The freight forwarding industry has been around for centuries. Since the advent of computers, the system has remained relatively unchanged other than allowing for minor adjustments to adapt to regulations and changing conditions between the ports. However, given the progressively increasing demands of world trade, the freight forwarding industry increasingly leverages technology to make their task more efficient.
Fast-forward 2020. With the COVID-19 pandemic, the ever-accelerating trajectory of load the freight forwarding has to carry has increased significantly. The shockwaves have affected not just the freight forwarding industry but the entire world from manufacturers to consumers. With order cycles and material handling processes altered to meet the exponential demand for goods, each cog in the wheel needs to streamline its work to ease the day-to-day burden. One significant cog is the freight forwarding industry. The demand for shipping goods will continue to rise. That is why it is crucial for each party involved in the freight forwarding industry to acquire the ideal freight forwarding software to satisfy their needs. That perfect freight forwarding software should have these nine essential characteristics.
The Ideal Freight Forwarding Software Should Be User-Friendly
Personnel turnover requires new-hires to quickly learn freight forwarding tools, such as freight forwarding software. However, it is not just new hires that you need to worry about training. If you are looking to migrate from legacy systems into an automated one, you need user-friendly freight forwarding software that everyone across your organization can learn quickly. A simple layout, straightforward structure, and mobile compatibility make it easy for anyone to start using GoFreight after a brief tutorial. Moreover, intuitive freight forwarding software is crucial, not just for freight forwarding employees but also for customers.
The Perfect Freight Forwarding Software Should Allow for Collaboration
One of the things the lockdown situation has taught us is the importance of having the ability to work wherever you are. An essential part of enabling remote work is acquiring capable software that can work anywhere. In the case of the perfect freight forwarding software, it should enable seamless collaboration across all elements of the freight forwarding process in real-time. With cloud-based technology, freight forwarding software will leave no blindspots hindering cooperation. Moreover, the freight forwarding software should be able to store all data and documents digitally in a single database across locations to prevent unnecessary interruption and delays while protecting data against duplication and unauthorized access.
Integrate All Relevant Aspects of the Required Operations with a Robust Freight Forwarding System
To adapt to the ever-changing circumstances of world trade, the freight forwarding industry cannot survive relying on legacy systems. That is why one of the requirements for an ideal freight forwarding software is automating and integrating the entire process. Once the whole process is integrated into the freight forwarding software, managing every aspect of the operation, such as the generation of delivery orders, managing manifest data, tracking container movement, and other procedures for ocean freight and air freight, should be more accessible. Moreover, an ideal freight forwarding software should also integrate with EDI partners, such as port operators, customs, principals, and the Port Community System. As hard copies are still required, documents written in various formats should be uploadable, downloadable, and transferable.
The Software Should Send Timely Alerts and Notifications Quickly
With freight, document, and financial traffic constantly happening across the world, there are constantly a great deal of moving parts. Even for smaller-scale operations, there will always be a risk of oversight that can cause significant issues when ignored. That is why an ideal freight forwarding software should send alerts and notifications to the appropriate personnel through appropriate channels, such as e-mail, user interface, and even SMS when something needs their attention.
The Freight Forwarding Software Should Have Robust Accounting and Billing Management
The ideal freight forwarding software should have strong invoice and billing management that will enable you to generate quotes quickly. Being able to respond to customer queries can mean the difference between gaining or losing a customer. Moreover, a robust accounting and finance system will prevent oversights and give you full financial control to manage the revenue and expenses of the freight forwarding company.
Analytics and Reporting
The ideal freight forwarding software should make it accessible for selected levels of the organization to access the insights that will show them in real-time the state of the entire operation, whether they are profiting or not, or whether specific aspects of the process, such as particular tasks or clients, require immediate action. By providing an easy-to-use graphical user interface unique to each organizational level you define, each department in the organization can do its part quickly to maintain the business’s health, satisfy client demands, and enhance profitability.
It Should Be Scalable
The perfect freight forwarding software should fit any type of freight forwarding company regardless of scale and complexity. As these businesses grow, they should have freight forwarding software that will grow with them by adding additional modules allowing them to take on larger tasks.
Customer Service
The freight forwarding software provider should know that each company is unique. Regardless of the seamless integration of the software and ease of use, there will come a point when customers need help maintaining their system, especially when the freight forwarding company is taking on more challenges to meet the demands of their customers. That is why providing excellent customer service is essential to help users overcome these challenges quickly and efficiently.
The Ideal Freight Forwarding Software Should Be Constantly Upgrading
A freight forwarding software company that sincerely cares about its clients provides constant updates on its software to help users adapt to ever-changing circumstances. With software designed and developed by people extremely familiar with working within the freight forwarding industry, selecting a freight forwarding software that grows with your business is a game-changer.
Takeaways:
To meet the ever-changing demands of the freight forward industry, it is essential for freight forwarding companies to adapt and to take on the challenges that come with unprecedented growth rates. Robust freight forwarding software is crucial for any freight forwarding company to survive. However, freight forwarding companies shouldn’t just focus on price as a deciding factor when selecting the ideal software for their needs. It is essential to ensure that the freight forwarding software they choose ticks all the boxes to enable smooth integration of all aspects of their work in a more efficient platform. GoFreight provides the perfect software that ticks all these boxes and more. Trusted by over 1000+ SMB and enterprise-level freight forwarders worldwide, GoFreight’s All-in-One freight forwarding software is easy to use and can handle shipping exceptions from wherever you are in the world. With class-leading customer service overseen by experts with decades of experience in the freight forwarding industry, you can be assured that your freight forwarding software is designed by people like you who understand every tiny detail.
