Shippers expect good service, but how do you prove your value to them? The right technology can help to differentiate your business from the competition.
Everyone appreciates getting full value for their dollar whether times are good or bad. The trick lies in being able to demonstrate the value to your customers. If they can’t see it, they may think it’s not there. In a competitive industry like expedited delivery, your competition is just a phone call away. So you do a good job for your customers, but can you actually prove it to them?
If deliveries don’t turn up in the right place and at the agreed time, someone is bound to notice. Ironically, it’s when everything goes as planned that your customers wonder what’s really going on with their shipments.
Technology Creates Visibility
Before modern technology started changing the face of the delivery business, no one had much visibility into the actual process. A shipper just had to trust that a carrier was doing the job as agreed. It was only when things went wrong that traces were initiated and telephones started ringing. Without any way to check progress, a shipper was essentially blind to the status of a job.
Courier software companies started changing that situation back in the 1970s. A pioneering company created a complete “back office” application to help couriers and truckers run their businesses. For the first time, these carriers were able to gain visibility into shipments and share that information with their customers when needed.
As cellular phones and handheld computers with GPS entered the scene, shipments could be tracked down to the minute. Shippers could log onto the carrier’s web site and get real-time information about the status of their shipments. Carriers were now delivering more than just goods—they were delivering logistics data to their customers.
Shippers also realized the value of this information and used it to keep tabs on their carriers. Unfortunately, they were often accessing the data only when something went wrong. They weren’t getting the positive information that would demonstrate the value of the carrier’s service.
Using Technology to Create Value
These days, advanced courier software is only delivered over the web. Information is available anytime, anywhere through an internet browser with these solutions. So, a shipper can see for themselves that everything is going smoothly.
In fact, one logistics technology company already offers a way for shippers to keep up with all the jobs in progress with various independent carriers. Using a virtual dashboard, the shipper is constantly updated on the status of their deliveries. They don’t just check when there is some kind of exception. Instead, they get to see that a majority of the work is proceeding right on schedule. A carrier’s good work is constantly on display to remind their customer of the value they bring to their link in the supply chain.
In a highly competitive business like expedited delivery, a business owner has to constantly win their customers’ business. The best way to demonstrate value is to provide the tools and information they need to see that value for themselves.
