The shipping sector is one of the most important and fastest growing industries in the global business arena today. Without sea trade, economies will suffer due to the inability to import and export goods that are vital to human existence.
Virtually all activities performed in the liner industry involve significant labor costs and time critical processes. As global trade rises, the pressure on shipping companies also increases. The demand for better customer service delivery and industry excellence keeps growing, and changes need to be made in order to sustain reliability of operations. This is the primary reason why shipping companies need to adopt modern sea freight technology and use cutting-edge shipping software solutions.
There are several aspects of the liner business that can be improved significantly with the use of shipping software solutions. Whether they are carriers, agents, feeders, or short sea business and NVOCCs – all parties involved in the shipping process can benefit from adopting modern shipping technology that offers software integrity and user-friendly features.
For carriers, software suites such as LIMA have the capability to incorporate full business functionality with a Windows-standard and easy-to-use interface for management and employees. This line management software application addresses and resolves problems in schedule management, revenue management, CRM, cost management, equipment handling, financials, and data management.
Agents can take advantage of agency suites such as ALFA to streamline processes for sales and marketing, tariff/quotation/contract management, bookings, B/Ls, manifests, invoicing, dangerous goods handling, voyage accounting, intermodal, and Electronic Data Interchange (EDI). With a software application such as ALFA, redundancies are eliminated and workflow is optimized.
For feeder and short sea business, applications such as LIMA FAST offer solutions for enhanced booking process, sophisticated invoicing, complex tariff and cost management, and direct linkage to customers and partners to accommodate short transit times and avoid delays in the communication chain.
Software application suites designed specifically for NVOCCs like LIMA NVO provide either regional or global non-vessel operating common carrier businesses the vehicle to gain competitive edge. Companies have a flexible and scalable software solution to control and monitor all business activities with complete visibility. This results in improved staff productivity, tighter rein over contribution margins and revenue, reduced expenses, and built-in best practices for enhanced customer service level.
Shipping software solutions were developed to simplify and optimize all the complex processes in sea trading. No matter what task is assigned to you, shipping software enables you to do it effectively and competently.