Logistics has never been more popular or important than it is today. Shipping is even starting to be considered cool (in some circles at least), not to mention a very popular investment for many VCs.
A big reason behind this is the perception that the industry is starving for technology and automation to bring it out of the dark ages. Manual processes, lack of transparency, and too much paperwork are all real problems that slow down the shipping process – especially for international freight forwarders. The promise of what technology can do for the transportation industry seems to be without limits.
The question of whether or not a forwarder needs to use technology has a simple answer: yes. At the same time, there are a lot of lofty claims made in the marketplace about technology and what it will do for companies. This makes it hard to figure out how and where technology can be best applied. And, most importantly, how completely it can deliver on that big promise.
That answer is much more nuanced and depends on the expectations you have. It also depends on your individual forwarding operation needs.
So, the question should really be about what expectations are reasonable. It’s this point where the potential of technology can really be evaluated. For example, if the expectation is a platform that can completely digitize every step in the ocean shipping process, you’ll be disappointed.
As another example: one big limitation of technology in the shipping function is the inability (and unwillingness) of some carrier partners and shippers to work together to share data. Date interoperability is complex and rarely seamless. A big reason technology is seen as underdelivering is not because of the tech but that it’s simply hard to get companies and systems to work together. It’s not a tech problem; it’s a cooperation problem.
One area technology can deliver, and even exceed expectations, is with data management and the customer experience. Calculating rates to accurately account for surcharges and fees is difficult to do manually. Technology is great at tasks like that when given the right data. Providing customers with an online portal to track loads and run reports is clearly a powerful way to leverage technology in a useful way.
We are all looking forward to the day when complete digitization is here, but we all also know (if we’re honest) that it’s not here yet. So, rather than wait or expect perfection now, forwarders should look for how far they can stretch their own ROI with technology.
In other words, any forwarder who feels their technology is underdelivering probably needs to reset their expectations. Using technology to its full potential takes a synthesized approach because international shipping still takes feet on the ground.
Technology is a decision. The tech a freight forwarder chooses, or not chooses, to use will impact it in one of two ways: the business will be transformed, or the business will see a poor ROI.
The good news is that the responsibility for maximizing what you can get from technology rests with you.
Category :
