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AfA Special
Features
18
Forward Magazine
Q
Summer 2016
Airforwarders Association
Data Repurposing
From large to small, leading freight
forwarders and logistics services providers
are deriving benefits through the active
reuse of data. Even today, data is still
manually entered multiple times across
a number of internal, partner and client
channels and into completely separate
accounting systems and government-
based systems of record. Given the sheer
volume of shipping information and
the complexities of things like customs
compliance and security filings, the cost
of duplicate data entry is high regardless
of business niche or geography. It affects
receivables, drains productive time from
employees across many departments,
clouds visibility, weakens compliance and
unmistakably slows down the movement
of goods.
Leading organizations are bringing shipment
planning and execution, import and export
document generation and back-office
accounting functions together on a single
platform. The ability to collect shipment
information from multiple parties and to
leverage shipment-related data to populate
accounting systems and government systems
of record helps significantly to improve
accuracy and increase efficiencies. It also
helps to minimize costs and effectively bill
without data re-entry. Beyond this, shipment
information can also be repurposed to satisfy
any number of customs and security-filing
related submissions. With global regulations
on the rise, this is of key importance to
companies who operate across different
divisions, geographies and borders.
Information Accessibility
Leading freight forwarders and logistics
service providers are gaining business
by offering a virtual data port that can
be easily accessed by a shipper’s ERP
system. With a connection at-the-ready,
companies are more likely to see proposals
turn into contracts and invoices into
receivables. In addition to receiving data
from target ERP systems, success also lies
in transmitting data back to leading ERP
solutions. In order to extend command
of their operations and truly streamline
information exchange with logistics
partners, companies must leverage
connectivity that is bi-directional. Beyond
this, market leaders have also effectively
mapped common data elements and
fields such as SKUs, kits, supply chain
participants and others into frequently
used data formats and schemas.
The Right Type of Visibility
With respect to visibility, many companies
already have cloud-based monitoring
solutions in place out of necessity. However,
the problem is that the majority display data
statically and are not especially anticipatory
or exception-driven. Systems may not
offer meaningful data at the right time or
in a format that is useful to the shipper.
Customers may need to log in to multiple
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