Every company has, is or will be going through the digitalization process. Oh, wait!

Is it digitalization or digitizing? Asking a few colleagues delivered different views on using these two words - we ended up using digitalization. 

The business world has been aiming for a paperless office or trail for quite some years. Digitization limits itself to scanning a document into a digital format. So what’s so special about digitalization, and what are the key benefits in a logistics environment?

CMR’s/Bills of Lading can sometimes take several weeks to reach the intended recipient’s office for approval. Often the payment of the logistics service provider depends on producing the document. 

Digital (scanned) documents travel fast and can trigger an earlier payment and earlier response if anything goes wrong. Imagine all information is gathered digitally, in real time, and presented to the office to approve them, and so are your damages.

Quality cargo control and data consistency

Think of the flow of information between a warehouse and the office: endless loading lists, inbound inspections, and damage reports. To ensure an error-free, quick, and consistent exchange of information, most logistics service providers have installed WMS or TMS or have adopted some form of digitalization to walk away from a continuous exchange of paperwork.

To create a realistic and accurate analysis or report, the measurements of variables in a data set must be the same. With the steady increase in the volume of goods and specific customer requirements, the need for a faster and smoother information flow has never been so strong. By structured data collection, it can be ensured that almost nothing can be missed or forgotten, which means that the chances of human error drastically decrease.

Cargo logistics data traceability

The number of hours spent turning paper and photos into a comprehensive file is unprecedented. Imagine the errors or mistakes made in this process, one digit misspelled, and no one will ever find the correct file again.

How often has it happened that a damage claim was received a year later or two or even three years later? Will it be possible to find that claim file? How long will it take to find it?

Storing files and photos, archiving endless boxes of closed files in basements, behind your desk, or even a paid outside storage. Fortunately, there are low-cost cloud-based storage options, and the endless stacks of paper are almost gone.

Data traceability is vital to any structured operations' success, whether finding evidence of freight damage or a reference to a previous project about relaunch.

Accessibility and speed

Business communication relied heavily on paper, whether reporting or negotiation of contracts. Imagine receiving hundreds of bills of lading, original and copies, having to print all of them, check and put them in a file, most likely never to be seen again.

Sounds familiar?

Automatization of digital documentation, such as cargo docs, invoices, etc., has risen, giving room for little to no personal involvement. For example, notifications are sent automatically when a product is dispatched or ready. So sharing

Implementing a paperless trial concept is much stronger regarding inter-company communication. However, paper is often the king inside a logistics company. Take a close look at every process within a warehouse or a terminal.

How does one cross-check what needs to be loaded or arriving now in a container that needs to be striped? How are the goods inspected? How are damages recorded and notified?

If any of the above sounds familiar, you can start gradually phasing digital solutions into your operational process. Start sharing your Proof of Condition and create transparent visual cargo inspections.

Remove the risk of errors, improve the flow of timely and qualitative data, and improve your business’s accuracy and speed.

Curious to see how Cargill ripped all these benefits and increased their productivity?