Today’s dynamic nature of the logistics and shipping industry combined with growing competition already existing in the sector bring lots of unique challenges to the small and medium scale operators. This dynamic rules and competition makes it compulsory for freight forwarding firms, non-vessel operating common carriers (NVOCC’s), international freight brokers, custom house agents, shipping agents and cargo agents to streamline their multifarious business operations to compete in this competitive freight forwarding industry. To stay ahead of competitor and to grow successfully, an implementation of an Effective Logistics Management with ERP Systems is the ultimate solution for freight forwarding industry. which will directly lead in streamline the logistics and freight forwarding operations, which will resulting in effective and efficient management of freight forwarding processes and that will proprietorially increase profitability and accuracy.
The concept of ERP for logistics management brought an evolutionary changes in freight forwarding Industry, in which all the freight forwarding processes are integrated together and they executes in a sequential manner to generate accurate output with in a fraction of a time. Before planning and implementing an ERP systems for a freight forwarding organization , it is important to analyze the following mandatory freight forwarding factors:
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Single platform with fully integrated operations of freight Management :
While adopting an ERP systems, first analyze what all fright forwarding requirements your business do have?? For example, a small scale or medium scale fright forwarding agents uses multiple applications to manage their functions, including freight management, documentation, container tracking, customs brokerage, compliance services and shipment tracking would be more profitable and comfortable if all this applications are merged into a single platform with fully integrated operations of freight management. This completely automated ERP for freight forwarding operations will make the operations more accurate, efficient, cost effective and will provide all the users with real-time visibility of in-bound/out-bound shipment and their corresponding receivables.
ERP Systems must have secured and centralized database :
The second and important parameter whiling adopting ERP Systems for your freight forwarding business is the use of secured and Centralized database multi-branch access. Centralized database will result in avoiding disconnected pools of data independent to each other causing unnecessary delay, disruption, protects from data duplication and operations data monitoring. The centralized database allow the freight management system to read, edit (modification) and write data to and fro from each of the branch offices, this really helps out business owners to track shipment-wise payment, profitability, outstanding details and performances.
ERP System should provide great financial control and visibility :
While adopting ERP Systems it is important to check whether it has great financial control or not by cross-integrating data from operational tasks and data from actual transactions. An Ideal freight forwarder solution should allow agents and owners to evaluate estimated profit per shipment and then it should allow to compare it with the shipment’s actual cost and profit by using the data from receivables, brokerage expenses, transaction and payable. This will help agents and owners to track their each and every shipments profitability, which will further lead them to focus on future shipments that have a greater profitability ratio.
Quick Access to information, reports, approvals and data archiving
ERP Systems must have feature of data archiving, information reporting and data storage which are the most crucial elements in logistics and freight forwarding business. The ERP system should have the automation for generating and archive reports, including shipping-related MIS reports, purchase order, balance sheets, packing lists and multiple invoices for and quotations and different chain partners. In addition to this an ERP Systems for fright forwarding should be able to generate direct cargo documents including Cargo Arrival Notice (CAN), Cargo Arrival Advice (CAA), Delivery Order (DO) and House Bill of Lading (HBL) automatically. This automation will directly help business owners not just to retrieve document but to send these documents directly from system to the logistical chain partner.