Logistics and shipping technology have come a long way, both in terms of quality and complexity. Even simple tech features like shipment tracking have moved beyond just monitoring the location of the goods.
Today, you can leverage shipment tracking technology to do so much more.
For starters, you can access real-time updates such as the shipment status, potential challenges, and activities that could lead to delays — giving you the ability to act proactively.
You can also leverage tech for predictive analytics to determine certain factors, such as shipment arrival. This goes a long way to impact your decision-making abilities.
Advanced Features of Shipment Tracking
The advanced features of shipment tracking technology are functionalities that allow the application to do much more than just tell you about the location of your shipment.
With these features, you can optimize the entire tracking process more efficiently.
Real-Time Updates
This helps you achieve visibility in the shipment process. With real time updates, you can get information about your shipment as needed. This could vary from security reasons to the condition of the shipment during transit.
With real-time updates, you can identify or spot potential issues or risks in the shipping process. This gives you ample time to analyze and respond to the threat. It is a great tool for mitigating risk during the shipping process and will ultimately improve efficiency.
Predictive Analytics
The predictive analytics application or feature leverages AI and machine learning tools to help you gather and analyze shipping information. This information typically entails historical data or current patterns impacting the shipping operation.
With analyzed data, you have a more accurate delivery time. This, in turn, helps you plan and allocate your resources accordingly. It also enhances the customer experience because they can access accurate and detailed delivery times. This is in very high demand in today’s business climate.
Document Management
With advanced shipment tracking solutions, you can have a record of all necessary documentation. This simplifies the shipping process by ensuring all the right documents are available throughout the operation.
There are many instances when a shipment arrives at its destination without the necessary documentation. Of course, this could cause delays and problems with the regulatory authorities or the receiver. To prevent that, these applications often come equipped with in-built reminders.
Why Are Advanced Shipment Tracking Features Important?
Traditionally, tracking information about a shipment was designed to reduce anxiety during the shipping process. However, there was little else you could do with the tracking information.
With advanced shipment or package tracking features, you can achieve the following:
Effective Communication
One thing these features have in common is that they increase your access to accurate and on-time information. In turn, you can effectively communicate with every party in the shipping operation. This will ensure all parties are ready to play their part.
Better Resource Allocation
The advanced features provide your supply chain operation with enough information to help you make better decisions concerning your resource allocation. For example, if there is going to be a delay in the shipment process, you are well aware of it on time.
This should allow you to make the necessary changes and allocate resources to keep the supply chain moving until the shipment arrives.
Improved Customer Experience
Customers are increasingly keen to know the latest information and every detail about their order process. This includes when it was shipped, how long it will take them to receive their goods, and the potential delays that could impact it. With features such as package tracking status, you can easily relay this to the consumers.
In turn, this ability to track their shipments could help you improve their overall experience with your platform and positively impact or drive future sales.
Reduced Cost of Operations
These features are effective for streamlining the shipping process. This means reduced or zero errors, more efficient use of resources, and overall increased outputs. This reduces the cost of shipping operations, enabling businesses to have better margins.
Enhancing Decision-Making in Shipping with Key Tracking Features
A shipping operation can be similar to a tangled web of complexities. Now, the way to get them undone is primarily through the availability of information. With focused information, all the parties in the shipping operation know what they are supposed to do.
These insights allow users to spot or identify potential disruptors or challenges preventing them from effectively playing their part.
Gathering and analyzing all the necessary information in real-time allows all parties, including carriers, brokers, and shippers, to discuss potential solutions. These features also will enable them to make responsible and effective decisions that streamline operations and ensure success.
How GEN Technologies Leveraged The Silq Platform to Enhance Their Decision-Making During Shipping Operations
Consider GEN Technologies, a company that believed shipment tracking was strictly about knowing the location of their shipment at any point in time. Naturally, they did not think much of it, as learning the location only served one purpose: to tell them their shipment was still in transit.
However, GEN Tech noticed their customers were beginning to complain about slow or delayed deliveries and lack of visibility into the process. This prompted a review of their supply chain, with a special interest in shipping operations.
The results were not encouraging for GEN. The company’s supply chain was constantly experiencing delays. While all stakeholders communicated well, there wasn’t much to it because nobody knew anything besides the shipment's location.
The external and internal teams had no clue what was causing the delays or why there were delays in the first place. For a tech company specializing in manufacturing high-end electronics, it was a terrible situation.
That is until the logistics manager came across the Silq platform. Suddenly, she knew what to do about their shipping operation. Leveraging the platform was easy. First, the Silq team visited their factory for inspection and to help kick-start the streamlining of their shipping process. This will be accomplished through well-detailed and accurate forecasting.
After that, GEN Tech was onboarded and had access to the Silq dashboard. It was a game changer as Silq’s visibility dashboard was the answer to all their logistics woes. Suddenly, they could access and leverage advanced shipment tracking features they had no idea about in the past. It was a great experience for them, mainly because of the seamless coordination with their carriers and brokers.
The company used data-driven facts to back up its decision-making, which ultimately streamlined the entire shipping process, increased out, and eliminated delays from the process.
How The Silq Platform Improves Your Shipping Operation Through Improved Decision Making
With the Silq platform, you can access cool features and services such as document management, project management, real-time updates, and predictive analytics. All of these are leveraged to provide accurate data throughout your shipping process.
In turn, you can use the data to improve your shipping operations by identifying problematic areas and taking necessary action. Leave the ‘guessing game’ out and work with us now.
