DF Alliance's Vision for the Future of Freight Forwarding: Sustainable Shipping and What's Next?
Besides the difficulties on the way to growing your business, you can take advantage of the opportunities that are waiting for you. So, new supply chain trends will encourage you to achieve new milestones. However, the only thing that can stop you is the uncertainty of the future.
Our Digital Freight Alliance aims to relieve the world’s trade and logistics businesses of the feeling of uncertainty and helplessness in the turbulent world of logistics. The is creating a network of cooperation that will overcome the challenges and multiply the privileges of an advanced future. In this article, we will analyze the challenges and opportunities in the freight forwarding industry, including the rapid transformation driven by e-commerce, globalization, and changing customer expectations. You will learn about the DF Alliance’s long-term vision and future of freight forwarding goals for our Members and the logistics industry as a whole. Let’s discuss upcoming logistics initiatives and trends in supply chain management.
Future of Freight Forwarding: Trends and Vision for Global Supply Chains Management
Thinking about the Alliance's future projects, opportunities for DFA Members, and expansion in the logistics market, it is worth noting the directions. Today, we will outline 4 areas of freight trends that define our logistics trend radar:
Thinking about the Alliance’s future projects, opportunities for DFA Members, and expansion in the logistics market, it is worth noting the directions. Global economic shifts, along with technological advancements, are driving the evolution and transformation of the global freight network and logistics industry. Today, we will outline 4 areas of freight trends that define our logistics trend radar
Sustainable shipping: Green logistics
Let’s start at the root - the environmental impact of shipping. Among all the usual logistics industry trends, solutions to reduce the carbon footprint of cargo transportation are not only relevant but also increasingly affordable. In the transport and logistics sector, the importance of sustainability and decarbonization is paramount. Involvement in promoting green logistics initiatives is becoming increasingly common among the global forwarding community. Shippers increasingly prefer advanced solutions that minimize CO2 pollution. In a worthy response to this trend, carriers are introducing convenient and efficient solutions for green logistics into their arsenal and competing in the market.
Green logistics strategies should be implemented comprehensively at all stages of freight transportation. Therefore, it is worth finding one convenient service that will simplify this process. For example, DFA Membership offers access to the integration of the SeaRates Logistics Explorer widget, an online freight calculator that will take into account the wishes to minimize CO2 emissions for your customer’s shipments.
Right on your website, the shipper will receive options for freight rates for its transportation and adjust the cost according to the contribution to green shipping.
In addition, freight forwarders can automate this process, and a commission will be added to each booking for the need to reduce carbon dioxide emissions during shipment. SeaRates is doing this through the ClimaTrade Foundation. You can learn more about the functionality of the SeaRates Logistics Explorer widget on your website in the article “ Resell Rates and Expand Your Reach with DFA“ or directly on our Developer Portal.
Freight partnership: Global interaction and networking
As we noted earlier, the uncertainty of the future of freight forwarding leads to a lack of understanding of trends in supply chain management, which drives business into stagnation. The freight forwarding sector is currently experiencing significant mergers, acquisitions, and consolidation trends within the industry. Unpredictable logistics trends cannot be quickly taken into account by an ordinary freight forwarder. This results in missed opportunities.
In addition, the logistics industry is sensitive not only to positive freight trends but also to spontaneous global challenges such as pandemics, geopolitical factors, climate disasters, and more.
With network support in the global freight forwarding community of DFA, the carrier will always find a suitable financial solution for its business, markets for the promotion of its logistics services, and select trusted partners from around the world.
For example, DFA's Premium Membership Tier offers solutions for financing your business operations, such as the Payments Protection, and vendor access to SeaRates Open Leads and closed Members' Chat.
Join flexible and secure contracts and expand the geography of your services through the Digital Freight Alliance network.
Digital freight forwarding industry
Supply chain trends for innovation consist of several components: automation and simplification, hyper data exchange, and multimodal transportation platforms. A logistics industry overview cannot be complete without mentioning the indispensability of freight tools. The innovative shipping tools available to you under the terms of the DFA Premium Membership are designed to automate your forwarding services, such as transparent freight rate calculation, data collection and processing, shipment tracking, receiving sailing schedules on individual requests, and more. In this way, you reduce the likelihood of errors and prevent supply chain disruptions.
Analytics can significantly optimize the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of freight forwarding operations by enhancing route optimization, demand forecasting, and capacity planning. Also, Ship Schedules or Container Tracking widgets on your website will facilitate the high-quality collection and processing of information on their various requests. The data is updated in real-time, which ensures proactive response and supply chain transparency for you as a freight forwarder, as well as for shippers and your partners.
Multimodal or intermodal shipping should be carried out through one convenient platform, marketplace, or forwarding global network where carriers smoothly interact with each other and deliver high-quality cargo. This requires secure contracting, consideration of the transportation budget, reliable partners and customers, and many other things that are difficult for a carrier to control alone.
In addition, it is directly related to sustainable shipping. After all, transportation by different carriers or different modes of transport is designed to reduce the carbon footprint of delivery.
Being part of an established network demonstrates commitment to maintaining high professional standards that clients may be more likely to trust than independent operators without affiliations or support from larger entities.
Freight customer service: Focus on shippers' needs
The driving force of the logistics business is satisfying the numerous needs of shippers. Not only in safe delivery, but also in additional services, extra features for easy tracking, searching, optimization, a user-friendly interface of your IT logistics solutions, and fast data exchange. Technological advancements such as IoT, RPA, AR/VR, Blockchain, and AI/ML are being applied to modernize and enhance freight forwarding services, improving shipment tracking, fleet management, warehouse operations, customs compliance, and cargo security.
Any services you provide to your client should not turn into a chaotic collection of unspecific information. Carriers, freight forwarders, and other logistics providers that ensure that shippers receive transparent, relevant data with additional opportunities to interact with information gain long-term loyalty and proactive communication with partners and customers. Such adaptation of logistics services to the customer’s choice is the key to a successful business strategy.
Conclusion
The needs of a modern shipper require working together with the carrier from the beginning to the end of logistics processes and maintenance. That's why freight forwarders in the DFA community have already joined online digital logistics solutions that simplify cooperation with all parties. Join the Digital Freight Alliance, the world's first digital logistics network, to make a technological breakthrough for your business in the global market.
Contact our team at info@df-alliance.com for assistance with any of your business needs.
