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Digital technology has changed the freight forwarding industry for the better. From streamlining operations to automating busywork, there is so much that the right freight forwarding software can do to ease the day-to-day burden and allow your team to focus on the big picture.

Here are some tips to consider when choosing the right freight forwarding software.

1. User-Friendly

A good freight forwarding software needs to have an intuitive user interface that people will be able to understand quickly. Your entire team will need to use it, and in some cases your customers will be using it too. In addition to having a clean graphical design, the system should have the ability to support use on mobile or any device type. There should also be a tutorial process that sets new users up for success.

2. Automation and Integration

The main purpose of acquiring freight forwarding software is to streamline your business operations by automating and integrating the entire process. Your chosen freight forwarding software must effectively manage every aspect of your operations such as management of manifest data, generation of delivery orders, tallying container discharge and load lists, tracking container movement, and more, for air freight and ocean freight. It should also integrate with your EDI partners: Customs, Principals, Port Community System and Port operators. It should also allow for download, upload, and easy transfer of documents in a variety of formats.

3. Billing Management

Your freight forwarding software should automate billing and invoicing, as well as the generation of quotes. Small things like being able to give a quote quickly to customers is an essential part of growth. Your response time could be the difference to securing that customer’s business or not. In addition, the software should be able to integrate with your accounting software to eliminate duplication of data input. This creates a more efficient workflow. These small efficiencies are the secrets to boosting your reputation and ultimately your bottom line.

4. Analytics and Reporting

Top freight forwarding software provides you with standard and custom reports, as well as transaction-based reports to support audit trails. Software such as ADVANTUM Freight, also feature graphical dashboards with snapshots of user-defined key performance indicators (KPIs) so you can see how your business is doing at a glance. These reports can give you great insights about profits, loss and time-efficiency which can help you optimize your operations further.

5. Remote Access

Workers are no longer confined to the four walls of an office and need a system that moves with them. Be sure to select a freight forwarding software with cloud technology. This allows access to the system and management of the workflow from anywhere, and that boosts collaboration.

6. Scalability

As your business grows, your freight forwarding software should be able to grow with you. If you are a smaller freight forwarder you can consider using a pay-as-you-go software such as ADVANTUM Freight Lite, where you pay per bill of lading processed. If your business expands, then you can easily upgrade.

7. Customer Service

Customer services is the cornerstone of all industries. Your software provider should be able to configure your software to meet your specific company needs. A feature that works for one company might be unnecessary for another. There needs to be the option to tweak services and functions so that they help your company instead of making your work more complex. To add, no matter how great a software is, there’s still a likelihood you will experience challenges at some point. When there’s an issue or difficulty, your software provider should be readily available to provide technical support. Their quick and efficient response to you will then result in your quick and efficient response to your customers.

 

When choosing the right freight forwarding software it’s clear there is more to consider than just price. We hope this helped narrow down your options so you can make the best choice possible when it comes to freight forwarding software.

ADVANTUM offers the best logistics software products. We are leaders in solutions for the logistics industry. Contact us today at [email protected] for a free demo of the ADVANTUM Freight or ADVANTUM Freight Lite software to see the many ways it could help improve your operations.

Our other logistics software products include ADVANTUM Warehouse (warehouse management software), ADVANTUM Logistics (freight & vessel management software), ADVANTUM Motor Vehicle (vehicle movement and management system), ADVANTUM eLabour (labour and resource scheduling and management software), ADVANTUM Equipment (equipment scheduling and management software), ADVANTUM Payroll and much more. Contact us today for your free software demo.