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Table of Contents
Top 12 Key Features To Look For in Logistics Management Software
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Introduction
The logistics industry is a crucial partner of ecommerce businesses. Allocating the right transporters, orchestrating inventory, and tracking cargo are critical for your business success. However, these tasks are time consuming and expensive when done manually.
You risk losing 113 minutes to half a day if you coordinate your logistics without automation.
But thanks to advanced cloud-based logistics management software, you don’t have to rely on outdated paper based processes today.
Small, medium, and large companies in retail and eCommerce are recognising the importance of AI-led logistics management systems. According to a report, AI in logistics can generate $1.3 to $2 trillion benefits in 2030.
We want you to reap the benefits of automated, streamlined logistics operations.
So, we dedicate this article to the top 12 features of logistics management software and the ways they can meet your shipping, fulfillment, and operation demands.
How Logistics Management Software Meets Your Supply Chain Needs
Logistics management systems centers around inventory management, distribution, shipping, freight transport, and inventory. It caters to all the essential components of supply chain management for any business. The right logistics management software will optimize the end-to-end of logistics operations. From connecting you with shipping partners to streamlining last-mile logistics, it devises the entire process.
While taking charge of everyday logistics operations, it benefits you by increasing your operational efficiency using evolving Generative AI, ML, IoT, etc. It creates a productive and resilient supply chain system. Its automation capacity systematizes the entire shipping workflow, from route planning, tracking, POD collection, label generation, etc.
Here’s how:
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Offers real-time visibility of shipments in-transit.
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Helps you provide meaningful post-puchase customer engagement.
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Minimizes errors and mismatches in invoicing reconciliation and billing.
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Creates standard warehousing procedures in sorting, picking, packing, labeling, and resource planning by integrating with warehouse management software.
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Reduces logistics costs and fosters a collaborative environment using multiple integrations.
Top 12 Features to Look for in Logistics Management Software
Now that you understand the usefulness of logistics management software, here are 12 features that all excellent logistics software have in common. Knowing them will help you pinpoint your ideal partner amongst 800 available options in the market.
1. Seamless Integrations Capabilities
Logistics management software handles a wide range of activities for obtaining, storing, and moving products from your warehouse to the customer’s location. It requires a constant flow of information and real-time synchronization among multiple facilitators. These include integrations with supply chain management, warehouse management, inventory management, transportation management, and order management systems.
In logistics, you need constant coordination. This is facilitated by logistics software through seamless integrations with multiple technology and shipping enablers. Some of these include: transport management software, warehouse management system, 3PLs, shipping carriers, etc.
2. Comprehensive Transportation Coordination
A wide customer pool or multiple marketplaces operability necessitates constant transportation and visibility. Logistics management solutions helps plan, execute and optimize your transportation needs. They enable you to tie up with numerous logistics and transportation companies.
The best logistics management solution has a wide carrier base and uses intelligent algorithms to assign the right drivers or vehicle based on your given parameters. It offers real-time calculation of carrier rates and plan loading space in trucks. Tracking fuel consumption, vehicle maintenance logs, and scheduling docks at warehouses are some other ways a logistics management software can help you save time and money.
3. Efficient Delivery Scheduling
The last-mile is the most complex of any shipping journey. So, as eCommerce retailers you may search for the best performing carriers and rates to shift the burden of cost. With logistics software solutions, you get to automatically allocate your shipments to the carrier based on either fixed or custom rules like shipping cost.
But completing a delivery successfully requires more than this. Logistics management systems, especially multi-carrier shipping software, deploys automation. This speeds up airway bills and shipping label generation. You get to display EDDs and notifications to customers.
4. Optimized Warehouse and Inventory Operations
One component of supply chain management software is controlling the movement of stock from the moment it enters a warehouse till it gets dispatched. It creates a roadmap to have the right stock in the right place for easy picking and packing. This allows you to fulfill orders faster, whether it’s for one-day or hyperlocal delivery.
You can organize warehouse operations and carefully record inventory movements. For instance, plan the picking flow and generate lists to minimize picking errors. Synchronize inventory, track its flow, and get alerts before an impending stockout to keep a healthy count of stock and avoid losing sales. Logistics management software play a key role in supply chain operations through these kind of offerings.
5. Strategic Route Planning
Planning and picking the optimal route before every delivery serves to speed up delivery time, avoid in-transit obstacles, and lower fuel expenses. Thankfully, logistics management software has the capability to plan routes using state-of-the-art technology. This simplifies transportation processes and vehicle management.
Apart from this, it also engineers an easy way to manage shipping with real-time route adjustments, GPS tracking of vehicles, updates on route progress, etc. This assists you in optimizing route and planning vehicle load for timely deliveries in a single route.
6. Real-Time Shipment Tracking
When 90% of customers seek a way to track orders, your route to satisfying them is to offer real-time order status updates. Logistics management systems also give you visibility across your supply chain operations. This way you maintain control over where your shipments are and should be. This kind of fleet management helps stabilise inventory levels and improve customer service.
For instance, when a shipment is stuck and on the verge of being canceled, you can salvage the situation by coordinating with your carrier if you have visibility. When you embed the tracking data into a tracking portal and send notifications to customers, you effectively lower WISMO calls from them.
7. Digitization of POD, Billings, and Invoices
Logistics software has resources to digitize POD collection, electronic exchange of invoices, and creation of bills of lading. By eradicating outdated paper based processes, you create a transparency system with your stakeholders. You save time, process payments faster, leave a trail of accountability, and keep accurate records.
8. Streamlined Order Fulfillment
Order fulfillment is a long-drawn logistics process and prone to errors. But, you can ensure accuracy and velocity with the right technology. For instance, leverage the integration capabilities of logistics software to send order details as soon as a customer completes a transaction.
With the best logistics management software in hand, you can create your order processing workflow. Enable barcode scanning to ensure the right order is picked and check dimensional accuracy for weight discrepancies. Have shipping labels ready to just fix it on the box for dispatch. Get your carriers to schedule a dock for swift loading.
9. Proactive Demand Forecasting and Risk Management
Supply chains are unpredictable but with prediction algorithms you can tame it with great precision. Anticipate customer demand and plan resources ahead of time with proactive demand forecasting models present in logistics software.
Forecasting helps you avoid resource wastage, rushed shipments, and improves your cost. By predicting demand trends, it enables you to distribute inventory across high demand centers for faster order fulfillment. By giving you insights into customer behavior, it also helps you avoid risks such as producing inventory that doesn’t meet the current customer trend.
10. Actionable Business Intelligence and Reporting
If you want to scale your business, you need data to guide your decision. Data analytics and insightful reporting is one of the best use cases of logistics platforms.
It furnishes deep insights into the state of your logistics—carrier performance, delivery metrics, cost-centers, reasons for returned merchandise, etc. You get the information required to negotiate SLA terms with carriers, mitigate untoward expenses, and manage returns better.
11. Efficient Reverse Logistics
Logistics software gives you multiple avenues to streamline your reverse logistics. From automating return requests processing to arranging for pickups, it establishes a standard operating procedure that lowers TAT and expenses.
You get to devise strategies that keep customers with your brand for longer. This includes incentivizing exchanges, label-free returns, giving them a wider network of drop-off networks etc. Logistics software arranges these for you.
12. Scalability and Automation
Logistics software adapts to your business model and needs. As your shipment volume increases, so does its handling capacity. As a flexible solution, it adapts to your dynamic market conditions and improves your business agility.
For instance, taking recourse with automation. It coordinates multi-modal transport, manages your vendors, and meets customer expectations. It helps you stay relevant and hold a competitive advantage in your niche.
Take Control of your Logistics For Faster Business Growth with ClickPost
While managing logistics may seem difficult, having to coordinate with multiple intermediaries ClickPost eases the job for you. It comes pre-integrated with over 400+ shipping carriers, 30+ payment gateways, WMS, OMS, and eCommerce storefronts. It only takes a day to integrate with them and start your logistics operations in full swing.
More than this, you can leverage ClickPost’s automation capabilities—real time tracking using push and pull APIs, automatic label generation, EDD prediction, etc. ClickPost’s performance-based carrier selection engine uses machine learning to help allocate your shipments based on your business priorities. Its unique use case is reducing your customer queries, improving logistics efficiency, and lowering costs.
Overall recommendation
With logistics software you get to streamline operations, automate tasks, and create a strong supply chain with accurate predictions. We hope our list of features help you understand the core functionality of logistics platforms so you choose an ideal solution that meets all your needs.