Logistics is one of the biggest industries in the world, hence innovating and integrating new tech like automation is necessary. According to McKinsey, “the use of automation in logistics and freight forwarding can reduce operational costs by up to 40% and increase productivity by 15-20%”.
Not only does automation save time, but it also has numerous benefits like fewer human errors, etc. Hence, we are writing this write-up to explain to you all the details of how logistics and freight forwarding is going to get smarter.
Since the inception of digitizing business operations, it has been a trend to adopt modern and advanced technologies to survive in the market. Hence, to ensure your survival, keep reading.
Shipment tracking is a major task to keep track of the freights from the source. Here, automation takes the responsibility to provide features like AI-live tracking and ETA predictions.
Traditionally, carriers have always provided the feature of vehicle tracking. Major players that have existed in the industry for a long knows that the customer must always get timely updates for their shipment. Whereas, the process of notifying the clients has changed a lot, with technological advancements, individual tracking and container tracking are now a reality.
| DID YOU KNOW? The average number of delayed days for shipments is 4.4 when compared to the original ETA. |
Believe it or not, if there are some repetitive tasks or some tasks where logical intelligence is not required, automation is the best thing you can adopt for such tasks.
Automation not only wraps up the work quickly, but also leads to zero human error. It has become necessary for businesses nowadays to adopt modern tech in order to survive in cut-throat competition. There have been numerous incidents and events that prove that there is no better option than automation for repetitive or recurring tasks. Following is an example.
Case Study: A freight forwarding company once integrated automated documentation systems into its operations. As a result, tasks like generating bills of lading and customs declarations took less time, the company minimized manual data entry and human mistakes.
Interestingly, this move significantly helped the company to reduce 70% of human errors from their operations.
Software nowadays has separate portals for clients where they can submit their queries. Not only queries but shipment tracking, invoices, reporting, etc. are all provided features.
At its core, the main aim of this feature is to provide customers with timely updates on their shipments. But how does automation play its role?
There are so many things that it can do. Starting with sending automated notifications, it makes sure of necessary updates, developments, or even alerts. Depending on the system, these notifications can be sent on the portal or even through SMS.
This graph shows how customer service plays a key role in having better customer loyalty.
With less human involvement, the long-term cost of salaries and compensations are saved to a huge extent. In the long term, getting software instead of an employee or an intern is a much cheaper option.
Although programs come with an upfront cost for their subscription, they are still way less than a person’s monthly salary. It feels more fruitful when there are advantages like no human errors, continuous work, and even uniform performance.
| DID YOU KNOW? According to recent studies, implementing automated processes can reduce operational expenses by 20-30%. Moreover, 74% of supply chain leaders are increasing their technology investments, with many expecting substantial savings from these innovations. |
Finally, automation is undoubtedly revolutionizing industries and businesses around the world. Speaking of freight forwarding, we discussed how automation is spreading its magic over this sector and creating history.
In a nutshell, automation is helping freight forwarding with real-time tracking, reducing manual processes or labor, enhancing customer experience, and with cost-effective operations.
If you find this blog helpful or informative in any way possible, our work is done here. Consider sharing this with your team or colleagues to inform them as well.
Internet Writer
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