Shipping is a data-heavy industry where the transportation of a single shipment involves hundreds of emails, documents, and large volumes of data. Often, you end up spending a lot of time tracking information internally, scrolling through cluttered inboxes, and looking between multiple versions of documents to find the right or the latest data. Luckily, the influence of an Ocean TMS on this aspect is far from insignificant.
Manually entering data from emails and documents into your system and sharing it with end customers can also be time-consuming and error-prone. A data entry professional takes about 10-15 minutes to manually enter a logistics-related document, while a large one may take up to 60 minutes or
more. Moreover, large volumes of data are often in silos, making it difficult for your teams to collaborate among themselves.
The amount of time and money an Ocean TMS can help you save is impressive – it enhances and strengthens several areas of your data management, such as:
Centralizing your data for repurposing
An Ocean TMS has a centralized database where the same data can be multi-purposed for several activities. For instance, the data taken directly from schedules is duplicated automatically in booking, shipment planning, shipping instructions, VGM declarations, etc.
💡To calculate your ROI, consider:
“How much time/money could I save by reducing manual input into all my systems?”
Giving instant access to information
You can also reduce the time you spend searching for information from multiple sources. You get information instantly from your partner’s tools, forwarders, and carriers through an API/EDI connection. You don’t have to copy information from carriers or partners to your tool. It is available in your TMS/ERP, and your collaborators, freight forwarders, and customers can automatically access it.
💡To calculate your ROI, consider:
“How much time/money could my organization save by making all information accessible for everyone at all times?”
Minimizing human errors
Manual data entry errors can cost you a lot. For instance, something as simple as correcting the shipping address will cost you $20.00 per package to more than $125.00 per shipment. Surveys show that 12.5% of invoices required rework when handled manually. Automation reduces such errors, enabling your organization to save thousands of dollars every month.
💡To calculate your ROI, consider:
“How much time/money could my organization save by reducing the number of manual errors?”
Eliminating double data entry and operational silos
You can integrate it with your ERP/ SAP/TMS and other software and transfer data instantly and automatically and eliminate double data entry. It also removes the barriers between various teams/departments, removes operational silos, and enhances collaboration, thus helping you reduce admin time and speed up your processes.
🔎USE CASE
French oil giant Total Energies and the multinational food company Andros both benefited from implementing the BuyCo tool. They both could avoid 95% of exchange emails by using the tool. Furthermore, it has enabled Total Energies to successfully manage and collaborate with over 100 customers and freight forwarders.
To gain in-depth insight about other crucial metrics that influence the implementation of an Ocean TMS, discover our latest e-book :
