Technology Trends Every Freight Forwarder Should Be Using

Keeping your edge in a competitive industry

Every day, freight forwarders work with a staggering amount of unstructured data. From hundreds of emails to endless RFQs, rates sheets, invoices and customs documents -- it just keeps coming. In the shipping industry, 90% of this data is still processed manually. It takes hours and often leads to costly mistakes.

In a highly competitive industry where conversion often depends entirely on a forwarder's ability to respond quickly and accurately to complex price requests, the time it takes to process this data comes at a cost independent freight forwarders and NVOCCs cannot afford.

To remain competitive, many are turning to automation and tech-enabled solutions to help streamline these processes. Here are the top solutions every freight forwarder should have in his tech stack.

What kind of capabilities should freight forwarders have in their tech stack?

Whichever tech solution you plan to implement in your operations, it should deliver on the following:

Automation of key processes

The right freight forwarding software should automate key processes, and have the functionality to manage, among other things:

• Instant responses to RFQs
• The structuring, classifying, cleansing and interpretation of incoming data directly from your inbox
• Instant generation of accurate multi-modal, multi-lane proposals and pricing options
• Margin-optimized rate and route calculations
• Automatic shipment tracking updates to customers
• Automated booking request approval and send-off

Intuitive user experience

The software solution you choose should be intuitively designed and optimized for speedy and accurate use. The flatter the learning curve, the faster you and your team can be up, running and feeling the benefits. Look out for clear, comprehensive dashboards that show you key metrics at a glance.

Seamless integration

Look for a solution that integrates seamlessly with your existing ERP, TMS and financial systems so you can track and map information throughout your operation, and up and down the value chain.

Scalability

When investing in your tech stack, you're looking for evergreen solutions that can scale along with your business. Your chosen solution should be able to accommodate swift growth, without the need for any additional upgrades or software installations.

Time savings

Is your tech stack saving you time? This is a key metric to consider when choosing a freight data management solution. Price requests and quotes from shippers take on average up to 60 hours to process manually. With freight forwarding software like StarDox this time is cut down to 3.6 seconds.

What tech trends and tech-enabled solutions should freight forwarders look for?

As the freight industry struggles to recover from ongoing pressure and destabilization in the global supply chain, there's been a sharp lean toward leveraging technology to optimize processes and rehabilitate margins. Here are a few trends to watch.

AI and machine learning

The shipping industry is increasingly deploying AI and machine learning for automation, data management and advanced analytics. In an industry where success rests on speed and accuracy, AI and machine learning provide a massive opportunity for increasing operational efficiency and minimizing data management errors.

For example, a data management platform like StarDox uses machine learning to cleanse and enrich unstructured data pulled from your email inbox, filling in missing information and correcting discrepancies. It also learns your shipping patterns, drawing on up to two years' worth of historical shipping data to spot hidden opportunities to improve your margins.

Predictive analytics

From a business intelligence perspective, freight forwarders are using the advanced predictive analytics capabilities of AI-driven platforms to forecast future potential rates, while optimizing their business decisions to maximize margins.

Carbon Emission Tracking

Carbon footprints are of increasing importance to many customers, and often, carbon emissions can be a key factor in shippers' buying decisions. Carbon emission tracking data is becoming more and more relevant, and freight forwarders are depending on software solutions to supply this data on a case-by-case basis.

Collaborative and orchestration capabilities

Collaborative and orchestration capabilities increase the visibility of a shipment across the logistics chain, allowing freight forwarders to share data with all stakeholders involved in a shipment as it moves across borders and modes.

What does tech bring to the table?

In an increasingly competitive industry, freight forwarders must leverage technology to stay agile and responsive to changing circumstances. The problem of unstructured data is the biggest obstacle preventing forwarders from scaling their operations and generating greater revenue.

A data management platform like StarDox uses advanced AI and machine learning to fully automate manual processes by transforming unstructured data into structured, enriched data in seconds.

By embracing StarDox's powerful automation capabilities, forwarders can:

• Translate and convert shippers' price requests from any language and data type into a structured format, directly from their inbox.
• Enrich and restructure carriers' buy price data into a simplified format for speedier analysis of the ideal routes, rates, and margins for shippers.
• Automate proposal creations by using deep learning to match ideal buy prices with price requests.
• Automate and streamline booking requests from shippers to carriers via the freight forwarder's ERP system.

Find out how StarDox can revolutionize the way you operate by trying a free demo today.