Margins are tight in the transportation industry, smart forwarders and brokers have employed automation to better understand their cost base and protect their margins against surprise extra fees and over-looked charges. These systems have been available for LTL, FTL and Parcel shipping for years but not so much for intermodal first and last mile.
Here are 4 ways technology can enable better margins.
1. Elevates The Customer Experience
Technology can improve interaction with customers – for example, proving access to rates and booking shipments online. This, as opposed to the old school process of requiring customers to call in and wait hours or days for quotes. This is all information that is all available – technology just makes it available.
2. Enables Accurate Quoting
Being sure of their cost basis, which is especially hard with international shipping, is key to reducing risk while still being to provide the most competitive quote possible. Rate accuracy matters and accurate quotes are impossible without technology to support the rate management and rate calculation process.
3. Automates Manual Processes
The industry is often relies heavily on phone calls and faxes; leading 3Pls, freight forwarders & brokers leverage technology to eliminate those manual steps and digitize as much as possible – resulting in an improved customer experience and better margins.
4. Improves Communications
Challenges inherent to international shipping like documentation and customs paperwork are more easily managed. Data and paperwork are completed and shared more efficiently with lost paperwork rerouted quickly and problems resolved faster.
Protect Your Margins
Drayage management is a competitive market where margin protection and operating efficiency is a priority for everyone. Technology is a key tool for achieving those objectives while at the same time differentiating service performance.
Editor’s note: This blog was originally written for DrayMaster, 4 Ways Technology Can Protect Your Margin.
