There’s no denying that the COVID-19 crisis has significantly accelerated the shift to digital for many logistics companies, and will continue to shape our industry for months and years to come.
If things were moving fast before the pandemic, they’re now changing at warp-speed – from ongoing lockdowns to large-scale remote working and unprecedented production and demand volatility.
As a logistics leader with a globally dispersed team and network of partners and customers, it’s likely you’re used to relying on a patchwork of different software solutions across different regions to run your global operations.
But the scale of this crisis has revealed just how fragile an old-school, multi-platform approach can be, with databases that don’t ‘talk’ to each other, increased cybersecurity risks, unaligned upgrade cycles and costly vendor relationships for your internal team to manage.
So how are successful logistics companies using technology to reduce risk and move faster than their competitors?
Drawing on our experience and lessons learned from the past few months, we believe logistics leaders should consider the following questions.
Question 1: Are your operations streamlined on one system, or are you reliant on multiple, patched together software systems that don’t talk to each other?
Manually entering and transferring data between different software systems and operators is time-consuming and the potential for error increases every time information is re-keyed – especially when you’re facing language, legal and localisation differences.
CargoWise is a single platform logistics solution. This means users can access the same information on the same database at the same time, regardless of where they’re based.
For example, when a purchase order is entered by an operator or received via EDI from a customer or third-party, CargoWise automatically notifies the appropriate users of the booking request, who can then view the details and decide on the most efficient shipping method and schedule.
This accelerates your operational efficiency and reduces the likelihood of errors from re-entering data. It also keeps the buyer and supplier informed of the cargo status, enabling collaboration between all parties.
Explore how you can execute complex logistics transactions and efficiently manage your freight operations with CargoWise Forwarding.
Question 2: Can you easily integrate your operations with your customers, partners, government systems and third-party systems?
Multiple groups of people working across disparate systems, locations, languages and currencies can significantly reduce your visibility and create low-quality shipment data and time-consuming, manual workarounds.
No matter how simple or sophisticated your supply chain operations, deep integrations give your internal staff visibility over the movement of your shipments within and across CargoWise. What’s more, you can easily extend this visibility to external parties – from your customers and partners, to government and third-party systems across different geographies.
Learn how CargoWise's deep integration interfaces are helping logistics companies do more with less, while moving more for less.
Question 3: Is real-time data available across your operations to anyone, anywhere and at anytime?
These days, shipments consist of two packages – the physical goods and the data that travels with them. And you can’t deliver the one without the other.
By sharing data in real-time across your operations and automating your processes as much as possible, CargoWise gives you and your customers the access and visibility needed to ensure cargo moves with greater ease along the supply chain.
Find out how you can track, manage and move your containerised cargo with CargoWise Optimisation.
Question 4: Do you have the capabilities to navigate the complexities of global compliance?
The compliance ecosystem is incredibly complex – from ever-changing regulations around border clearances, customs entries and permits, along with the sheer volume of data and documentation required in order to legally clear the border.
CargoWise lets you create customs entries quickly and efficiently, without the need for third-party solutions or tedious workarounds. It is constantly updated to reflect changing laws and legislation, so you can be confident in submitting the right paperwork and can be compliant with customs regulations, harmonised tariffs, local tax rules and more.
Learn how you can take the complexity out of compliance and unlock emerging trade opportunities with CargoWise Customs.
Question 5: Can you scale your operations via cloud technology, or are you handcuffed to costly on-premise systems?
Cloud technology has quickly become a lifeline for businesses and operators across the logistics industry, helping rapidly scale their operations to reduce costs, protect profits and improve productivity.
CargoWise is cloud-enabled, so instead of buying, owning and maintaining physical data centers, you can store your data in a secure and centralised location, which you can access on-demand, anywhere at anytime. Additionally, you only pay for the features you use, which lowers your operating costs, reduces your infrastructure costs and allows you to scale your operations according to your volumes.
Check-out our comprehensive suite of application delivery, maintenance, support and learning services.