As a recent report from McKinsey & Company notes, the COVID-19 pandemic has offered brokers and 3PLs like you with opportunities for reinvention and growth: “The crisis presents opportunities for logistics firms to revisit their business models, enter new markets, and innovate around new service offerings.” The report goes on to astutely observe that, “Wise planners will prepare for a number of outcomes, including a continuation of the current volatility or a worsening downturn. In our view, however, they must also watch for the emergence of positive trends and be ready to shift quickly to a growth stance.”
In this blog, we discuss five ways that you can reinvent your logistics/brokerage and position your business for growth even in the face of an unpredictable future. All five of these recommend steps involve three fundamental changes: increasing shipper satisfaction, reducing your operating costs and using technology to your advantage.
1. Hit Your Shippers’ Visibility KPIs Out of the
Park
One of the easiest ways to boost customer satisfaction is to prioritize real-time, digital visibility. With a real-time, digital visibility software like Trucker Tools’ load tracking platform, you can meet even the most stringent shipper visibility KPIs and attract new shippers. Brokers and 3PLs who use our real-time visibility platform routinely meet and surpass shippers’ visibility consistency and compliance KPIs. Trucker Tools’ freight tracking platform also can help you eliminate or reduce check calls, which ultimately reduces your operating costs and cost per load.
2. Increase Productivity with Technology
Why is increasing productivity so important? When you increase productivity, you can cover more loads and service your customers faster, which can increase profit margins and let you move more volume. Check calls, load board postings and email messages to carriers all can be reduced or eliminated with technology. With Trucker Tools’ digital freight matching, you can find capacity in seconds, and with Trucker Tools’ real-time visibility platform, you can instantly see where a truck is currently located by looking at your computer screen.
3. Dedicate Your Human Resources To
Relationship-Building, Not Repetitive Tasks
Increasing productivity also frees up time and resources that you can use to grow your business and better serve your current customers. When your staff members spend less time on manual tasks such as check calls, load board postings and capacity searches done by phone or email, they have more time to focus on shipper service, carrier development and customer development. After all, relationship-building is a core part of your business and it’s what your staff members are best qualified to do.
4. Use Tech That Benefits Shippers
Trucker Tools’ real-time freight tracking platform integrates with 10/4, MacroPoint, Project44 and FourKites shipper visibility platforms. These integrations allow you to instantly share load tracking data with shippers in real-time. You don’t have to call the shipper, send an email or log into a website to share load tracking data with shippers. Sharing data with shippers via platform integration offers shippers added efficiency and that makes you an attractive partner.
5. Provide a Simple, User-Friendly Tech
Experience for Carriers
When making decisions about carrier technology, opt for an all-in-one, easy-to-use trucker app that gives you what you need and that also provides value to truckers. Providing a single tech platform experience for carriers helps your carriers operate with greater efficiency and makes you a more attractive partner. With Trucker Tools’ all-in-one driver app, truckers can track, view and book your loads, and upload and send BOL and POD docs to you. They also can use the app to find parking, an attorney, cargo insurance, fuel prices, rest areas, truck stops, weigh scales, optimal routes, Wal-Mart locations, repair shops and more. The Trucker Tools driver app can be used with multiple brokers and 3PLs, as well, which saves carriers time, too.
Do you want to grow your customer base in 2021? If so, check out these Five Tips on How To Stand Out to Prospective Shippers.
Schedule a free demo of Trucker Tools’ digital freight matching, freight tracking platform and Book-It-Now®.
