Choosing the right shipping software for your business is crucial, for it can make or break your business. While automation can solve a hundred problems you may be experiencing currently, not deploying the right solution may create additional problems for your business, costing both time and money. 

If companies strategically analyze the software based on what they get from it before choosing one, it will enhance their business for customers and employees. 

So, here’s what to look for to ensure you get the most out of your shipping software and not create additional problems for your supply chain.

Customer’s experience aggregator

Leveraging modern shipping software can help your business become customer-centric leading to an enriching customer experience. It can keep your customers informed at every step with proactive alerts and notifications on ETAs and delays in their shipments. If your shipping software delivers an interactive track and trace experience that retains and delights customers, then you are getting most of your shipping software.

More integrations provide tremendous success

To ensure that you are getting the maximum value from your shipping software, you should consider:

• The current carriers the shipping software has and the ones they want to start using in the future.
• Compatibility with your existing ERP.
• The extent of automation it offers as it helps in smoothening the operations. 

How reliable is the shipping software

Only a reliable shipping software can fetch accurate information consistently without significant interruptions. Before purchasing or while analyzing the shipping software, research how many outage events it had and the total downtime during regular and peak seasons. Also, keep in mind the scale of businesses each platform typically works with and give yourself room to grow into your shipping software.

Is there support for last mile optimization

As customers’ buying behavior and expectations keep increasing, businesses must put their best foot forward. Same-day deliveries are something that every company is striving to achieve for their products. Analysis of your shipping software should include this aspect as efficient shipping software automates route planning, optimizes routes in real-time, and drastically shrinks delivery turn-around time.

Does it provide you cost saving opportunities?

According to the economist, the average cost of shipping a standard large container (a 40-foot-equivalent unit) has surpassed $10,000. So ensuring that your shipping software saves shipping costs will help your business economically.

Quite a few times, shipping software platforms offer incentives to help you save on shipping costs. If your shipping software does the following, you are getting the most out of it on the cost-effectiveness part:

• Provides pre-negotiated rates
• Help you find the lowest rates
• Offer other perks

Conclusion

Switching to another shipping platform or analyzing your current shipping software to ensure you get the most out of the resources you put in is never easy. Experiment with an automation software that best fits your business needs and requirements. Exploring an easy-to-use, customizable, multi-modal logistics solution that is highly scalable as and when your business grows is crucial at the moment.