Our Freight Industry Predictions for 2022

If there’s anything the last couple of years have taught us, it’s to expect the unexpected. But that doesn’t have to stop us from making some predictions about the year to come. As 2021 comes to a close, there are some undeniable trends affecting the freight industry… port congestion, capacity constraints, and emerging competition come to mind.

In this article, we round up some predictions from Magaya thought leaders about what’s coming next for the industry.

“The incessant uncertainty and change we’ve experienced in the last couple of years has brought to light a clear need for freight forwarders (and all businesses, really) need to make risk mitigation a top priority. Although nobody could have ever predicted the pandemic or its massive impact on global supply chains, some businesses were better prepared than others to weather the storm. Forced to pivot at a moment’s notice or risk shutting down, the businesses that had architected agility and adaptability into their processes were the ones that came out ahead.

For freight forwarders, being agile and effectively planning for risk mitigation mean, first and foremost, eliminating manual, siloed processes in favor of digitization and centralization. Modern technology advancements make this possible to achieve across many areas of the business, for example, digitizing the freight allocation management process to efficiently compare allocations with consolidated booking data. When you digitize rates and prioritize gaining direct access to spot rates, you’re better equipped to compare and find best rate options. You can also now gain access to all of your schedules across modes to find the best routes and alternatives. And provide not only your team, but also your customers with online visibility with intuitive tools to monitor and follow their shipment tracking activities.”

– Virgil Ferreira, Chief Operating Officer, Rate Management

“We’re all well aware of the port congestion problems that are currently plaguing us, so importers, customs brokers, and freight forwarders need to do everything they can to streamline and expedite operations for all parties: agents, carriers, customs, and customers. That means digitizing and connecting systems so that data is shared efficiently. In 2022, we’re going to see an acceleration in the availability and adoption of APIs, enabling stakeholders with faster, more reliable, and highly-adaptable access to real-time data.

For example, the suite of APIs for Magaya Customs Compliance enables real-time data exchange with U.S. Customs to expedite the clearance process on high-volume import and export operations. These APIs allow external applications to communicate with the ACE system automatically through the Magaya system. Nearly all ACE filing functions can be performed through the API suite, including ISF, 3461, 7501, AES, 7512/Inbond, e214/FTZ as well as queries such as manifest, HTS, Ad/CV, and many others.”

– Matthew Fotouhi, Chief Technology Officer, Customs Compliance

“The word complex gets thrown around a lot when talking about supply chains, but my prediction is that freight forwarders are going to be looking for ways to simplify their operations in 2022. Disparate, disconnected systems are slowing down operations at a time when the need for speed is greater than ever.

There’s no shortage of startups offering shiny new point solutions in the logistics space, but experienced freight forwarders want more. They’re seeing the value of a single platform to manage operations without the added challenge of developing custom integrations and dealing with a long roster of vendors. Plus, having one source of the truth paves the way for better data insights and business intelligence-driven insights. Overall, there is great value in adopting a single platform for better visibility, ease of use, and, often, a lower total cost of ownership as well.”

– Kristjan Lillemets, Vice President, Product

“In 2022, freight forwarders are going to make great strides to put customers at the heart of everything they do. Customer experience is quickly becoming an important differentiator for logistics service providers that stand out from the crowd by being easy to do business with, and offering reliable, consistent service across teams and channels.

That’s why I’m so excited to introduce our new CRM solution to the market. An integrated CRM designed for freight forwarding workflows makes it easy for everyone managing an account to speak the same language and know the customer’s history and current needs.”

– Mark Buman, Chief Revenue Officer

“Digital forwarders don’t always have the network and experience that established forwarders do, but they’re still eating into the overall market, winning business with their slick user experience and ease of use. But it won’t be long before online portals for quotes, bookings, shipments, and tracking are common for all freight forwarders, an exciting win-win for customers and users alike.

Lengthy email exchanges and phone tag are soon to be a thing of the past, as more freight forwarders will turn to digital online customer portals to streamline the customer experience and optimize employee performance, a much-needed digital transformation for the industry!”

– Gary Nemmers, Chief Executive Officer

“Going digital and automating manual processes has been truly transformative for the industry, accelerating key processes and making accurate data more readily available to all stakeholders. For instance, digitizing shipping documents that traditionally start on paper or in emails can dramatically reduce manual keying of data and eliminate errors. But that’s only the beginning. What we do with the data we have available is what’s really going to be a game-changer, and that’s where artificial intelligence comes into play.

With AI, computers are constantly learning from your data to help freight forwarders reduce errors, enhance safety, sidestep potential problems, and so much more. The possibilities for AI applications in the industry are endless, and are so exciting.”

– Gabriel Ruz, Chief Innovation Officer