Digital Platforms in Freight Forwarding

Digital platforms are created to facilitate user interactions and transactions, enabled by technologies such as cloud, Internet of Things (IoT), and artificial intelligence (AI). These platforms can grow to support higher volumes of activity without significant cost increases – a scalability that’s needed to expand reach without adding business infrastructure. They are designed to operate continuously, so anyone in any time zone can access and interact with them.

Another key advantage of digital platforms is they help to streamline business processes and simplify complex tasks through automation. That virtually eliminates manual labor and helps keep operational costs low – savings that a business can opt to pass on in lower customer prices or achieve higher profits. In addition, digital platforms today act as a credible and trustworthy intermediary.

In the age of digitalization, it is critically important to have full visibility and accurate information about your shipments during and after transportation. A trustworthy digital platform should provide a one-stop portal to your freight forwarding logistics, putting you in full control of all your shipments. In addition, a digital platform should use this accurate data in tailor-made reports, helping you take well-informed decisions. A digital platform can also boost your collaboration with colleagues, customers, and partners, and support your journey towards supply chain automation.

The right choice of digital platform will save you time and help you cut shipping costs by as much as 70% and carbon emissions by 20%¹. It should improve efficiency and resilience, giving you more agility and faster reactions. And it should proactively support you with shipment tracking and reporting. According to Forbes², digital platforms can “intelligently drive better collaboration with key partners in an extended supply chain.”

Today, all large logistics service providers have a digital platform in one form or another. Developing a digital platform requires a holistic approach³ to unlock the greatest returns on investment, including higher efficiencies, sustainability, and user satisfaction. 

As digital investments increase, supply chain automation accelerates, and the logistics technology race intensifies among service providers⁴, more and more digital platforms are being created. And these providers are maintaining and upgrading their digital platforms while also preserving a personal touch with shippers, carriers, and other partners. Even the most well-developed digital platform must be accompanied by an extensive network of experts with the knowledge and experience essential to your success. 

The right digital platform ensures visibility of the end-to-end supply chain and should be able to notify you about exceptions while proactively solving everyday issues on your behalf. It should help reduce total logistics costs, enable full electronic documentation, and – thanks to data integration and visibility  – report and track your carbon emissions to demonstrate your sustainability credentials. Logistics technology and a digital platform are the building blocks of supply chain automation.

Most logistics service providers provide a website for procurement and ordering. But to get the full benefits of a digital platform, you’ll probably have to be set up and log in. With myDHLi, for example, registration provides you with comprehensive in-transit status reports, proactive exception and delay notifications, documentation, and post-shipment analysis and reporting.

Shipping clerks, booking clerks, and procurement staff are most likely to use the quote and booking functions of a digital platform. The right platform can boost their productivity and help them take more informed decisions.

Anyone in the organization responsible for logistics and supply chain management and those responsible for shipment tracking are most likely to use the in-transit functions of a digital platform. With relevant shipment tracking data delivered in a timely, organized manner, these people can act promptly and effectively in every situation.

The heads of supply chain, procurement, and sustainability in large organizations are likely to use the analytics and reporting functions of a digital platform. In smaller organizations, the managing director or chief executive officer may also use this platform. Cumulative data helps build the bigger picture, so these people can assess various trends such as spending, performance on key lanes, improvement over time, service quality, and carbon footprint.

Digital platforms are constantly developing as logistics service providers seek to future-proof their offerings and reduce shipment risk with new technologies including AI and machine learning. For myDHLi, there are many exciting topics in pipeline, particularly around customs compliance and freight visibility, as we seek to make customer organizations more efficient, resilient, profitable, and sustainable. In future, these developments will enable supply chain automation.