E-commerce 5 Digital Developments for Logistics Activity Control
A seamless and well-organized supply chain is crucial for ambitious and quickly scaling e-commerce businesses. As a manager considers expanding to a new market, keeping up with the pace of growing business demands becomes more challenging. Logistics helps businesses benefit from the opportunities provided by global trade, improves customer experience, and helps save on shipping costs.
The supply chain has more than one sphere of activities. It covers dozens of factors, not all of which humans can directly influence. That’s why there’s enough room for accidents and unforeseen occurrences.
The good news is, with the help of modern technology, business owners can monitor logistic activities in real-time, predict, and prevent accidents from happening. You can either hire python developers who will create custom software solutions or opt for existing solutions from the market.
In this post, we’ll review the top five platforms for activity monitoring.
Why Is Managing Logistics Activity Important?
By definition, logistics management aims to optimize the efficiency of the product flow and storage. It’s a complex area that consists of inventory and transportation management, freight management, order fulfillment, and handling materials.
For business managers, tracking and management logistic activities are not optional. Its benefits for the company’s operations and customer relations will show clearly as soon as the working framework is implemented.
- Improved transparency. By proactively managing logistics, companies are increasing the level of awareness and transparency within the team. As a result, a business manager is an objective decision-maker, fulfills orders on time, and provides customers with high-level support.
- Operating cost reduction. A company that has the upper hand in freight management is protected from scams on the vendor’s side. A business manager can put in place a system for the reversed flow of products and manage inventory wisely. All of the above leads to a fast and cost-efficient warehouse management system.
- Better customer experiences. By automating logistics to the fullest extent possible, companies are reducing the amount of effort needed for order fulfillment. Also, with the help of management technology, business owners will be able to provide customers with real-time delivery updates, be upfront and transparent about the process.
Logistic in the E-commerce Era
The development and flourishment of Amazon, along with its promise to deliver goods to a shopper’s doorstep in 48 hours, has set new objectives for modern-day logistics. A two-shipping model has spread among the Seattle-based retailer’s biggest competitors – Walmart and Target.
As a result, small businesses have to aim for the 48-hour delivery standards as well. To not lose convenience points and expand the user base, businesses have to use all means possible to facilitate and optimize the process of product transportation.
Let’s take a look at some of the trends that emerged in e-commerce logistics during the last decade:
- Using technology to streamline logistics. To increase the speed of transportation, companies turned to software-driven changes. These days, companies are actively hiring python developers in logistics to create a platform for managing and streamlining processes. The implementation of machine learning and artificial intelligence, big data, and analytical tools, drones, and robotics proves useful when it comes to logistics activity monitoring.
- Sustainable logistics frameworks. Social responsibility is a growing trend in the private sector. Naturally, it left a blueprint on logistics as well. Now, companies use Enterprise Resource Planning tools to ensure they use resources wisely. Such software solutions allow company managers to automate daily activities – place automatic orders when the number of available goods goes below a certain level, manage the inventory in real-time, and so on.
- Collaboration with a customer. Businesses prioritize personalization as a chief marketing strategy. Targeted ads, curated product reels based on a customer’s interests, and flexible loyalty programs are all in trend these days. Also, most companies allow clients to monitor deliveries 24/7.
Top 5 Logistics Activity Management Environments
Logistics is a complex industry with more than a handful of dependencies. In the era of digital transformation, managing logistics activities manually makes no sense. That’s why businesses are eagerly adopting warehouse management and fleet tracking systems.
There are several ways of implementing technology in logistics activity management. You can learn Python for developers and create a basic platform on your own. Reaching out to a professional software development agency is another option businesses often go with.
For small businesses, choosing an off-the-shelf solution might be an even better alternative as it is cheaper and faster. In the long run, however, the drawbacks of third-party software will eventually come through.
If you’re new to the logistics activity management market, there’s no need to feel intimidated by dozens of available options. Instead, consider choosing one of the five trusted software systems we’ll review in the post.
1. Carego
Carego is an all-in-one platform for logistics activity management. The software has a broad range of features – tracking tools, analytical instruments, data restoration solutions, and so on.
Main features:
- Module-based navigation. It allows business managers to prioritize activities and ensures a high-performance speed on low-end devices. Also, by installing only actively used modules, a business manager increases the speed of employee onboarding.
- A centralized management system helps keep all the company’s stakeholders in the loop.
- An advanced system for load and cross-docking tracking;
- An easy-to-use interface.
The platform has downsides, too. For instance, the range of shipping activities it manages is limited to tracking – there are no integrations with predictive analytics or employee behavior monitoring tools.
2. Jaix
Jaix is another suite of logistics activity management tools created by a skilled Python programmer team. It provides medium and big enterprise owners with a variety of distribution, courier management, and tracking instruments.
Main features:
- RFID tag-based product tracking.
- Third-party logistics management;
- Wharf and rail container management tools;
- The use of GPS and geo-fencing for providing mobility insights;
- Digital data records management tools;
- Tools for flexible EDI management.
To use Jaix, a business owner has to make a one-time payment of $35,000. The good news is, a company manager can request a demo to test the platform before making a definite choice.
3. Fleetio
Fleetio is a comprehensive fleet management system that allows logisticians and business managers to track vehicles on a real-time map, provides insights on drivers’ performance, helps place and manage orders.
Business managers regularly praise the tool for its easy-to-use interface. There’s an intuitive dashboard that can be fully configured to match your company’s preferences.
Main features:
- Freight tracking;
- Fuel alert system;
- Robust maintenance logs;
- Driver’s efficiency assessment tool;
- Basic vehicle status reports.
Fleetio has a per-vehicle pricing model. Paying $3 per vehicle each month is convenient to a small business. Large-scale enterprises, with a broader fleet, might have to consider other options.
Fleetio has robust functionality. However, the quality of the platform’s reports is an obvious pain point. There’s only basic vehicle status information and little-to-no data visualization.
4. Ramco
Founded in 1993, Ramco is a reputable cloud-based logistics management platform created by a strong Python developer team. It allows business managers to effortlessly automate time-consuming, mundane operations and spend more time on demanding tasks.
Ramco is marketed as a multi-modal fleet management system. It covers all the areas of business logistics – order planning, the choice of a carrier, the shipping execution, documentation, and so on.
Main features:
- Employee activity tracker;
- Logistics management;
- Warehouse management system;
- Routes, vehicle capacity, and schedule optimization;
- Asset tracking;
- Chatbots for immersive user experience.
5. Soloplan
Soloplan is another logistics activity management platform that was among the pioneers in the industry. It is a powerhouse in terms of tracking and forwarding features. Its range of solutions covers fleet and warehouse management, telematics, and a logistics platform.
Main features;
- Document management tools;
- In-built fleet management system;
- Accident recording and management;
- Vehicle cost accounting;
- Fleet-relevant data and statistics.
SoloPlan allows company managers to manage fleets in a legally compliant way. You’ll be able to manage, perform, and schedule vehicle appointments, conduct driver license checks, and so on.
Conclusion
Efficient logistics and supply chain management is key when it comes to hitting e-commerce performance benchmarks. However, creating a working framework with no technological assistance is challenging and time-consuming. Logistics activity tracking software is a good way to streamline supply chains and transportation operations, keep track of order statuses, and monitor a team’s performance.
There are plenty of off-the-shelf options in the market to choose from. You can also consider looking through the Python developer job market and find a specialist that’ll build a custom solution. Define your selection criteria and business objectives to make an informed choice of a logistics management platform.
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