How Does Freight Forwarding Simplify Operations?

Say goodbye to the grind of shipping tasks as software paves the way for smoother freight forwarding operations. 

Daniel Eckett, SEKO's Client Solutions Director for the UK and Ireland, sheds light on the transformative power of freight forwarding software, from facilitating document management to real-time shipment tracking. Eckett says that freight forwarding software has shifted from a nice-to-have feature to an essential requirement.

What is freight forwarding software

Freight forwarding software is a type of software designed to streamline and manage the logistics and transportation of goods. It helps freight forwarders, shipping companies, and logistics providers to efficiently handle various aspects of the shopping process, including cargo booking, documentation, tracking, customs clearance, and invoicing. 

Can you provide your perspective on freight forwarding software?

Freight forwarding software simplifies the daily tasks of freight management, combining a range of data sources into a single platform. There are many software solutions on the market, but to use SEKO as an example, we use our solution as a global platform that ensures our clients get the same shipping visibility wherever they are in the world. Clients can entrust their day-to-day operations to the software and intervene only when unexpected events alter shipment delivery dates.

In what ways does freight forwarding software simplify operations?

One of the major advantages is enhanced shipment tracking. Most freight forwarding platforms use an EDI (Electronic Data Interchange), which automates document and data exchange between two parties. This feature means that businesses can trust their products are moving through the supply chain and will be notified only when the timings are broken.

We are currently working with a third-party company to integrate a new service that will use AI to assess port dwell times to further enhance real-time tracking of shipments.

Data analysis and reporting is notoriously difficult, so how does the software assist here?

Our freight software is connected to Microsoft Power BI, an interactive data visualisation software product, but many software providers will have similar integrations. From here we can create bespoke reports for clients based on their needs. As standard, we provide details on spend, volumes, container utilisation and carbon emissions, the latter being increasingly important to customers. We do this on a monthly and quarterly basis and use this information to create more efficiencies in client supply chains.

How does freight forwarding software assist with the time-consuming task of document management?

Whether a supplier is making the booking or providing proof of delivery on receipt, freight software gives clients the availability to gather documents in one place. This makes meeting global customs requirements easier, and invoices are saved in there as well.

When shopping around for a software provider, what key attributes should customers keep their eyes peeled for?

There's no universally applicable answer, but the first thing to recognise is that freight forwarding software is no longer optional. Your customers expect you to have a platform. At a minimum you should be able to get the tracking visibility over your orders, the milestones of that shipment and document management. More advanced solutions will offer visibility down to PO and SKU levels and the ability to oversee suppliers, manage bookings (from factory to DC) and optimise costs. Look for features that provide detailed reporting.

In today’s economic climate, how important is it to have simple shipping operations?

If we look at the way the freight forwarding industry has changed over the last 20 to 30 years, we're an archaic industry on the surface, but technology has come a long way. Shipping is increasingly technology led and automating processes allows shippers to focus on customer priorities. At SEKO, we don't want to be a faceless company. We want our operations teams creating great relationships and provide the best service available. Freight forwarding software will do the same for you.