Online booking and pricing automation close the technology gap that the logistics industry so desperately needs to fill; not for technology’s sake but for customers’ sake. Not only will this create long-lasting return on investment and increase efficiency, it also will free up logistics professionals from the tedious task of data management, letting them focus on providing flawless service.
Freightos research shows today spot quotes constitute more than 50 percent over of international shipments for many top tier providers, making accurate, real-time shipment pricing and guaranteed capacity critical. It also shows that a full 25 percent of shipments don’t make the first available sailing. At the end of the day, service lags mean profit loss and dissatisfied customers, neither of which are going to support a healthy industry.
Providers need to deliver clear instant pricing, service, and experience, just like customers have grown accustomed to in every other aspect of their life. Amazon Business, Domino’s Pizza, and even Tesla let you place and manage orders online. Freight should be no different.
In most industries today, speaking to a customer representative is a point of failure, not success. Let’s remember that technology is a customer service enabler, not detractor. Our industry needs to get online.
Blockchain is by far the most buzzworthy technology of this year. Undoubtedly, some aspects of blockchain such as formal paperless contracts and digital signatures are needed, but the industry has yet to prove how the full blockchain package, with the complexities of a distributed ledger, fits the industry needs.
We continue discussions with our logistics and technology partners to try to identify the right use case.