The growth of e-commerce will keep forwarders on their toes as shippers continue to optimize their efforts to provide a service on par with Amazon’s. Automation is one of the highest-impact technologies that can be adopted — allowing forwarders to drive growth across their customer base and help bring new business on board. When data entry from documents is automated, data becomes accessible in real-time, removing delays and capacity constraints in processing.
We also often see this capability unlocking visibility on process improvements that can further remove downstream issues and improve customer service. As shippers continue to demand more real-time visibility, it will become a “must-have” piece of infrastructure in every forwarding organization. Finally, automation can be used to reduce the cost of servicing, enabling a better margin on each shipment — particularly interesting given that the continued online movement points toward a future with a more fragmented customer base.