Manual operations slow you down and speed is a priority in the freight industry. If you’re working manually, it consumes more electricity and manpower, leading to higher costs. You also risk getting left behind your competitors if you neglect logistics automation in this day and age. Growth through automation is essential for freight forwarders as demands on the industry are expected to rise in the coming years.
How logistics automation increases your revenue
In the world of freight forwarding, you have to be fast, productive, and efficient to keep up with growing demands, take on new challenges, and beat your competition. Freight software gives you the tools you need to support your employees, boost productivity, upgrade your customer service, and lower your costs.
Sustainable energy
Every operational area in the freight industry consumes energy and shifting to greener methods of energy production is one of the best ways to lower your costs. Besides choosing renewable energy sources for electricity and opting for low-emission fuels, you can depend on logistics technology for less expenditure. Since automation gets tasks done in a fraction of time it would have taken to perform them manually, you save a considerable amount of electricity and energy. Increasing the speed of your operations and facilitating communications through a central platform contribute to lower operational costs owing to software for freight forwarders. Improved warehouse management, inventory management, real-time shipment tracking, and route management are all connected to sustainability due to automation.
Lower fuel costs
You can reduce the amount of fuel you use and move towards low-emission fuels as you harness the power of logistics technology. Track and trace tools when combined with the latest software produce amazing results for freight forwarders, shippers, and other industry stakeholders. Route management can play a significant role in reducing your fuel costs. When you’re deciding on the best route for your shipment, you can take advantage of real-time data collected by freight forwarding software. Even when your shipment is moving towards its destination, you’re in control as you can track its precise location and demand the status of your shipment. Thanks to logistics automation, you get information about the weather, traffic reports, accidents, etc. so you can take quick decisions to prevent delays.
Warehouse management
Managing your warehouse involves quick decisions about assets, a satisfactory level of maintenance, careful planning for space, and having your team work like a well-oiled machine. Stakeholders in the industry prefer logistics technology for warehouse management and often choose integrations such as warehouse management systems (WMS) to pay special attention to running their warehouses in the most efficient manner to control costs. You can set up alerts related to low stocks and even arrange automated orders for products having low stocks. Monitor the stock of popular products and get automated reports about the performance of your sales. Software for freight forwarders can work with tools that share sales reports and assist in using the space of your warehouse efficiently.
Inventory management
You have to be on top of the demand and supply equation to make sure that every shipment is on schedule and there are no complaints from your customers. When you consider the negative effects of human error on managing your inventory, you come to the conclusion that freight forwarding software is the ultimate solution for freight forwarders, which also supports shippers. Automation has plenty of room for integrations such as warehouse management systems (WMS) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) tools. Combine your logistics automation with integrations that can assist you in managing your inventory.
Preventing delays
It’s becoming increasingly difficult to stay on schedule, particularly in the case of ocean carriers, because port infrastructure is not the same all over the world. You might be dealing with problems related to the weather, administration, infrastructure, and more in any mode of transport. Logistics technology provides several features to help you stay on schedule. While you can’t always avoid delays caused by others, you have tools related to forecasting, real-time tracking, news reports, route management, etc. Software for freight forwarders allows you to define routes for each shipment that are the fastest and have the lowest probability of running into blockades. You can also make decisions much faster as real-time reporting gives you the information you require in time to take precautions.
Stronger security
Shipment tracking is one of the greatest advantages of logistics automation and it connects with several other areas of operation within your company. The security of ocean carriers has been a prominent concern in recent years and there are certain regions of the world that have more security threats than the rest. Your assets must be protected at all times to avoid any kind of loss. Logistic software makes use of GPS technology to deliver real-time data about your shipment’s precise location and its status. You’re also connected to your drivers if you run a trucking company or work with a third party like that.
Faster communication
You can’t ignore the importance of speed in logistics and delays remain one of the core problems in the freight industry. In this day and age, freight forwarders and stakeholders who are neglecting to include logistics technology in their operations are facing losses. Competition among freight forwarders can be quite tough and whoever streamlines their processes quicker using automation usually moves ahead of others. Software for freight forwarders provides a centralized platform that connects every department of your business in one place. Adding in the benefit of real-time data pouring in from GPS tracking means you can convey information much faster than before.
Fewer employees
During the industrial revolution, millions of workers were fired from their jobs, and history has repeated itself since artificial intelligence came to the forefront of technological innovation for businesses. It’s important to understand that logistics technology doesn’t just free up employee’s time and replace them. Automation actually creates exciting new job opportunities for workers in the freight industry. Whenever a new feature of software pops up and works begin to feel replaced, it just takes upgrading their skills to benefit from freight forwarding software. In fact, automation in logistics shortens training time for employees, meaning they can quickly get settled into another job if they’re replaced.
Digital over paper
What happens when you have stacks of paperwork to go through or produce for your daily operations? Large amounts of paper are wasted every year by businesses and it costs them a good deal of money to manage their regular operations using all that paper. When you think about managing documentation using logistic software over paper, you realize that paper is completely unnecessary for most of your processes. It takes several years for a tree to grow from roots to leaves, but only a few minutes for it to be chopped down. Deforestation hurts the environment, and ultimately, humans. Software for freight forwarders has become a necessity to avoid using paper and relying on more precise calculations and formulas available through automation.
Invoice management
Handling paperwork isn’t a simple process because it’s mentally challenging and there’s hardly any room for error. You have to create the invoice for every shipment, print it out, make copies, and send it out while keeping copies for your own record. Using freight forwarding software solves multiple problems related to managing invoices. Surveys reveal that the first draft of most invoices has errors because humans are making them. Mistakes often happen when your employees are attempting to maintain a high speed to achieve greater productivity. Logistics automation supports your employees by creating accurate invoices, saving their time and energy. Boosting productivity of employees using automation means lower operational costs.
Once you go digital, you’ll never go back to performing tasks manually because it increases your profits. Logistic software creates convenience for your employees and customers while minimizing the investment your business needs for the same operations.
