- By Softlink Global
- September 14, 2022
- Freight Forwarder
Scaling a business is a positive sign. It shows you have done the right things and are ready to take on higher volumes or expand. When scaling your operations and finances, it is vital to ensure minimal downtime and make it convenient for all stakeholders.
With a smooth upgrade, you get assistance in making quick decisions, operating with optimized resources, and keeping everything streamlined. To make your business capable and ready for this new phase, you must have the right systems to start. That’s why scalable business software can be the key to unlocking your company’s potential.
Scalable software is a must for all growth-oriented business sizes from small, medium, and enterprise. Grow your company without giving up control of operations, financial management, reporting, accounting, and other business functions. Read on to know why scalability in freight is essential for businesses looking to expand in the future.
Why is a scalable freight ERP important?
Freight forwarders ease trade for importers and exporters. In the age of globalization, you may receive opportunities to expand to newer markets and take on higher volumes. It could also mean incorporating newer offices to manage the workload.
Scalability is your readiness to handle this expansion and growth with minimal or no changes to your infrastructure. The transition to an upgraded capacity should not cause too much discomfort or a steep learning curve for your staff, customers, and vendors.
Forwarders that don’t invest in scalable software citing cost as a barrier, suffer badly. Eventually, they would need to spend more on a new system than the old one.
A cloud-based ERP system for freight is an attractive proposition for forwarders. Scaling the system, in terms of on-demand computing resources, is completely handled at the vendor’s end.
Why do so many ambitious companies still hold on to non-scalable ERP solutions?
The choices made at the company initiation can define how you can handle difficult times. Companies that intend to grow quickly must make the right choice for scalable freight management software. Going for cheaper alternatives rather than the best scalable solutions means problems like:
- incompatibility with other software
- lack of knowledgeable support
- disconnected data
- vulnerable security
For a growth-focused forwarder like you, inflexible solutions are unable to handle your volumes and you’ll be looking for a new solution soon. Omitting scalability affects your expansion capability, only to regret being unable to execute scaling when the growth occurs.
Learn more from our experts how you can digitalize your freight forwarding & logistics business.
Tips to ensuring your business is scaling-ready
Forwarders that wish to have a system that moves at the speed of their ambition, must take a long view about solutions that provide a faster return on investment. Upgrading your system when you reach the tipping point, should be seamless.
Transition or implementation time: How does it benefit your users if you can’t start creating sales quotes, or booking shipments in a short time? Whether it is the first instance of freight software installation or scaling your system to handle more volumes, your staff should understand the user interface and kick off live bookings in a short span. Well-executed training and implementation by the ERP vendor are crucial for the success of upgrading your system.
Database accessibility: In an increased workload, coordination for container booking, invoices management, customs duties, in-transit, delivery, and accounting for all your branches requires complete visibility. ERP brings all organization’s data onto a single-accessible database protected with proper authorization. Data whether accessed from a mobile app, laptop, or desktop must reflect, real-time and accurate data.
Adding business functions or modules: Your growth can span volumes and have you take on new business segments as well. You may choose to add business segments like warehousing, customs clearance, or transportation over your existing offerings. With trusted software, this seemingly major scalability challenge, can add modules and even go live in under 15 minutes.
Make the right choice to support your future growth
Forwarders that trust their growth potential, choose to implement the best freight ERP solutions with built-in scalability from business initiation. Cloud ERPs are highly scalable because they can shift their consumption of computing and storage resources quickly and on demand. Running your ERP system in the cloud saves you from support and maintenance obligations. Don’t wait till your systems slow down before deciding to scale, get equipped with scalable freight software today.