Freight Management

Regardless of whether it’s mitigating the high costs of customer deliveries, reducing freight costs on incoming shipments, or merely reducing the costs on customer returns, all companies see reducing freight management costs as an essential part of improving profit. Some rely upon a strategy of using bulk shipments to drive down the per-unit freight costs on incoming shipments, while others try and use competitive bids to nail down the best possible deal. It’s a difficult pursuit and one made all the more difficult by a company’s manual processes. It’s like trying to catch lightning in a bottle; success is measured by the ability to have everything align and have absolutely nothing go wrong. Unfortunately, rarely does this happen. If something can go wrong, it will. However, there are some solutions to skyrocketing gas prices and the going concern of fuel surcharges, and they include managing freight via enterprise mobility solutions. So, what are some of the ways that your enterprise can reduce freight costs via a mobile, handheld computer?

Real-time Freight Management

Imagine a situation where every time a delay occurred, your company was instantly notified in real-time. Every single time a new course needed to be pursued, your company had a series of options to pursue. This is what is ultimately possible when freight is managed through mobility management solutions. Companies are able to divert shipments at a moment’s notice and instantly make other arrangements. They can do all of this through their rugged handheld computers, instantly providing them with real-time access to in-transit shipments.

Immediate Diversion on Deliveries

The problem in managing freight isn’t in the lack of possible solutions; it’s in the time delays that are experienced with manual processes. It’s these time delays that make it nearly impossible to divert deliveries to new destinations. It’s these time delays that are exacerbated by manual processes, ones that make diverting shipments a cumbersome and problematic affair. What’s involved? Well, typically someone has to be notified of the delay. Then a decision is made and a series of repetitive phones calls ensues, all in the hopes of achieving what can be done in a fraction of the time with a simple mobile device. It saves time, money and customer relationships.

Lower Costs & Better Service

What does your company do when confronted with a customer request to divert a shipment? Do you immediately notify the customer that no changes can be made, simply because you know you won’t be able to intercept that delivery in time? Or, do you try in vain to solve the problem by making a series of calls, ones that rarely produce results? The fact is, a customer’s request to divert a shipment shouldn’t be ignored because your manual processes can’t make it happen. It’s simply a poor excuse for your company’s inability to properly service its customer base. Managing freight via enterprise mobility solutions reduces freight management costs by reducing the time it takes to properly service customers. In the end, that improves your profit and allows you to improve your company’s service capabilities. One of the important issues with freight is that all costs are borne by all companies. A fuel surcharge is an all-inclusive charge; freight companies apply these charges across the board to all customers. Therefore, the only way to make a difference is to manage your shipments in real-time. The only way to reduce costs is to put the odds in your favor by using rugged handheld computers and mobile devices to better manage deliveries. It’s one distinguishing service capability that will not only help you reduce costs, but improve your service offering across the board.