The freight industry may be cyclical, but it always seems to come with its fair share of new circumstances and challenges. Ripple effects from the pandemic have played out over the past few years across the global economy and led us to where we are today with lower freight volumes, while the cost of fuel has increased. As the pendulum swings opposite to the rising cost of shipping that we saw during the pandemic, there is the potential for rates to now fall and the market to turn more drastically in the shipper’s favor.

In this context, freight forwarders are looking to improve their operations to stay ahead of the competition. One solution that many are turning to is real-time visibility, which enables them to better manage their operations and provide their customers with accurate and timely information. In this article, we're discussing the current challenges of freight forwarders to increase efficiency and how they can find this through real-time visibility.

In a Challenging Environment, Freight Forwarders Turn to Real-Time Visibility to Bolster Efficiency

Efficiency is crucial for freight forwarders as it directly impacts their ability to compete in a highly volatile and dynamic industry. Freight forwarders must provide reliable and cost-effective logistics solutions for their customers. With lower freight volumes, increased competition, and changing consumer demands, the need for efficient operations has become more critical than ever.

One of freight forwarders' biggest challenges is the lack of supply chain and transportation visibility. The consequences may be increased costs and delayed shipments when situations go awry. Improved visibility allows freight forwarders to do more than just track shipments in real-time; they can identify opportunities for more proactive decisions. This proactive preparation helps them to respond quickly to changing market conditions for increased customer satisfaction. At the same time, it also allows them to optimize their resources, reduce waste, and increase productivity, ultimately translating to a better bottom line. 

3 Ways Real-Time Visibility Helps Freight Forwarders Facing Challenging Times

With increased visibility, freight forwarders have opportunities to improve their service offerings, build stronger relationships with their customers, and position themselves as industry leaders. Here are three ways real-time visibility contributes to efficiency.

Streamlined Decision-Making Accommodates Volatility

Real-time visibility is crucial for streamlining decision-making in response to market volatility, especially when it comes to container freight logistics. With the ability to monitor their entire network in real-time, businesses gain a deeper understanding of industry trends, benchmark performance, and monitor the impact of unexpected events. Freight forwarders improve their visibility into global trade and bring insights and data to their planning decisions. With this level of visibility, they can quickly adapt to market changes to optimize their resources internally and provide a better service.

Full-Software Integration Optimizes Tech Stacks

Full software integration for real-time visibility is an invaluable tool for freight forwarders as it allows optimization of their tech stacks. With container tracking APIs, freight forwarders can easily connect their execution software to get a complete view of all their containerized shipments. This level of integration provides end-to-end visibility and access to real-time data and alerts, allowing freight forwarders to make informed decisions more quickly and easily.

This optimization helps increase efficiency and productivity by streamlining workflows and automating repetitive tasks, which can reduce operational costs and improve profitability. Better tech stack integration can also reduce errors, encourage collaboration and communication among different teams, and help future-proof businesses by ensuring their technology infrastructure is scalable and adaptable.

Automated Event Notifications Keep Shippers in the Know

Automated event notifications help keep shippers informed throughout the entire shipping process. They are made aware of any changes in real time, allowing them to make immediate decisions to adjust other aspects of their supply chain. This level of visibility and transparency can help foster stronger relationships between freight forwarders and shippers, as shippers trust that their freight is being managed efficiently and effectively. Automated notifications also eliminate the operational cost and time required of freight forwarders manually tracking and providing customer updates. 

Tap into Greater Efficiency Through Real-Time Visibility with VIZION API

The results of these three aspects of real-time, automated visibility—streamlining decision-making in the face of volatility, optimizing tech stacks, and automating event notifications—offer freight forwarders efficiency that can help their bottom line. They save operational costs and time, and they can identify ways to improve their services by being proactive.

To help freight forwarders reach these goals, VIZION API provides real-time tracking of containers and automated port and terminal event updates. Freight forwarders get an easier way to stay on top of shipments and set themselves up to stay competitive in a changing freight market.

To learn more about achieving efficiency through container visibility with VIZION API, contact us today to schedule a demo.