Manual data entry is a fairly mindless task. It’s usually not fulfilling and doesn’t lead people to feel like they’re adding real value to the team, especially when it's a process that could easily be automated through systems integrations.
Data entry, in some capacity, is an essential part of freight forwarding. Making sure the correct information is connected throughout your systems is key to ensuring freight arrives on time in the correct port, carriers get paid, and customers are aware of their shipment’s status.
Instead of having your team spend hours typing in data from one system to another, colloquially known as the “swivel-chair integration”, you should allow them to spend their time evaluating the information and details that are within the data. This one change will dramatically increase your value to your customers, not to mention having more attractive job descriptions.
System integrations free up time and allow your team the freedom to think critically about the trends they see within the data and to make impactful decisions for your business. Integrations between supply chain systems help freight forwarders and supply chain teams unlock insights from their data, reduce data errors, and optimize operations and efficiency.
Unlock the Value of Your Data
Your business generates vast amounts of data daily. Tech system integrations help you harness this data, and the insights hidden within, by consolidating information from multiple sources:
- Real-time shipment tracking
- Up-to-date customs information
- Accurate capacity utilization data
- Current market rates
- Weather patterns affecting routes and more
By connecting your ERP, TMS, and third-party data providers through APIs, EDI connections, and cloud-based platforms, you create a robust foundation for smarter, faster, and more profitable decision-making.
Reduce Data Errors
Data doesn’t just appear in your systems - it starts with a human somewhere relaying details about the price of goods, shipment requests, or vessel availability. Once this data is created, it must be re-entered and relayed throughout dozens of systems to numerous contacts throughout the supply chain.
Throughout this process, things get missed. There will be typos, data entry errors, missed information. When humans are entering the data, the chance of errors increases exponentially.
Connected integrations ensure your systems will automatically be populated with accurate and up-to-date information, so your team can focus their efforts elsewhere on ways to improve productivity.
Plus, there are numerous downstream benefits to automating your data, like better compliance data and overall supply chain resilience.
Optimize Supply Chain Operations and Efficiency
Because your team is tied up in the weeds and spending hours on manual data entry, they usually don’t have time to evaluate your and your customer’s data critically.
By integrating your data, you limit the burden on your individual team members and allow them time to engage with the information they were once just disseminating. You allow them to do what people still do better than computers - dream up innovative projects based on insights they may not even be aware of having, or identify things that just “feel wrong” with customer data and flag them for additional review, or so much more.
While analyzing data, your team can organize, interpret, and apply the information you receive from customers and other systems, providing context and insight into opportunities for many areas of your business.
When given a chance to think critically about the sea of information they are working with, your team will likely find ways to improve operational efficiency internally and opportunities to better serve customers externally.
How Chain.io Helps
Chain.io is powered by pre-built adapters that make connecting systems across supply chains fast and secure.
Chain.io takes data from one source, filters and translates that information if needed, and delivers the data to multiple desired locations, like a TMS or ERP, a reporting platform, or any other specified location needed for your business.
Chain.io seamlessly connects your systems, empowering you to shift your focus from manual data entry to what really matters—driving your business forward and delivering exceptional service to your customers.
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