4 Surefire Signs That it’s Time to Update Your Freight Forwarding Software

What’s the cost of doing nothing?

It’s true: purchasing new software comes at a price. However, when it comes to living with aging or obsolete freight forwarding software, you are also paying a price every day through eroding profit margins, poor customer service, productivity losses, higher risk of errors, and more.

Have you ever attempted to take on a home renovation without the right tools? It can take you ten times longer and yield downright unattractive results. It’s the same with your freight management system: if you’re trying to run a modern, flourishing, competitive business without the right software foundation, you’re going to face some major struggles. It doesn’t have to be so hard.

Is your freight software (or lack thereof) holding you back? Here are a few surefire signs:

Signs Your Freight Forwarding Software Needs Replacement:

1 – You are lacking real-time visibility
In the freight forwarding business, as with other logistics and supply chain companies, time is of the essence. With today’s consumers having sky-high expectations when it comes to delivery speed, freight forwarders are in a race to get the shipment from origin to destination first.

If you don’t have real-time visibility of your cargo at every step of the supply chain, you’re falling behind. Up-to-the-minute tracking data lets you get your cargo where it needs to go and gives you greater accuracy to make wiser ordering and fulfillment decisions.

2 – Your customer service is overloaded
Your customers trust you to be the expert in freight forwarding, but they still need visibility when it comes to their cargo. They have questions to answer and deadlines to meet, so they need to know when shipment A is arriving at point B and if there are any potential delays along the way. If your customer service team is getting bogged down by calls and e-mails, you need to know that there is a better way to keep customers informed – proactively!

A self-service visibility and tracking app lets customers answer their own questions, 24/7 and from their own mobile device. It’s a true win-win: you don’t spend all day answering calls and emails, and your customers are thrilled with the visibility and convenience of the app. You gain fast ROI on this kind of self-service tracking technology with productivity gains and customer loyalty: it’s a sure bet!

3 – You have a paperwork backlog
Bureaucracy. It comes with the territory as a freight forwarder. From customs forms to customer invoices, you’ve got an endless queue of forms to fill, each with its own requirements and deadlines. If you’re still conducting business by email or fax, you’re adding needless steps to an already complex process, wasting precious time and risking introducing costly errors.

A modern freight forwarding system will allow you to connect with various agents, agencies, and third-party software to exchange data and documents instantly. In addition to saving you time, a modern supply chain network like the Magaya Network also protects you and your stakeholders with a secure, encrypted data exchange.

4 – You’re suffering from recurrent IT headaches
You’re in the freight forwarding business – not computer maintenance! If you’re managing old, self-hosted software on your own servers, then you know that when something goes wrong, it can bring your whole business to a halt. Time spent troubleshooting hardware and software is such a waste. Modern, cloud-based freight forwarding software frees you from IT headaches, taking the cumbersome tasks of server and software maintenance, upgrades, security, and more off your hands.

Cloud-based supply chain software has a predictable cost structure: no midnight surprises when a server suddenly dies on you. Plus, you’ll benefit from a lower total cost of ownership and the freedom to focus on what really matters to your business: your customers.