Digital freight forwarder
Definition
It is a company that uses computers to manage the transportation chain. They don’t even need an office with a telephone, fax and manager. The company that realizes digital freight forwarding can replace all these things.
Aims of digitalization
The task that can be done by digital forwarders:
- Automatic calculation of the route and cost of transportation.
- Search for carriers, conducting an online auction, selecting suitable offers with optimal conditions.
- Online rent of transport.
- Documentary registration of all stages of transportation.
Advantages
Forwarders of this type have the following advantages:
- Cargo tracking is simplified. With traditional management, you can only get current information by telephone and mail, checking carrier websites, reports, etc. Digital freight forwarders send and receive the data about the transition of cargo through integration with airlines, shipping companies, and port terminals. Therefore, information is instantly available to the customer through his personal account or mobile application, in which it is easy to set up automatic notifications by email or SMS.
- Transparent pricing. The user has access to data on the rates of a large range of carriers and the formation of a fare.
- Simplification of document management. The invoice exchange scheme is optimized.
- Intuitive interface. The cargo owner can order the shipment, correspond with suppliers, analyze reports, coordinate documentation, monitor the location of the freight online. All those functions are available within one system.
New logistics technologies are able to reduce the cost of delivery and customs clearance by 16-28%. Especially, when having a deal with multimodal cargo and transportation is processed by several modes of transport.