermore, freight forwarding platforms improve supply chain resiliency. And freight forwarders and brokers that wish to remain relevant need to understand how.

Digital Freight Forwarding Platforms Free Up Capital Resources to Safeguard Against Disruptions

Implementing digital freight forwarding platforms allows forwarders to focus on securing additional resources and points of leverage throughout their business. During times of disruption, the ability to rapidly scale individual departments and processes is essential to preventing losses. 

In fact, according to Supply Chain Digital:

“[the] ability to minimize disruptions has been accelerated by the rise of predictive analytics and big data, which anticipate shifts in customer demand, foresee the availability of raw materials, and prepare us for catastrophic events. Machine learning will soon be able to combine real-time supplier data like stock inventories and logistics trackers with external weather and news sources to make smarter decisions, faster. Near-real time visibility and tracking in our supply chains already can produce immediate insights that can reduce reaction times from days or weeks to just hours or minutes.” 

Digital Capabilities Reduce the Level of Assumed Risk and Lost Time in Trying to Secure and Maintain Client Relationships

Like reallocating resources to mitigate disruptions, digital freight forwarding platforms’ capabilities help to reduce the level of assumed risk and lost time that may arise when trying to secure and maintain client relationships. As the client base increases, so also does the necessity to be able to sift through the noise. Commercial departments must sift through the noise, find the right relevant data, the right compliance docs, the right negotiated rate agreement, the right quote, or tracking info, etc. All of this while dealing with too many redundant messages, calls, and emails sending you a logistic timeline update that doesn't mean much.

Instead of relying on an outdated, manual process for quoting and obtaining bookings, forwarders can leverage digital functionality to significantly cut the amount of time lost in the back-and-forth. This is especially true when obtaining generally simple cargo details you need to respond to a quote in the first place. Complications quickly arise across global timezones, different logistics companies, different shippers, and supply chain agents and partners - with each already having to sift through inordinate amounts of data on their own.

Forwarders will realize how much time can truly be saved for both the freight forwarder and the shipper waiting on a response. Especially if that forwarder uses technology that specifically addresses those client expectations and needs.

Consider this explanation by Boston Consulting Group,

“the traditional offline quotation and booking process is lengthy and cumbersome, often necessitating several interactions to reach a final price. A shipper who asks a forwarder for a quote can wait as long as 100 hours. Filling out and checking shipping documents can be tedious and time-consuming. And it is difficult to track shipping orders in real-time, so when exceptions occur, customers don’t have a chance to make the decisions needed to ensure their cargo will arrive according to plan.” 

Advancements in Automation and Digital Management Enable True Exception Management 

The final reason freight forwarding platforms improve resiliency lies in applying advancements in automation and digital functionalities that enable actual exception management.

Remember that exception management is about handling the unusual requests and issues that arise during supply chain management. Automated exception management allows dynamic rule sets within freight forwarding platforms.

These rule sets can outright, or at least help, handle the most common questions and problems. These situations are common, and we especially know this today. Things such as the shutdown of a particular lane, poor weather, the introduction of additional tariffs, requests for further documentation from customs officials, rolled bookings, 'acts of God', and more. 

By automating these management processes, freight forwarding office personnel can focus more on securing and enhancing existing relationships. In turn, there will be incidents that cannot be resolved through automation. In these cases, a human will step in to address the problem, but the effect is the same.

Instead of manually handling every little exception, workers can focus on the exceptions that are truly uncharacteristic or unusual for this existing supply chain or transaction. And to add structure to the exceptions, too so reps know in which order to effectively handle them - especially handling them in line with organization-wide strategic goals, objectives, and performance indicators.

Commercial reps armed with these critical systems are able to obtain more key information, at the right time, to better serve and advise their own clients, no matter what the current scenario. They, and you as the manager, will know that they did "everything they could" to deliver the exceptional service that the shipper deserves.

In the end, the best systems are those catering to the clients' needs and expectations - especially when this impacts the shipper's own business.

Streamline Freight Forwarding Process Management With the Right Platform

Few opportunities carry the weight and rewards of digital freight forwarding platforms. As the world grows more reliant on digital capabilities and near-instantaneous service, forwarder survival will hinge on offering an immersive, streamlined, and digital experience to clients.

At Cargologik, we're on a mission: to facilitate trade, foster collaboration, and promote the wellbeing of independent forwarders, shippers, their customers, and respective family members.

p.s. Your first 10 shipments on Cargologik are completely free if you want to check us out. We're a lightweight, freemium application, that's inspired by organizations such as Hubspot, Slack, Dropbox, Mailchimp, and other fantastic, product-led ventures.