In today's competitive business landscape, finding ways to optimize shipping has quickly become a must-do item. And year by year, the tools to achieve that goal just keep getting better and better.
One of those tools is shipping optimization software.
Whether your goal is to reduce the amount of money spent on expenses, reduce the total amount of shipments, or optimize delivery routes, shipping optimization software is the latest tool that helps you meet these needs.
If you're a manufacturer, you can use these software platforms to schedule shipments for multiple customers. Meanwhile, if you're a retailer, you can use it to improve the operational efficiency of shipments based on supply and demand, volume, and consumer need.
Regardless of the industry or the size of your business, this powerful tool can be customized to take your shipping efforts to a new level.
In this article, we will dive into the facts of shipping optimization software, and what benefits it provides. We hope that this article will shed some more light on this ever-evolving line of technology, and possibly inspire you to incorporate it into your supply chain.
What is Shipping Optimization Software?
You understand the hurdles that exist in today's supply chain movement, and the goal of shipping optimization software is to help you overcome these hurdles.
In layman's terms, shipping optimization is the process of aggregating data to find points in your shipping process that can be adjusted for optimal efficiency. And this is exactly what shipping optimization software platforms aim to help you achieve.
Let's take a look at a practical example of how this software works.
When a new shipping order comes in, the software finds the right carrier for that specific shipment.
Then, it will factor in information from multiple input fields such as:
- Type of commodity
- Size of the shipment
- Budget
- Destination
- Special handling requirements
- A selection of reliable carriers
Once it has sifted through all of your shipping data, the software can display a variety of options. Generally, these include lowest shipping rates, expected delivery times per each carrier and much more. All this information that it outputs will help you go about the shipping process in the best way possible while saving you the most time and money.
How is shipping optimization software helpful?
While shipping optimization software can be used by your company regardless of size, it is most beneficial and helpful for larger volumes. Moreso, this software is best for those who ship large quantities frequently.
There are a few important ways that shipping optimization software helps you improve the efficiency of your supply chain.
Accomplish more with less
One of the constant struggles that all shippers deal with is overhead.
Luckily, this is something that shipping optimization software can help you reduce. And since these platforms are generally cloud-based, they feature real-time updates.
This means you gain real-time visibility into the latest rates, route information, and other important data. There is no need to haggle with carriers on the phone, no more endless emails, and no more taking notes manually.
Just log in to your dashboard, go over all the data that your software has given you. Then, it is just a matter of making the needed adjustments based on this data.
Great for large volume shipments
If your company ships more than 10 times per week, this software can be quite helpful. This is especially true if you're shipping the same products to different destinations.
This type of software helps you set up shipping platforms and portfolios. These customized portfolios help find qualified carriers that handle:
- LTL shipments
- FTL shipments
- Heavy-haul shipments
Final Thoughts
Want to learn more about integrating shipping optimization software into your daily operations? Redwood's Modern 4PL approach can help.
Thanks to our partnership with Redwood's Modern 4PL approach – our combined efforts offer the flexibility to expand our services. Some of those services include the integration of software solutions.
Reach out to us today and let us show you how transportation management can improve your shipping efforts!