Digitization Changing the Frontier of the Shipping Industry

The shipping industry and supply chain processes are currently suffering from a gross lack of real-time tracking data. This is leading to a great deal of inefficiencies which are costing shipping companies, drivers, brokers and more millions of dollars a year. With current technologies, shipment data and freight visibility are available with up to the second updates – but this is still not in wide spread use.

Carriers, shippers, brokers & 3PLs, and drivers all suffer from poor fleet management which is leading to a lessened sense of predictability in shipments, due to a lack of freight visibility. If you can track your shipments en route in real-time, with constant contact with the driver, you can not only provide a better service to your clients, but also greatly increase your own businesses’ efficiency and time / resource management. With the technology that is available today at our fingertips, there is no reason to be losing money due to insufficient data insight.

The push for better tracking and fleet management is coming from a number of different sources – shippers want better operational visibility over their fleet, carriers want to be able to provide their clients with more information for better customer support and care. There is a need for more cross-industry collaboration to streamline the shipment process and supply chain management.

Currently, three of the biggest areas for improvement in the shipping industry are:

1. Information sharing in regards to supply chain management,
2. Freight visibility and predictability, and
3. Coordination for carrier partnerships

Each one of these shipping industry segments can be optimized for greater efficiency through available technology. Early adaptors in freight management companies are already taking advantage of it, but so far there has been overall resistance to change.

Luckily for the shipment industry, change is coming. Many shipment companies, drivers, carriers and brokers have already begun to use freight management software, and its use is continuing to climb. With the competitiveness of the shipping industry, the widespread use of tracking apps should spread like wildfire. Once the big players adopt the practise of real-time tracking and data collection, it will become industry standard.

Stephen Roome is a digital marketer and writer from Ontario, Canada.