Guidelines for choosing an efficient freight forwarding system

Freight forwarders face many challenges. These challenges range from negotiating the best prices for shipping to guarantee a profit, to keeping up with changing statutory and regulatory requirements. Freight forwarders turn to freight forwarding systems that consolidate all aspects of the business and seal loopholes that may cause the freight forwarder to lose money to overcome these challenges.
Freight forwarders act as intermediaries between owners of cargo and transporters. They rely on a vast network of shippers from ocean liners, aeroplanes, rail cars, and trucks to guarantee the safe and secure movement of cargo. Freight forwarders require a freight forwarding system that helps consolidate their logistic functions, which has many inter-dependencies and complexities.

Here are guidelines of what a good freight forwarding system should be able to do…

1. Adaptability of the freight forwarding system to changing demands
Start by researching what freight forwarding software other veterans in the business use and determine whether it has served them well. A freight forwarder system that has previously demonstrated resilience in the changing demands of freight forwarding is an asset.
Your freight software should allow you to create multiple hierarchies and divisions and help you connect to a logistics network without the need for hard codes that will necessitate you going back to the software engineer. Also ensure that the system does not create unnecessary delays, which may increase your operating costs.
2. Configurability of the freight forwarding software for your business
You need freight forwarder software that is fully and easily customizable. This customization will afford you some flexibility, which will allow you to make changes according to your business needs without requiring modifications to the software.
3. Speed of setting up new customers and ease of onboarding them
Software for freight forwarders needs to be user-friendly. User friendliness means that it should allow your staff to handle daily operations without the need for extensive training. An efficient system should allow for easy workflow configuration to avoid time wastage and increased costs.
4. Visibility
An effective freight forwarder system is one that allows each customer to have a dedicated web portal. In the case of multiple transactions, a single customer should have access to various portals. Empowering your customer to track shipments will save you time and money as you will not be required to provide information continually.
Freight forwarding, just like many other businesses, relies on technological advancements to improve efficiency, reliability, and safety. There is also a need to reduce errors that may cause wastage of time and money. Freight forwarders are in the business to make a profit meaning that they require a system that is easy to use and configure. A good system should allow real-time access to information such as the location of shipments for both the freight forwarder and the customer!