FEBRUARY 2023
Manifest Monthly: February
INDUSTRY VOICE
Over the past 12 years, I’ve spent my career equipping businesses with the software they need to succeed. Since joining Logixboard, I’ve been focused on the HUGE potential of tech innovation to help logistics companies grow their businesses.
In a relationship-centered industry like freight forwarding, it’s easy to dismiss digital solutions as “a great choice for some companies” and focus on the tried and true methods. What we’ve seen at LXB is that traditional freight forwarders have a unique opportunity to offer a differentiated customer experience to win customers, improve margins and expand their businesses.
Many companies focus on the benefits of technology improving efficiency or saving time. While this is helpful, it doesn’t really differentiate your business to your clients or drive new revenue. The future of Logistics Technology is around tools that create cost/time savings while supporting the revenue growth of the business – to drive higher margin revenue.
THIS MONTH AT LOGIXBOARD
Still haven’t gotten the chance to try out our new Bookings feature?
You’re not going to want to miss out. With Logixboard Bookings, you can give your shippers a place to submit requests, review options, and approve bookings– all within the Logixboard platform.
To learn more about how it works, watch our recent webinar or read the launch post on the Logixboard blog.
You can even see it live in action by booking a free demo. Or if you’re a Logixboard user, reach out to your CSM to schedule a call 👨💻
The Ultimate Tech Stack Checklist ✅
Does your company’s tech stack measure up to shipper expectations? Here’s a list of all the features you need to build a robust digital arsenal:
Customer experience
☐ Shipment visibility
☐ Live shipment tracking
☐ Online messaging
☐ A modern customer-facing platform
☐ Analytics dashboards
Analytics
☐ Internal access to current and historical KPIs
☐ Exceptions tracking
☐ Route-specific analytics
☐ Carrier comparison
Document management
☐ Online file access for customers, forwarding agents, and customs
☐ Ability to upload documents
☐ Automated population of documents needed
☐ Document scheduling
Online payments
☐ Digital payment processing
☐ Automatic shipment cost tracking
☐ Automatic cost-sharing upon delivery
Up for another challenge? Fill out our Logistics Tech Stack Scorecard to find out where your company falls on our digitization scale, and how you can improve.
TOP HITS THIS MONTH
From The Manifest
Harness Flexport’s Secret Sauce – Customer Experience
Flexport was founded in 2013 and within a decade has grown to become one of the largest freight forwarders in the world. In an industry
How Technology Can Power Your Carrier and Shipper Relationships
In the time following the peak of the pandemic, logistics professionals have learned to brace for shocks and developments, with many maintaining flexibility to pivot
WHAT WE’RE READING 📖
This Forbes feature on a robot electric cargo plane that could “transform” the shipping industry with lowered costs, enhanced flexibility, and reduced flight time. This technology rivals several competitors in the space, from UPS-partnered Beta Technologies to FedEx-collaborator Elroy Air.
Descartes’ recent report, jam-packed with interesting findings on innovation in supply chain and logistics based on surveying 1,000 executives. Some highlights:
- 59% of respondents accelerated the pace of their innovation as a result of challenges over the past two years
- 55% of respondents have a defined ESG strategy, but only 30% have an action plan and funding in place
- Respondents cited COVID (36%) and inflation (34%) has having the most adverse impact on supply chain innovation
Frost & Sullivan’s annual list of mega trends. This year’s roundup of top growth opportunities includes four trends in the supply chain space– robotics-as-a-service, return logistics-as-a-service, zero-waste manufacturing, and autonomous private shuttles and pods.
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