Since the 2020 pandemic, many companies in the freight industry have had to go through a series of changes. Some of those changes were meant for survival, to set off a transformation, or for establishing steady growth. As the times were uncertain, companies adopted ways to weather the storm. Now, as the pandemic is nearing its end with mass vaccination, forwarders are at crossroads to decide the next course of action in the new normal.
The positive outcome for forwarders that survived the tough times was gaining the ability to be digital on the go. The freight industry is expecting 'being digital' as the new normal and the good news is that the demand for forwarders is still high. Let's take a look at what can be expected from the new normal for different entities involved.
Forwarders must be more agile, quicker to respond and customer-focused
There has been a massive shift in customers' expectations in the pandemic. Before the pandemic, customers were satisfied with key milestone shipment updates. In the new normal, customers expect detailed information on the state of high-value cargo and further visibility on the shipment. Shippers want faster responses to quotations and usually tend to go with forwarders with the quickest response and best rates.
To fulfill the renewed demands of the customers, forwarders must ensure their freight ERP can provide real-time end-to-end visibility. Using the power of the Internet of Things (IoT) sensors and GPS, freight software can monitor:
- Cargo states like temperature change, impact, etc.
- Manipulation of cargo contents
- Theft or damage
By capturing more data about shipment, you are in a better position to disseminate real-time and accurate information to your customers.
Freight Workforce will be pushed to drive more value to the company
By being on the brink of losing jobs, workers in the freight industry have realized the need to upskill. The freight competition has gotten tougher since the pandemic, putting pressure on companies to create value to distinguish them from the competition. As technology and automation increase, human interactions between shippers and freight personnel have become limited. The value of human touch is something that is here to stay despite the new normal. Thus, the freight workforce is required to enhance customer experience by using technology and automation as tools. Whether an officer at the port or a sales personnel handling a team remotely, freight software should empower them with real-time data from the cloud.
Customers are required to adopt technology for faster processing
Similar to forwarders that refrained from using technology for decades, few shippers too, have been technology-shy. A shippers' role is vital for smooth shipment processing. How - you may ask? Many documents that are required for regulatory and customs compliance are to be provided by the shipper on time. In the new normal, shippers had to share, approve or reject documents digitally. Any delay in approvals could lead to cargo missing deadlines. Freight software can help make this process more fluid for the shippers. Logi-Sys from Softlink simplifies the upload, approval, and managing of digital documents for shippers with just a few clicks. No more delay due to incomplete, missed, or incorrect documentation resulting in quicker processing.
One platform that unites them all
Among the most important entities of the freight forwarding chain, forwarders along with the workforce and customers are to work in tandem for mutual gains. A thread that ties them is a reputed freight management solution like Logi-Sys that has stood the test of the pandemic and is proving valuable in the new normal too.
Originally Published in Portcalls Asia Magazine
https://www.portcalls.com/what-to-expect-from-forwarders-employees-and-customers-in-the-new-normal/
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