Freight Forwarding Software

Freight forwarding software is used by freight companies for a variety of reasons, but from the customer's point of view the main reason for its existence is so that they can track the progress of the package or consignment of goods they sent and verify its successful delivery to the recipient. But there is more to freight forwarding software than just tracking goods in transit despite the major benefits that being able to keep track of a parcel's progress whilst in transit.

There are several different types of this type of software that essentially do this job as well as a whole host of others that are more particular to the specialty of the freight company itself and it is these additional aspects that this page will look at in addition to the better known use for the computer program that allows you to see where you package is and to get a confirmation that the recipient has received it in one piece an on time.

Types of Freight Forwarder Software

There are two main types of freight forwarding software and they are those that can be purchased from third party software developers who market their software to any company that wants to purchase a license for it and those that are produced in-house by the fright forwarding company itself, using their own software development team.

Of these, the former has become the preferred option for a great many smaller and mid sized freight companies, mainly because they are more cost effective for them and they tend to do all the jobs that are required. Also, the vast majority of these software packages come with a set tariff for on-going updates which is also very cost effective.

The latter type is still developed by larger freight companies, especially those that already have in-house software developers that are able to not only develop and build the software from the ground up, but also maintain it while continually developing new features in order to keep pace with a rapidly changing world.

Freight Forwarding Software Uses

Aside from the obvious use for this kind of transportation software, which is to track the progress of a package, parcel or larger consignment of goods, there are other uses that freight companies make use of.

One very important aspect to this is the ability to monitor freight shipping lines and use the information to draw up the most economical and efficient means of shipping goods from one place to another. That could include alternatives such as rail or road freight for national goods transportation, or sea or air freight for international shipping, or internal transportation where time is a limiting factor. It provides the means to track price variations and enable operators to assess costings for a variety of transportation options to determine the most cost effective options.

This of course enables freight forwarding companies that have the use of the most sophisticated software to be able to provide highly competitive rates for their customers in order to keep them one step ahead of the competition, which can be fierce especially at the lower, discount end of the scale.

There are other uses for freight forwarders software that include the ability to assess freight loads from their own company and that of other companies. That means for smaller loads, they can assign them to the most relevant LTL freight transporter within their own company, or if there is not a transport available for a certain route, they can even piggy back the load on other company's LTL freight trucks.

This creates the scenario where a cost saving is to be made where their own company trucks may not be traveling to the destination specified by the customer, so saving the cost of sending out a part-load on a truck that may end up costing far more than outsourcing the load to another freight company.It also fills another company's freight allowance, meaning a saving to them by filling a truck that may be going out with space on the trailer. A win-win situation for both companies.

Of course, all this would all be completely transparent to the customer, who is happy to know that their goods will arrive at their destination on the due date and on cost.

Freight forwarding software fulfills many needs in this technological age where communications and information sharing is the norm and enables rival companies to work together toward a common goal in maintaining the most cost efficient means of moving goods from one place to another.