A Quick Primer on why Indie Logistics Service Providers (+their BCO's) should embrace tech now

As an independent logistics service provider, and their BCO clients, there's never been more opportunity as well as challenges to build up your business. Here are a few quick ways to navigate this arena - while winning more customers and staying competitive in the logistics and supply chain industry.

Now is the time to embrace technology. Why? Let's dive in with some themes. ??

Keep up with modern client expectations ??

Technology has revolutionized the way businesses operate and customers expect more than ever before. By leveraging technology, you can improve your ops, provide better customer experiences, and win more business. It allows you to be more agile and to keep up with competitors and also differentiate your business even further from the crowd.

Streamline & Save your clients money ??

Cloud & Software-as-a-Service is still new to our space. The shift from CapEx to OpEx is still an ongoing one, as client adoption picks up and more tech companies find (hopefully) sustainable ways to scale. Our industry is still catching up to other spaces such as sales and martech where SaaS has been around and baked into businesses for quite some time - with many thousands of provider options. It's still early days for maritime, shipping, supply chain, and logistics where the providers are still just emerging.

With technology like cloud-based transportation management systems, GPS tracking/IoT, and warehouse automation, you can streamline operations, reduce costs, reduce human error, and improve accuracy. The costs associated with this tech is also quickly coming down.

Everything gets sped up, becomes more reliable, and trustworthy - things that matter immensely to shippers and BCO's who are putting a critical part of their business into your hands.

As a result, you can build robust networks, offer faster delivery times, better tech and transparency, drive better inventory management, and overall just provide a more reliable service to your customers. Adopt scalable tech that will help you evolve with increasing customer demands that's easy to use and affordable. Think in terms of your own customer, and how much time and money you can save them, while also gaining another differentiator. A differentiator, that once word gets out, strengthens existing, loyal clients and attracts new shippers/clients and other logistics partners.

Cleaner data & optimizing the Client Experience ??

But it's not just about the technology itself - it's also about the data and insights you can gain from it. Being able to glean clear insights and work on your business, vs. getting stuck in the business. The industry and nature of global trade means that platforms and processes are usually localized, still largely broken, and existing on non-integrated systems where the data is dirty.

New tech like real-time tracking/visibility, analytics, and reporting, you can gain a deeper understanding of your clients' needs and preferences, optimize your routes and schedules, and make the data-driven decisions that improve your bottom line, drive revenue expansion, and help you stand out in the market. These are all things that shippers, and BCOs also value, as well as your other logistics partners, when it comes to your unique organizational supply chain.

The best time to get started = Yesterday ?

So, independent logistics service providers, it's time to take action and embrace technology. Focus and prioritize based on strategic themes and take small steps leveraging change management and the wealth of resources out there.

Share this post with your peers and start exploring the tools and solutions that can help you win more customers and thrive in the logistics and supply chain industry.

Let's work together to create a more efficient, effective, and customer-centric logistics ecosystem!

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