Digital freight forwarding is an increasingly pervasive term in the TFL industry, but what does it really mean? There are many functionalities that can be digitized, but are they all necessary? Organizing just a single transport involves many duties, and freight forwarding agents sometimes have to manage several dozen of them every day! Can all forwarder tasks be replaced with a digital algorithm? The report answers almost every question regarding digitization in the freight forwarding industry.
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Will digital freight forwarders replace freight forwarding agents?
The most important role of a freight forwarding agent is to plan and organize the transport process. Initially, freight forwarders were responsible for each of the tasks mentioned above. In the past, there were no tools that would streamline the process of planning and organizing transport to the extent digital freight forwarding solutions do today. In principle, digital freight forwarders are to satisfy the demand for forwarding services in a completely innovative way. Seemingly, humans are no longer required in this process, but the reality is that freight forwarding agents are still very much needed. There are just too many random variables that can occur at any stage of the transport process. That is why constant human supervision is still necessary. In that case, what is the purpose of introducing digitization in forwarding? Well, looking at a forwarder’s task list, there are many stages that can be automated easily. These include: automatic carrier selection, rate proposal, automatic route calculation and review of required transport documents. You can read more about digitization functions in our free report.
Digital transformations in the TFL industry
Freight forwarding companies are increasingly willing to invest in developing digital solutions that facilitate and streamline the work of freight forwarding agents. Digitization is happening here and now, and this trend will only continue to accelerate. Aspects such as standardization, platformization and data openness are crucial to its development. Considering these factors, it is possible to combine all actors in the TFL industry into one network of compatible systems. Digital freight forwarding involves managing hundreds of freights at one time. A digital document workflow takes mere fractions of a second. Constant monitoring of cargo and carriers’ routes opens up many operational options. However, many obstacles still significantly hinder the automation and optimization of certain stages of the transport process. What are the issues? You will find out directly from the report.
Digital forwarding as a driver of electromobility?
Electromobility is a slogan that applies not only to passenger cars as in the TFL sector it primarily refers to the electrification of delivery fleets. Electric trucks are one of the pinnacle achievements of urban logistics in recent years. Replacing combustion vehicles with their electric counterparts brings many benefits, including reduction of exhaust fume and greenhouse gas emissions, lowering noise levels, and fuel cost savings. Many digital forwarding functionalities drive truck fleets’ electrification in urban spaces and on national and international roads. Digital forwarding systems leveraging advanced algorithms will easily calculate the required amount of energy for a specific transport or select the appropriate date for the technical inspection of a vehicle. What are other ways digital forwarding can affect the development of electromobility? Read our report to find out.
Cybersecurity in modern technologies of the TFL industry
A very important issue related to the digitization of forwarding is security and, more specifically, cybersecurity. Document workflow in the digital space requires appropriate safeguards against the theft of confidential business data. Of course, migrating paper documents to a digital environment offers many advantages, such as improved process efficiency, elimination of errors, transparency and ease of archiving. E-CMR is one of many transport documents already operating in the digital space. You can find out more about the electronic waybill in the report: “e-CMR – Are you ready?”. There are many different security software options, but simple measures such as regularly changing passwords or updating antivirus software can also help a lot.