When you think of running an efficient warehouse, you might just think of what’s going on inside your four walls — things relating to inventory management. But there’s another side to the coin that can empower your warehouse team to reduce costs and boost productivity.
In this blog, we’re going to cover how Freight Management Systems can help you send outbound freight more efficiently and let go of hours of manual labour each day.
We’ll show you how to:
- Slash the time it takes to create consignments across your carrier mix
- Reduce the number of systems and/or touch points involved in the dispatch process
- Ship with confidence, knowing you’re selecting the right carrier for every job — both in terms of cost and customer experience
Let’s jump into the top 7 ways improved freight management can boost your warehouse efficiency.
1 . Consolidate your rate cards in one place for easy price comparison
With a sophisticated Freight Management System, your warehouse teams can easily see and pick the best carrier options for each individual consignment. This removes uncertainty or poor judgement from the equation – greatly reducing unnecessary expenses.
The screenshot below shows how the MachShip Freight Management Platform shows you a consolidated view of the carrier options at your disposal. From here, you can compare rates from your own carrier mix — including any customised rates you have negotiated — and easily make the most appropriate selection.
2. Save time in getting the right service booked for your freight
Do you find yourself jumping between different portals when trying to get your carrier finalised and book transportation?
Quoting and booking becomes a walk in the park with cloud-based Freight Logistics Software. With everything done in one spot, your team can get your jobs booked faster and with much more confidence.
Not only will you waste less time searching multiple websites and platforms, you’ll also waste less money on incorrect carrier selection. One simple dashboard shows you all of your carriers with up-to-the-minute details, so your team can make the right decision every time.
3. Say goodbye to repetitive data entry with saved location and item information
Does your warehouse team spend time on manual (and repetitive) data entry? MachShip Freight Management platform saves your important information and uses clever predictive text to speed up the way you send goods.
MachShip can also integrate with leading Warehouse Management Systems to give your team a welcome productivity boost. This could save you thousands of dollars per month in manual labour, as you can explore in our recent case study and interview with The Blue Space.
Pro tip: Take simple shipping a step further by integrating MachShip’s API with your existing warehouse or order management system to eliminate manual entry entirely.
MachShip can import orders, pick the best carrier, turn them into consignments and print labels with just the scan of a pick slip or periodic trigger.
4. Supercharge data ingestion to create consignments in bulk
Setting up API connections with your carriers has huge efficiency benefits. But if you’re trying to manage all of those connections individually, it’s extremely costly thing to set up and maintain. It’s also non-scalable as you will need to manage many connections with different carriers in order to shop for the best rates.
MachShip solves this problem with a single point of integration that opens up API access to 200+ carriers across Australia. It sorts and organises this flood of order data, allowing you to create consignments in bulk from the carriers you have an account with.
Forget doing it yourself, and let us do the heavy lifting.
5. Work with different carriers within one consolidated platform
It’s common for businesses to want to change carriers — especially with fuel surcharges and inflation pressures. But this can present headaches for warehouse teams that need to learn the intricacies of a new platform and adapt their processes.
With MachShip, businesses can plug their carrier account details into one user-friendly system — avoiding wasted time and eliminating any annoying (and costly) teething problems.
This means rapid, scalable access to new carriers and customised rates as your business grows and evolves.
6. Access updated rate cards and fuel surcharges with ease
Warehouse teams burn a lot of hours comparing rate cards and looking at fuel surcharges, only to have things change before pulling the trigger. MachShip provides an intuitive Freight Management System that gives you access to the most up-to-date rates for outbound dispatch.
By consolidating all your live rates into one simple system, MachShip gives your team the confidence to make decisions based on the most up-to-date information out there.
7. Responsive label printing for all carriers on any printer
Printing and applying freight labels is a time-consuming daily task for warehouse teams. It’s time that can be better spent elsewhere.
MachShip allows teams to configure their carriers’ systems so they can talk to their warehouse printers. This means you don’t need to worry about buying new equipment, and your label printing management will become a breeze.
Ready to give your warehouse a productivity boost with MachShip?
To see all of the ways MachShip can help your warehouse run more efficiently, book a demo with one of our freight management specialists today.