Digitization Steps In The Logistics Industry

Bedirhan Albağ  
Operations Support

New Era Of The Logistics Industry Began

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What are These Marketplaces?

• Ground Transport Marketplaces
• Warehouse Marketplaces
• Freight Marketplaces

 

What is Ground Transport Marketplace and How it is Works?

There are 2 systems in land transport marketplaces. The first of these works just like Uber. The customer enters information such as the place of departure, destination and loading date of the cargo into the system. Then the system shows the avaiable trucks or transportation companies nearby. The customer also communicates with trucks or companies on the platform. The second system has a simpler interface. The customer enters the place of loading, destination and date, and then the system shows the appropriate transport companies to the customer.Thanks to such systems, the communication between the shipper and the transport company is accelerated. In addition, customers can easily get prices from many companies and choose the most suitable option for them.

What is Warehouse Marketplaces and How it is Works?

Thanks to warehouse marketplaces, both warehouse owners and companies or individuals in need of storage can easily reach each other through a single platform. Customers registered to the system can see the appropriate warehouses through the system after entering the amount of space, location and date they want to store. It can also display information such as additional services and scopes of warehouses.Thanks to these platforms, communication between customers and warehouse owners is easily ensured.

What is Freight Marketplaces and How it is Works?

The working logic of such marketplaces is to create an offer. The customer enters the product he wants to send, information such as POL, POD, date and container type into the system and creates an offer. This offer falls on a screen accessible to forwarders. Forwarders respond to the offer if they have suitable bookings. After contacting the customer, the customer evaluates all the answers and chooses the one that suits him. Thus, the sale takes place through a digital platform.

What Will Be The Effects Of Online Logistics Marketplaces?

Platforms like these are not yet widely used in the logistics industry these days. However, in the digitalizing world, it may become necessary to use such platforms in the next few years because platforms like these have many advantages for both customers and companies. Shippers and forwarders who cannot adapt to such platforms will probably start to fail in the coming years and new companies that keep up with technology will replace them.