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A staggering 93% of Logistics professional spend half of their working day solely addressing the problems, says a latest report by Container xChange themed ‘The benefits of digitalizing container operations’.
The report reveals that on surveying 1000 logistics professionals it was concluded that without digital tools, freight forwarders spend almost half of their working days fixing problems, indicating a significant inefficiency in the current system, leading to a waste of valuable time and resources.
A simple sounding task like procuring a container deal, logistics professionals has to hassle as problems like incorrect or incomplete documentation, and miscommunication and misunderstandings in international deals cause delay and lead to lost in revenue. Payment delays, discrepancies in container quality or quantity, undetected damage, and unexpected events such as weather-related disruptions or port strikes are also some challenges that cause severe disruptions to container operations.
Freight forwarder also struggle to maintain a diverse and reliable network of partners. The report reveals that 92% of logistics professionals spend an average of 3-4 hours to source just one new partner when needed.
In addition to this, 53% of professionals said that 3-4 hours within a week is spent discussing the term and conditions with the new partners. Furthermore, the report shows that 93% of logistics professionals spend 2-4 hours contacting depots for release and drop off references. These manual processes are time-consuming and can lead to inefficiencies in the container shipping industry.
The report has also revealed that one-third of logistics professionals are spending a significant amount of time on manual transactions, with an average of 10 minutes per transaction, highlighting the need for digital adoption for even the simplest operations in the container operations industry.
“Supply chains consist of tangible and intangible flows: on one hand you have physical cargo flows and humans handling documents, and on the other you have digital flows of data. The business of international freight forwarding is all about the intersection of people, processes and technology.”
Nikolaus Sievers, Director of Logistics Optimisation Solutions at Solvo.ai
The report has made it evident that without making a move towards digital, businesses risks of falling behind. While businesses which have digitalized or automated have a significant advantage, the report finds.
By automating just these three processes i.e. Online marketplace for equipment and partner sourcing, Container tracking, release references of live ETAs, and Online chat for negotiating terms and conditions, one could save 8+ hours per week or 4 full working days per month.
As per the report findings most players spend only 5-10 minutes sourcing a partner using an online marketplace, effectively saving 170 minutes to their un-digital counterparts, per partner.
“Digitalization is the inevitable evolution for every industry, and the container logistics industry is no different. In today’s difficult times, companies are struggling with innumerable macroeconomic and geopolitical disruptions. With these manual processes, it can become even more difficult to do business. Our research shows that the move to digital tools can save time, increase efficiency and improve profitability. Logistics professionals need to embrace the digital transformation to stay ahead in a competitive market,”
Christian Roeloffs, CEO of Container xChange
“As the report has shown, time saved from digitalizing operations at work is proving to be an asset for freight forwarders. It allows them to focus on higher-level tasks that can drive growth and success for the company, like setting long-term goals and identifying new markets for expansion. Additionally, this free time can foster a more collaborative and innovative culture within the organization, leading to new products, services, and business models.” he added.
