Technology has been integrated into every facet of our lives these days. From the moment we wake, we are checking our email accounts, our social networking accounts, news, weather, traffic and a number of other apps that either fulfill some personal need or work-related requirement. The mass adoption of the smartphone and advancements made by both Google (Android) and Apple (iOS) continue to create opportunities for software companies to create applications to improve our personal and work lives.

But when you look across the technology landscape today, there are some industries that are lagging behind the good old technology curve. At Freight Exchange Network, we have identified various areas that could be leveraging technology more efficiently to support and grow key business needs that have either been neglected or not available up to this point.

When you consider manufacturing and distribution companies today, you find that there are a vast number of organizations releasing their expensive shipments with little to no visibility into the whereabouts of their product once their valuable goods leave the distribution facility. During transport, shippers are at the mercy of their vendor’s ability to deliver the product on-time and within defined constraints. Therefore, shippers continue to face various challenges and sub-par performance from the existing services that drive the lifeblood of their organization. As a manufacturer or distributor today, you should demand having visibility into your shipments no matter the cost and demand superior performance from any partner or vendor that drives the success or failure of your business.

To get a better idea on the cost of managing your freight, let’s look at a few areas. First, let’s look at the amount of time your team(s) spend tracking down shipments, calling drivers, calling dispatchers and getting the runaround. Throughout the lifetime of a shipment, a person can lose 30-60 minutes of time tracing and tracking a shipment. That could be the equivalent of losing $10, $20 or maybe even $30 per shipment in wasted time.

Second, let’s look at how many people are spending their time tracking down shipments and keeping various teams informed of the shipment status. Is their time being used wisely? Could they be doing more important things that help grow the business’s bottom line? Could you reduce your staff and cut payroll costs? The moral of the story here is that time equals money and, if you aren’t using it wisely, your business will be negatively impacted.

Third, what level of service are you providing your customers? How often do you have to tell a customer that you will have to call them back and provide information on a shipment? How does that make you look to the customer? Failure of a business to provide excellent customer service will ultimately affect your earning ability and could cause you to lose customers. Providing superior customer service should be the top of your list and top of mind, so if you aren’t thinking this, you should be — immediately. Businesses will not survive this current environment if they do not have their customers’ best interests in mind and prove that they are in control of their supply chain processes.

If you are a shipper that faces these types of challenges or other similar challenges, you should be looking at products that enable your business to cover these blind spots and create efficiencies within your business. To do this, you should be considering products that enable you to track your full truckload freight in real-time with full visibility. Much like millions around the world, truck drivers, too, see the smartphone as a vital part of their everyday life on the road. It’s also a perfect fit for drivers looking for a solution that decouples them from the cab and gives them the flexibility to choose their preferred technology. Along with apps that drivers are already using for route optimization, fuel optimization, and navigation, there is a valuable opportunity to enable tracking of the shipment, running on the technology that the driver is already using to perform their job.

FreightTracer (www.freighttracer.com), from Freight Exchange Network, brings it all together and solves these problems for shippers of all kinds at a price point that is very attractive to your bottom line, customer support initiatives and overall business efficiency needs. If you aren’t considering implementing a tool like ours to support your supply chain and shipping processes, we ask you to consider why you aren’t doing so. We are extremely passionate about logistics, technology and enabling our customers to perform at the highest levels and would like nothing more than to help you achieve your business and shipping goals. If you are interested in hearing more about how FreightTracer can help you, please go to www.freighttracer.com and request a demo or email us at sales@freighttracer.com. We look forward to hearing from you!