Air freight forwarders once relied on labor intensive manual bookings and completed reams of paperwork for every order. As software technology has advanced, they are now able to eliminate many of these laborious tasks, increasing efficiencies, cutting costs and becoming more competitive. For customers, this means better service and lower prices, while air freight forwarders enjoy beefed up margins and freedom from the daily drudgery of managing shipments without the benefit of sophisticated software.
Freight Forwarder Software Provides Benefits That Enhance Customer Service
Technological advances have a long history of changing the business landscape. In the case of the air freight forwarding business, it provides the ability to monitor shipments 24/7 with the click of a button. This enhances customer service because freight forwarders receive notification whenever a shipment falls behind schedule, be it due to bad weather or a custom’s bottleneck. Freight forwarders can then address the issue and get the delayed shipment back on track.
Air freight forwarder software also integrates with customer I.T. infrastructure. This allows customers to not only track shipments, but also place orders through their own computer terminals, manage invoices and calculate costs.
In addition, air freight forwarders use the software to track and judge their quality of service and establish goals, such as improved delivery times. Prior to the advent of freight forwarder software, determining appropriate benchmarks and tracking them was challenging. Now, air freight forwarder software automatically complies data, which can easily be condensed into simple to visualize reports. These reports help managers determine their operation’s strengths and weaknesses, which can then be translated into actionable goals.
Air Freight Forwarder Software Provides Competitive Advantages
Competition has always been fierce in this industry, and the COVID-19 pandemic has only made it harder to maintain profitability while keeping prices competitive. Air freight forwarder software provides the solution.
Customers naturally flock to the freight forwarders that offer the best rates and lowest shipping times. New software technology provides an edge by allowing faster bookings through automation. In addition, the software eliminates many laborious tasks, which saves on labor costs. Automated management of customs paperwork and contracted transporters provides seamless service for customers without the need for long employee hours.
Managing the transportation chain is very important. To offer the best service and keep costs down, freight forwarders need to choose transporters that offer the most efficient service and pricing. Automation makes it possible for freight forwarders to rank contractor performance based on service and price and send future business to those who meet the criteria for each specific order.
Labor Savings
The air cargo industry used to be labor intensive. In addition to paperwork and order tracking, employees needed to negotiate freight rates and manually record them.
Now, with the advent of freight forwarder software, freight forwarders can automate those processes, making it possible to select the most appropriate vendors without the time and hassle. No more manual sifting of available shippers and constant requests for quotations.
Once these processes are handled through the software, costs are immediately reduced. Since the orders are placed immediately, shipment delays are largely eliminated. In addition, automation eliminates data entry errors, so costly mistakes cease.
Managing Customs
Managing customs can be a challenge because rules and requirements are often in flux, making the management of air customs difficult and creating bottlenecks. Delays at customs often result from paperwork. Air freight forwarder software solves this problem with electronic customs submissions. Customs officials are notorious for holding up shipments over the tiniest detail. The electronic submission forms prompt users to complete the paperwork correctly, so shipments can fly through customs and onto their destination.
Enhanced Communication
Air freight forwarders maintain a large network of trading partners, and the complexity of these networks has traditionally made managing them difficult. New freight forwarder software maps processes and makes communication seamless. Automation makes it simple to manage the various protocols of the network members without the labor-intensive hassles of manual network management. This enhances communication, allowing the process to run smoothly.
The air freight forwarder business has always been competitive. The ability to reduce labor costs and increase efficiencies continues to make it even more challenging to keep up with rivals. By employing sophisticated software, air freight forwarders can enhance margins and beat the competition on both price and service.
CSA Software offers the best freight forwarding software products in the industry. We will help you set up the systems your freight forwarding, and logistics business needs now, and provide you with the tools and resources you will need for your business’s future.
We offer a full suite of software products providing end to end freight management utilizing the latest in Microsoft technologies. Call us today for your Free Software Demo!