This story has been told before. From the warehouse-like Costco to the completely online Zappos, time and time again successful companies are built by going above and beyond for their customers. And while some may argue that crediting these businesses with “revolutionizing customer service” may be a bit generous, these case studies are certainly nice reminders of the power of a great Customer Experience.
Now it appears the freight forwarding industry is due for their own reminder of that power.
Having robust analytics, reporting, and visibility at their fingertips as a standard in their personal lives, shippers now expect the same– if not more– from the freight forwarders managing their shipments.
A wave of digital forwarders has swept through the market promising shippers that they’ll meet these new expectations. Focused mostly on shipment visibility, these well-funded giants are dazzling shippers and wrecking traditional shipper-forwarder relationships that have existed for decades. While the jury is still out on if these digital-first forwarders can execute as well operationally, they are still leaving incumbent forwarders scrambling to slowly and awkwardly bolt digital systems to their TMS or emptying their pocketbooks to build custom solutions.
In the cries of “digitize, digitize!” that follow, it’s easy for many freight forwarders to get swept up and forget what they already have on their side: the freight forwarding know-how, a long history with clients, and the right people in the right places.
This means all they are missing is a tool. A sharp contrast to the digital-first forwarders that are, essentially, only a tool.
With customer service still the highest priority by far for shippers when working with a freight forwarder (see Figure 1A), Julian Alvarez, co-founder and CEO of Logixboard, recognized an opportunity for traditional forwarders to gain a competitive edge. It would take more than simply checking off the “dashboard” or “visibility” box though.
It’s about relationships and the more you can spend time building the relationships rather than solving problems and answering questions, the better off you are.
Levi Tankir, Operations Manager at KTL Logistics
Working closely with freight forwarders and shippers, Julian and our Logixboard team went to work identifying the precise pain points and inefficiencies that needed to be solved to improve the Customer Experience for shippers. From there, it was time to build. The goal was simple: provide forwarders with best in class technology that they could pair with the people that make supply chains run.
The results? Logixboard partners have been able to quickly overhaul their customer facing technology to position themselves as forwarders that can deliver both operationally and technologically. The results speak for themselves:
- One partner went head-to-head with freight forwarding giants to win over $2.3M in new revenue… in 4 months!
- Another partner won back over $2.5M after implementing Logixboard
- A 3rd partner generated $50M in new revenue in addition to improving retention
Interested in learn more about how Logixboard can help your forwarding operation? Check out the resources below:
