Mobile Apps for the Logistics Industry

In the last few years the popularity of smartphones and tablets has boomed. These devices are more like mini, portable computers than cell phones. This opens up a world of opportunity and allows people to access information on demand like never before. This has transformed the way consumer’s shop, with 70% of people using their smartphones while shopping and 49% using it to compare prices before purchasing. This is obviously a game changer for consumers, and the retail sector alike, but these devices are going to continue to make things easier in every sector of the economy. One sector that looks like it could become increasingly dependent of mobile devices is the shipping and logistics industry. We feel that custom application development and smart devices will help to improve the visibility for clients, and also help to streamline internal processes.

Shipping and logistics is a complex business with many different variables to consider for each order. The clients of shipping companies may not always have a tight grasp on the intricacies of the industry but they need to understand if their order is going to arrive on time. A mobile application could enable the client to see exactly where their order is at any given time within a few meters through integrated GPS technology. With the click of a button they could receive real time updates on the progress of their shipment and even make changes to orders in progress helping to improve supply chain management. This puts a lot of power back into the hands of the client and holds the shipping companies accountable.

It would also help the shipping and logistics companies to streamline internal processes through efficient information transfer between different parts of the company. A mobile application could be integrated to automate a lot of the manual handling of orders which often leads to mistakes. A repetitive set of orders could be created and these orders could be initiated by the client through a mobile application. This would then be passed through the correct channels and the order would be filled. This would of course require a lot of integration with existing systems but once it was complete the resulting improvements in efficiency would be well worth it.

Whether it is a client facing application or an internal facing application the major benefit is the ease of use. Applications can provide easy accesses to information, or easy access to repeated processes from anywhere via a mobile device. This helps to improve efficiency on both the client side and the business side and can help to improve accuracy and reduce the number of mistakes that are made. All of this results in happier clients, and an improved bottom line.