In this article
Share
Despite logistics providers’ investment in customer portals, dashboards, and digital tools, many shippers still track their freight the old-fashioned way: email.
Why?
Because the tools forwarders offer often don’t match how shippers actually work.
We spoke to importers and exporters across the U.S., U.K., and Australia. The feedback was consistent: most portals are designed from the inside out—optimized for logistics operations, not for the customers they serve.
The Problem with Today’s Portals
While well-intentioned, many forwarders’ customer portals suffer from:
- Overly technical language rooted in internal workflows
- Poor UX/navigation, often structured around containers and shipments
- Data overload without context—lots of milestones, little meaning
Shippers expressed their frustration:
“I just want to know where my stuff is right now. Show me on a map.”
“These tools are made for them—not for me. I’m back to using email.”
The Hidden Cost of Poor UX
When your digital tools frustrate your customers:
- You come across as outdated and hard to work with
- You waste time and budget on tools that no one actually uses
- Your ops team gets buried in emails
- And worst of all—your competitors get an easy opening
How to Fix It
If you want shippers to adopt your tools, design around how they think:
- Use their mental models—SKUs, POs, maps, visual timelines
- Proactively flag what matters—exceptions, delays, ETA changes
- Give data meaning—don’t just expose info, tell the story
That’s the thinking behind Logixboard’s Connected Experience: a platform designed not just for internal teams, but for shippers—built around their expectations, language, and workflows.
Because when you strip away the noise and highlight what matters most, your tools become indispensable to your customers.
