In the dynamic world of logistics, the ability to adapt swiftly and respond to market demands and disruptions is crucial. Modern logistics operations hinge significantly on technology, which is relied on, ultimately, to improve the customer experience.
More specifically, this improvement is obtained through the effective deployment of customer portals. These portals not only facilitate real-time visibility across the supply chain but also empower customers to manage their operations with better precision and flexibility.
Like many aspects of the logistics sector, the landscape of customer portals faces significant challenges. Many existing systems suffer from limitations due to outdated technology and a lack of integration, leading to fragmented data and sub-optimal user experiences. Additionally, the "out-of-the-box" nature of many customer portals offers little scope for innovation or differentiation, leaving companies struggling to stand out in a competitive market.
This article explores the current landscape of customer portals in the logistics sector, identifying the key challenges they face, and proposing some strategic responses to these challenges. By rethinking the role and capabilities of customer portals, logistics companies can enhance their operational outlook, improve customer relationships, and secure a competitive advantage in the rapidly evolving global market.
The concept of customer portals originated as basic web-based interfaces, providing clients with straightforward functions like order tracking and inventory checks. These portals served as digital bridges, offering users a glimpse into their logistics providers' systems. However, as digital transformation accelerated along with the ever-expanding stack of operational systems, these basic tools began to fall short of delivering the depth of real-time data and interaction that modern supply chains require.
In today's dynamic logistics environment, maintaining real-time supply chain visibility is essential. Customer portals are crucial for providing the necessary data for informed decision-making. Yet, many logistics service providers (LSPs) fall short in offering this transparency. A Tive survey found that while 77% of LSP customers view real-time visibility as essential, less than half of LSPs can provide it. This gap often leads to customer dissatisfaction and loss of business, as highlighted by a FreightWaves survey where 46% of shippers switched LSPs for better technology.
The strategic response to the complexity of supply chain management has been a shift from monolithic ERP systems to best-of-breed SaaS solutions. Traditional ERPs, designed as one-size-fits-all solutions, often fail to meet the specific needs of modern logistics operations, resulting in inefficiencies. In contrast, best-of-breed SaaS solutions are tailored to address the particular challenges of different logistics segments, such as warehousing and transportation management. This shift enables more flexible and adaptable operations, allowing companies to implement and scale solutions more effectively, reducing operational friction and enhancing responsiveness to market changes.
Fig. 1: The migration from ERP to SaaS
The best-of-breed approach in logistics, while beneficial, also presents challenges due to the siloed nature of specialised systems. This often leads to the need for separate customer portals for different operational areas, complicating the user experience.
Fragmented Systems: Portals on disjointed platforms segregate data by function—like warehousing, freight forwarding, transport, or finance—making it difficult for customers to gain a coherent view of their operations and resulting in a confusing and inefficient experience.
Poor User Experience: Outdated interfaces, limited customisation, and non-responsive designs hinder user engagement. Users expect a seamless digital experience, and failure to meet these expectations can significantly reduce satisfaction.
Limited Scope for Innovation: Often, best-of-breed systems include pre-built customer portals that lack flexibility and cannot be customised to meet specific business needs. This limits a company's ability to differentiate and restricts technological progression.
For example, replacing a system usually requires implementing a new portal, forcing customers to adjust to a new interface. This transition can be cumbersome and time-consuming, further disrupting the customer experience.
Fig. 2: Disparate systems resulting in multiple portals and customer friction
There is a clear need for a unified customer portal experience that provides a comprehensive view across all systems and participants in the supply chain. Not only that, it needs to reflect the unique service advantages of the business as a key differentiator.
One common misconception is that businesses can employ data warehouses and Business Intelligence (BI) tools to resolve these challenges. Whilst these are effective tools and serve many value-adding use cases, they have also shown considerable limitations in addressing the requirements for a single customer portal experience in the following ways:
Fig. 3: Data warehouses only serve one-way data flows
To tackle the challenges of integrating a unified customer portal across the supply chain, a three-step approach is essential: Integrate, Contextualise, and Engage.
Integration involves connecting various systems, partners, and data sources with differing capabilities using methods like SFTP/FTP, AS2, API, and EDI message formats. Each piece of data, whether a status change or a transaction, translates into significant business outcomes. It's crucial for the integration team to interpret these consistently to ensure robust, long-term functionality.
The ability of a supply chain system to merge data from diverse sources and add meaningful context is vital. For example, data ranging from sales orders and bill of lading to detailed freight information (like dimensions, barcodes, and SKUs) must be unified. Without a contextualised view, discrepancies in data handling can arise across different tools like TMS, WMS, and Freight Forwarding systems. A central platform that consolidates this data is crucial for effective management and operational efficiency.
Once data is integrated and contextualised, it is then presented through a single customer portal. This portal should be the one-stop for accessing all relevant data through a single interface, enhancing customer service by reducing reliance on emails and calls. Such a platform not only extends the lifespan of older systems by updating them with essential data but also supports seamless system transitions without disrupting the user experience. It also serves as a growth tool, helping attract new customers through its efficiency and tailored design.
Fig. 4: Overview of Origin's approach to customer portal unification
The future of customer visibility and experience in logistics is shaped by technological advances that enhance the integration and functionality of customer portals. These portals now need to provide real-time data and a personalied user experience, adapting to both current and emerging demands.
Real-time Tracking, Inventory, and Notifications: Tracking shipments in real-time is a core function of modern customer portals, offering visibility from the order's inception to delivery. Portals should enable users to access all relevant information easily and receive automated alerts for updates, eliminating the need for continuous system logins.
Collaboration Tools: Effective portals facilitate real-time communication and data sharing among all stakeholders, including suppliers, customers, and service providers. Features such as shared dashboards, document management, and transaction capabilities within the portal support collaborative efforts and ensure consistency across all operations.
Integrated Analytics: Portals must cater to various customer needs with features like milestone tracking, KPI dashboards, and customisable reports. These analytics should reflect specific contractual obligations and performance metrics, and integrate with existing business intelligence tools to provide comprehensive insights.
Financial Integration: To enhance financial visibility, customer portals should integrate with ERP or FMS systems, allowing customers to access detailed invoice information and related shipment details directly within the portal.
Supply Chain Control Tower: A customer portal that consolidates supply chain data offers a control tower view of end-to-end operations. This feature aids in performance measurement and optimisation, providing internal staff value in assessing operations similar to how customers view service levels.
Personalisation and User Experience: Modern portals should be intuitive, supporting personal preferences and operational needs through customisable settings for reports, alerts, and displays. This level of personalisation improves engagement and the overall effectiveness of the portal, accommodating both mobile and web-based access.
Advanced customer portals play a critical role in the logistics sector, addressing the urgent need for enhanced visibility, integration, and operational efficiency. The challenges posed by outdated systems and fragmented data landscapes are significant but CAN be overcome with robust integration strategies, advanced contextualisation of data and proactive engagement initiatives.
By embracing these innovative approaches, supply chain and logistics companies can transform their customer portals into dynamic tools that not only streamline operations but also drive growth and competitive advantage. As technology continues to evolve, staying ahead in adopting these enhancements will be crucial for companies aiming to lead in the logistics industry, ensuring they remain responsive to customer needs and agile in a changing market landscape.
Learn more about Origin's Customer Portal software here.
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