×

Logistics Software as a Service

Software as a Service in Logistics

4 Reasons to choose “Software as a Service” in Freight Forwarding

Automation & Digitalization, Digital Freight, Logistics Software as a Service / By

What is “Software as a Service” (or SaaS) and how is it different from regular software? Read this guide to navigate with ease in the changing tech environment.

 

“…80% of the products and services being consumed today are different from those that were being consumed five years ago. And five years from today, fully 80% of the products being used will be new and different from those being used today” – Brian Tracy, public speaker, author.

 

What Do You Buy When You Buy Software?

 

Software is a digital commodity, yet for years it’s been treated as a physical product. Corporate software license deals can cost millions of dollars, paid in exchange for a single CD. Very expensive CD.

But there is a very big difference between buying software vs buying an actual physical product. When you own a product, you have all the rights to use it as you wish, until it finishes, breaks, gets lost, etc. With the software, it’s not that straightforward. Usually, what you really buy – is the right to use the software.

Salesforce.com is probably the first most famous “Software as a Service” (or SaaS). The model proved to be very successful and challenged many of the traditional enterprise software vendors.

 

Benefits of Software as a Service

 

The SaaS model has flourished because of the many benefits it offers to businesses of all sizes and types. In freight forwarding and logistics, the most popular SaaS products are Customer Relationship Management systems (CRM), software that generates freight quotes, freight rate management software, white-label solutions that enable online quotes, etc.

 

1. SaaS is easy to use

SaaS applications are available from any computer or any device – anytime, anywhere. Because most people are familiar with using the Internet, SaaS apps tend to have high adoption rates, with a shorter training period.

 

2. Lower costs

SaaS applications are subscription-based, which means lower initial costs. Having the SaaS provider manage the IT infrastructure means lower own IT costs.

 

3. Painless implementation and upgrades

Because the SaaS provider manages all updates and upgrades, customers don’t need to download or install updates. The SaaS provider also manages availability – all you need as a customer is a web browser and internet access.

 

4. Seamless integration, customization, and scaling

SaaS companies can scale indefinitely to meet customer demand, including customization if required. Plus, many provide APIs that let you integrate with any existing ERP or other business productivity systems.

 

SaaS is Innovation

 

When you are a small business, then Software as a Service solution seems to be the best choice – it can be quickly deployed and tested (most SaaS offers a trial period for free or a fraction of a price). A monthly subscription plan usually allows 1-3 months’ cancellation notice and makes it a pain-free investment, rather than purchasing a heavy IT infrastructure and technical support. Probably the biggest problem for small businesses is the enormous amount of choice that’s already available in the SaaS market. Read here on how to choose the best SaaS for your business.

Larger companies have a set of challenges to deal with when it comes to Software as a Service, mostly around integration with existing enterprise software. Still, SaaS is the most cost-effective way to go to get to the forefront of innovation.

 

Quick-Start with SaaS – Quotiss Software

 

Software as a Service challenges the way business operates today. The biggest advantage of all is how quickly it can be re-shaped and re-purposed by a constantly changing business environment. If you’d like to try something new in your business, this is the right time to do it!

Click here to register your trial account in Quotiss online. We’ll activate it and help with the initial settings and user onboarding. Start uploading your freight ratesheets and quoting freight instantly from Quotiss on the same day we sign the deal.

Best Freight Forwarding Software

What is the Best Freight Forwarding Software?

Automation & Digitalization, Digital Freight, Logistics Software as a Service, Sales Automation / By

 

Freight forwarding software for the sales teams enables freight forwarders to easily manage, organize, and automate freight rates and quotes.

The ultimate goal of freight forwarding software is to automate sales and improve experiences for the people who matter most for your business: your sales team and your customers.

It may sound obvious, but your sales team is the first department to meet & greet your clients. It is very important to ensure that they have the right digital tools to efficiently interact with clients.

Freight software relates to the following commercial business processes:

  • Freight rate management
  • Automation of freight quotes
  • Automated follow up on deals
  • Sales performance stats

 

1. Excel as Freight Forwarding Software

 

Forwarders with small to mid-size businesses typically rely on Excel and email to manage their freight tariffs and quotes, and they do so for a reason… First of all, it’s free. Second, until the organization reaches a certain size of the client database, there is no pain in maintaining Excel files and templates. Third, Excel files are very flexible and have no limits in editing possibilities.

The basic features and functions offered by Excel and email may be sufficient … until they’re not. If you’re reading this, you likely already know that. There will come a time when relying on a simple Excel file can lead to disaster.

As your client database and the sales team grow, you’re going to face the limitations:

  • Hard to track quote requests: which ones are already addressed, which are still pending, which have been accepted, and more. This is causing frustration for both – your sales team and your customers.
  • Hard to track freight rate revisions: maintaining your actual freight rates in Excel file can lead to disaster faster than you think.
  • Hard to collaborate: you’ll eventually need to assign multiple customers to your sales teams. This makes it easy for quote requests to go ignored, with each team member assuming someone else is taking care of it.

Using Excel and email can be ideal through the initial stages of growth. But, it will eventually become an ineffective solution as your customer base grows larger and more complex.

 

2. Less-than-Optimal Freight Software

 

Perhaps you’re a bit further along and are currently using a freight forwarding software solution that, well … isn’t exactly optimal for your company. There are a number of freight forwarding tools on the market, not all of them are created equal. And, really: they’re not supposed to be.

Some tools are developed with small businesses in mind; others are created for enterprises. Some tools cater to those with complex needs, while others are more holistic. And some solutions are built for companies operating in a specific niche.

Freight software solutions objectively high in quality can be worthless in your situation. In fact, using freight software that isn’t a great fit for your company can actually do more harm than good:

  • If the software is too technical, your team might not have the ability to use it to its highest capacity.
  • If the software is too feature-heavy, you’ll likely be paying for features you’ll never end up using.
  • If the software is too expensive, it may not actually be worth the value it provides your company in the first place.

And, of course, your current software simply might not meet your current standards or needs. Perhaps it’s lacking in more advanced features, or it doesn’t integrate with some of your other tools.

Whatever the case may be, the last thing you want to do is continue using it. Start looking for a better fit moving forward.

 

3. No Freight Forwarding Software

 

If you haven’t been focused on sales optimization processes at all, you’re simultaneously at an advantage and a disadvantage. On the plus side, you haven’t invested in any wrong tool. The downside – you’re losing on sales automation benefits.

No matter which of these three categories you fall into, your commercial business processes probably aren’t currently running at their highest capacity. Even if nothing is going wrong in this area, your sales team can absolutely benefit from switching to a freight automation solution tailored specifically to their needs.

The truth is you don’t want to look for the “best of the best.” Rather, you want the best-fit solution for your business. In our next article, we’ll explain how to choose the best freight software for your business. In the meantime, you can register for a free trial with Quotiss software.

Click here to register your company online. We’ll activate your company’s profile and help with the initial settings and user onboarding. You can start uploading your freight ratesheets and quoting freight instantly on the same day we sign the deal.

Quotiss freight software

6 Steps for Freight Software Onboarding Success

Automation & Digitalization, Digital Freight, Logistics Software as a Service, Sales Automation / By

Moving your team to a new freight software system is a complex project in itself. Combining that with remote work, creates a recipe for deep anxiety. In this post, we’ll give you a few tips on how to make switching to a new freight software as painless as possible even when your sales team is remote.

 

Step 1: Start with the right motivation

 

Some employees might be hesitant or nervous about the process of switching to new freight software. Try to think about the real root issues that might be causing it. Our guide will help you to create a positive and welcoming environment. Usually, the main reasons are the following:

  • They are worried that learning new software is complicated;
  • They don’t see what’s in it for them personally;
  • They don’t see how the new solution is better than the old one;
  • They don’t see what the benefit is for the company’s bottom line.

For a successful onboarding, all of the above shall be addressed before the rollout starts. You need to understand that every change takes time and effort from the team. This means that nobody should feel pressured, to start using new software overnight. Especially if you’re coming from using MS Excel and email as your quoting tool.

 

Step 2: Create and share the onboarding process with your employees

 

The best way to plan smooth onboarding to a new freight software is to do it gradually. Instead of switching everything at once, start with a smaller team or a designated group of clients. Here’s an example of a transparent process for onboarding the team to new software like Quotiss:

  • Schedule a meeting with your team⁠ to introduce and discuss the new tool.
  • Schedule another meeting to demonstrate the software and what it can do (this should be done by someone who knows it really well).
  • Discuss, address immediate questions and concerns.
  • Appoint the Project Manager.
  • Set the date when everyone will sign up and play around.
  • Hold another short call or meeting to ask if anyone has questions.
  • Set the date to switch over completely, allowing some more time for the test mode.
  • Keep checking back to see if anyone’s having issues.

 

Step 3: Explain the personal benefits of new software

 

Start by understanding what your sales reps really want and address each point translating it into the benefit. Let your team know that their personal happiness and productivity is a very important factor. There’s a good chance that everyone on your team wants to:

  • Be productive and get more done:

New freight software will eliminate a lot of repetitive and time-consuming tasks, which will allow them to get more done and feel great about it.

  • Gain new useful skills:

The software will be another tool to add to their list of skills. They have the opportunity to become an expert and get valuable on-the-job training.

  • Feel valued and appreciated by other team members:

Getting more done and collaborating more efficiently will benefit the whole company, and it won’t go unnoticed.

 

Step 4: Highlight the company-wide benefits

 

“How is it better than what we were using before?” This is one of the main questions the team might be wondering. And it makes sense⁠—if the new solution isn’t clearly better than the old one… why even switch? Document all benefits and discuss them in person with your team⁠ to create a positive mindset.

Focus on two main topics:

  1. Pain points you had with your previous solution (and how the new one removes them)

Example: With Excel, we had cases when sales reps never attended to the freight quote request because there was no easy way of knowing if the quote was already being handled by another team member. With Quotiss, you can immediately see if a freight quote has already been sent to a customer or is currently in the process of preparation.

  1. Features the new solution has that the old one didn’t (and why they’re awesome).

Example: With Quotiss, you can see when the client has opened the freight quote and follow up immediately to close the deal. This will improve our efficiency as a team.

 

Step 5: Explain how it affects business goals and KPIs

 

The core elements for larger financial returns when you invest in the right freight software are the following:

  • Reduced time to send freight quotes leaves more time for actual selling
  • 100% accuracy of quoted freight rates means no lost revenues on manual errors
  • Automated follow-up on deals brings more won deals

Simply put – automation of the sales process drives more sales and improves customer experience.  The research published in the Harvard Business Review says that customers who had the best past experiences spend 140% more compared to those who had the poorest past experience. By helping customers get the most out of your service through amazing sales support, you create an experience they’ll be willing to pay for.

 

Step 6: Appoint a Project Manager

 

Last, but not least – appointing a Project Manager turns out to be extremely important. This person should be an expert in your internal sales process, also passionate about tech and innovation. The main responsibilities of the Project Manager are the following:

  • being an internal super-user and coordinator for the onboarding process
  • being an internal go-to person and consultant for all new software-related matters
  • being an external communicator and a single point of contact for the freight software vendor

Practice shows that companies with the Project Manager have smoother and faster onboarding and higher satisfaction level.

 

Quick-Start with Quotiss Software

 

Onboarding your sales team on a new freight software doesn’t have to be painful, ⁠—but you have to take the right approach and most importantly, choose the right software!

Click here to register your company online. We’ll activate your company’s profile and help with the initial settings and user onboarding. You can start uploading your freight ratesheets and quoting freight instantly on the same day we sign the deal.

freight rates management

Are Freight Rates 100% Safe in the Cloud?

Automation & Digitalization, Digital Freight, Logistics Software as a Service / By

In the previous article, we’ve listed the numerous benefits of using Software as a Service for freight rates management and why it would be one of the best solutions for your freight forwarding business nowadays.

The first and most important question is always about data safety. You literally have to trust with all your sensitive commercial business information to your software provider. You need to be 1000% sure that your freight rates are safe and secure.

Let’s look at the safety and security risks of cloud computing, and compare them to the most popular business solution used by the Freight Forwarders for their internal freight rates management and sending freight quotes to their customers.

 

Excel Spreadsheet is King

 

There are no official statistics as to how many logistics companies are using Excel as their main tool to manage their commercial information, but it is safe to assume that it is around 90% of business globally.

The majority of the freight forwarders manage their freight rates in Excel internally and use MS Word or Excel to distribute their rates externally. The benefits of keeping and managing your commercial data in Excel are quite obvious: it’s (relatively) free of charge, it’s available, it’s simple, it’s familiar. When it comes to the risks, we have covered them extensively in the article called “Freight Forwarders Deserve Better Tools”, which speaks for itself.

This ‘spreadsheet madness’ in the industry is led by the shipping lines. Historically, over time the pricing structures got so complicated, that it was not possible to translate it into the digital language. Hence, Excel spreadsheets are all over the place.

freight rate excel

How Safe are Your Freight Rates in Excel?

 

The answer is it is not full-proof, even if you use password protection and own discs for storage. Here are some tips for you to be safe and secure:

  • Always upgrade to the latest version of MS Excel when available;
  • Save your files as “.xlsx”, not “.xls”;
  • Choose strong passwords to protect your workbooks, sheets, cells;
  • Choose safe storage places;
  • Backup your data regularly.

The Cloud Software Alternative

 

Cloud-based solutions for business are in high demand right now, and the trend is growing fast. These solutions include everything from secure data storage to entire business processes.

Email is a simple example. Most users don’t save emails to their devices because those devices are connected to the Internet. Any time you access the emails stored
remotely, you are accessing a cloud.

The cloud is simply a collection of servers placed in massive complexes that are owned by some of the world’s largest corporations: Microsoft, Amazon, and Apple have all invested huge sums in creating homes for our personal and business data.

The end result is a service that is convenient, portable, and reduces the need for expensive hardware in our offices. That important business email from your partner is easily accessible on all of your devices, no matter where you are.

How Secure is Cloud Storage?

 

All files stored on secure cloud servers benefit from an enhanced level of security. Cloud storage security vendors do not just rely on password protection, but secure
data using other means as well.

Some of these include firewalls, intrusion detection, action logs, encryption, and advanced physical security of the data centers.

When it comes to cloud data ownership, the contract between the company providing the storage service and the client has a clear distinction that the provider has the right to store and process the data but the ownership is retained by the customer at all times.

The end result is a service that is convenient, portable, and reduces the need for expensive hardware in our offices. That important business email from your partner is easily accessible on all of your devices, no matter where you are.

Freight Software

How to Choose the Right Freight Software?

Automation & Digitalization, Digital Freight, Logistics Software as a Service, Sales Automation / By

Is there anything in common between choosing a freight software for your freight forwarding business and choosing a hotel for your holiday? 

 

Imagine, you make plans for a long weekend, about to book yourself a nice hotel. Most likely, first, you will go to an online platform that offers a selection of deals. Then you would apply some filters to define search criteria. The most common criteria would be price, location, and convenience (in the order of your personal preference). Once you have a shortlist, you’ll definitely look at the reviews before making the final decision.

We usually trust the opinion of people like us who have already tested the service/product we are interested in: friendly advice or input by an independent reviewer from a trusted source.

 

Another example: you want to download a mobile app to edit pictures from the App Store. There are more than 1000+ options there, which one would you choose?

Usually, the description given by an app developer will not be trustworthy enough. You will look at the ranking and the review score, maybe read a couple of user reviews to make sure this app is what you really need. Obviously, advice from a friend works well too.

85% of people trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendation. Excellent or bad reviews on the hotel’s page can be the deal maker or breaker when you compare the available options. We are ready to trust and oftentimes even pay more to stay in the hotel with a rating of 9 out of 10.

Would you follow the same selection process when you choose the right freight software for your business?

 

From Hotels and Mobile Apps to Freight Software?

 

In the same way, as there are platforms to review hotels and mobile apps, there are platforms to rate B2B software. Nowadays, leaving a review online has become the best way to express your satisfaction level with the service or product. We no longer live in a world where the brand is in control of what to communicate to its audience – users now have the ability to broadcast and amplify their voice with one click. A great motivation for vendors to get better in customer service.

Review platforms want businesses to use them. And businesses want to use review platforms too. It all comes down to trust.

Scummy companies can hire fake reviewers to praise products and boost sales. Unfair competition can result in a number of 1-star reviews left by the people who never used the product. Most review platforms have guidelines prohibiting reviews that don’t reflect true business transactions.

 

Have You Heard of Capterra?

 

Capterra is one of the well-known platforms for business software rankings. Every product is categorized based on many parameters: industry, functionality, convenience, and price. This allows for easy comparison.

Capterra ensures that each reviewer is verified. Either by connecting to their LinkedIn profile or by collecting their credentials and consent to follow the portal guidelines. If a user didn’t provide their credentials, the review will not be published.

In today’s highly competitive marketplace, you have to be sure which software you trust to make your business more efficient. Many software companies can promise you digitization, cost reduction, and quick profit growth.

By looking through independent reviews of business software, you can learn the real feedback from the real users:

Learn how Quotiss can help your business and improve your efficiency from our user opinions on Capterra.

 

Quick-Start with Quotiss Freight Software

 

Click here to register your company online. We’ll activate your company’s profile and help with the initial settings and user onboarding. You can start uploading your freight ratesheets and quoting freight instantly from Quotiss on the same day we sign the deal.

Logistics Software

The Dollar Value of Logistics Software

Freight Ratesheets & Tariffs, Instant Freight Quotes, Logistics Software as a Service, Sales Automation, Simplicity & Efficiency / By

What is the exact dollar value of the logistics software? Every freight forwarder knows that the logistics business is mostly driven by price. In such a competitive market, any opportunity to improve profit margins should not be missed.

Technology can significantly improve efficiencies internally, resulting in greater profitability. These improvements mostly come from the reduction of manual processes –  time-consuming and error-prone. For example, automating the process of searching and aggregating freight rates can save at least 30% of the sales reps’ time.

But what is the exact dollar value of technology for a freight forwarder? And more importantly, how to calculate the extra profit margins it can help generate? You will find a very simple online calculator at the end of this article.

But first, let’s look at the areas where digitization can help the most.

 

Logistics Software Brings Transparency

 

Traditionally, the sales teams in freight forwarding companies would have to rely on multiple Excel tables with rates, surcharges, and special conditions, preparing freight quotes manually. This is far from optimal, as the margin of error is too high.

Now, when the freight rates change so often, the value of having all commercial data on one platform in a structured way is essential to maintain the sanity and transparency.

 

Logistics Software Makes It Easier

 

Get rid of the large Excel freight ratesheets, put your commercial data on one platform in a simple and transparent way. This will simplify your sales and procurement workflow.

Simplification and automation provide infinite possibilities and allows you to upload freight tariffs and make freight quotes in a few clicks.

 

Logistics Software Brings Security

 

Security and confidentiality are very important when attempting to forge business relationships. With advances in technology come advances in data privacy.

In Quotiss, we made it our top priority to provide the highest level of data security to our clients. We use AWS cloud servers – the technology which is trusted by the largest businesses across the globe: Siemens, Vodafone, Philips, General Electric, and others. With daily database backups, digital safety is 100% guaranteed.

 

Logistics Software Brings Savings

 

A computer can carry out tasks in seconds and with 100% accuracy. One of the greatest benefits of implementing technology into the commercial business process is time-saving and cost reduction.

In Quotiss, your latest freight rates and your most precise client database are integrated into one platform. Contract management simplification allows you to automate and track the freight quotes.

Not only can this reduce the risk of error and raise the quality standard, but also save you great amounts of active sales time. Such time saving opens new doors for using sales talents in ways that will generate more profit at the end of the day.

How much more? Use our simple online ROI calculator and get your estimate in USD.

Quotiss freight forwarding software

Quotiss Helps Freight Forwarders Go Digital

Freight Rate Management, Logistics Software as a Service, Sales Automation, Simplicity & Efficiency / By

Freight forwarding is one of the largest and most important industries in the world, but also very traditional and least digitized. Quotiss helps traditional freight forwarding companies become digital. We believe, that any freight forwarder can become digital with the right set of digital tools.

Container shipping is one of the least digitized segments of all transport services. Managing freight tariffs is a well known technical challenge, which keeps some freight forwarders stuck in the era of MS Excel.

 

Digital Freight Forwarders

 

There are many startups who try to revolutionize the ‘ancient’ industry. Business models like ‘freight marketplace’ and ‘digital freight forwarder’ are funded with millions of dollars. The frequently asked question is whether the freight forwarders will be replaced with these online services in the near future or not.

Freight forwarding looks like a perfect industry for disruption! A cohort of digital freight forwarders and freight marketplaces emerged on the market. Their value proposition can be summarized as Booking.com for shipping. And yet, today in 2018, it is still hardly possible to find and compare freight rates online. Although some digital freight platforms enable online bookings, there is still a lot of manual work behind the digital interface.

It’s never been easy to deal with freight, due to the freight rate complexity and volatility. Looking at the whole end to end process, it seems logical that transportation price consists of multiple components because the cargo literally travels half of the globe one way. Adding all transportation costs into the picture (door delivery, customs, port expenses), makes ALL-IN freight rate calculation a very complicated process.

For decades, freight forwarders take care of complex logistics and supply chain management. They have connections to the suppliers, agents, customs, and they take care of the entire shipment process, including that cargo insurance. The human factor plays a big role in this mostly relationship-driven business.

 

How to Digitize Freight Rates?

 

Freight forwarders get access to more and more digital tools each year. There is a big interest in digitizing the customer interface: offer online freight quotes, online bookings, online tracking, etc. All these customer-facing digital initiatives are very necessary, but hardly possible without digitizing the back office of the freight forwarder.

It’s not possible to offer online freight quotes if your selling rates are maintained in Excel. You run a big risk of low data accuracy, which can cause financial loss and/or reputational risks.

It is necessary to start from the basics – automate and digitize your freight rate management internally, and after that integrate your automated freight quotes online. Nevertheless, the technology which helps streamline complex logistics processes is already there: electronic communication, big data analysis, transport management systems, etc.

Early adopters are already enjoying the benefits: becoming faster, more flexible, and cost-efficient. There is a visible pressure from the digitized forwarders towards their traditional competitors. It’s becoming obvious, that a “regular” forwarder will soon need to find ways to be on par with the digital world.

Sales Automation Software for Logistics

 

Marcin Zarzecki, CEO of Quotiss says:
“Complex contracts, massive ratesheets, thousands of emails, Excels and PDFs bring frustration, consume resources, and destroy efficiency. At Quotiss, we found a solution that brings structure and simplicity.”

Quotiss has united a team of industry professionals and became a successful startup supported by Techstars Ventures and Google for Entrepreneurs.

Quotiss software could be the right solution to digitize freight ratesheets using a simplified upload mechanism. Quotiss is a practical tool, which automates all kinds of freight ratesheets in a smart and simple way. All freight rates from all suppliers in one place, available instantly to everyone in the organization.

Once the carriers’ contracts are simplified and uploaded into the system, the quoting process becomes fully automated. Having all commercial data on one platform, freight forwarders can enjoy full transparency: archive of freight rates and quotes, profitability, the efficiency of sales teams in real-time. No more searching through multiple folders, excel files and emails.

“Modern technology used to be available only for big players with massive resources. But this is changing. Medium and small-sized forwarders start adopting instruments like Quotiss and, thus, learn to compete with efficiency and not just the rate.” – says Eugene Reznikov, Quotiss representative in Hong Kong.

With Quotiss, you can increase your sales productivity without increasing headcount. When your business is driven by efficiency, it directly impacts the company’s bottom line.

 

Would You Like a Quick Start with Quotiss?

 

Click here to register your company. We’ll activate your company’s profile and help with the initial settings and user onboarding. You can start uploading your freight ratesheets and quoting freight from Quotiss on the same day we sign the deal.

Quotiss freight software

Quotiss Freight Software Explained

Freight Rate Management, Instant Freight Quotes, Logistics Software as a Service, Sales Automation, Simplicity & Efficiency / By

In the last couple of months, we see a growing interest in our product and based on the questions we receive, we’ve prepared this article about Quotiss freight software. As you read through, you will find out what Quotiss is and what it is not, and how exactly Quotiss helps freight forwarders to be competitive and boost sales results.

Due to highly complicated nature of shipping, there is no standard software that can handle the typical business requirements of a freight forwarder.

The logistics industry is based on MS Excel or custom-made software. Most of the medium to big size forwarders work with the software designed specifically for their organization’s needs. There are too many flaws in this approach, starting from the cost to create and maintain it, to a very slow response to change requests.

 

What is Quotiss?

 

Quotiss is a freight rate management and sales automation software designed for the freight forwarding companies of any size and type. At the core of Quotiss, there is a powerful freight simplification engine, inspired by Pareto Rule and KISS Principle. Thanks to that, Quotiss removes 99% of complexity from the commercial process and structures the freight rate management in a smart and simple way.

Quotiss provides a basic framework, which simplifies the commercial process of any freight forwarder. Quotiss brings structure to the commercial teams. It can be configured to match the most complex business requirements.

Quotiss covers the following business processes:

  • Freight rate management
  • Automated freight quotes
  • CRM
  • Sales performance analytics

Once the freight pricing is streamlined, the freight quotes are automated. A salesperson can quote freight rates with 100% accuracy in a couple of clicks! With Quotiss, they can send a freight quote to one client or to a hundred clients at once. Your customers will receive a freight quote perfectly tailored to their needs – origin, destination, local charges, special notes and terms, margin levels are saved for each customer.

Quotiss also brings real-time sales performance analytics, enabling data-driven decision making to maximize the profit margins.

 

What Quotiss Has to Offer:

 

  • Unique algorithm to manage freight rate tariffs and spot rates – no more Excel files;
  • Freight quotes are automated – so sales can spend time on selling;
  • Client database – archive of quotes;
  • Follow up on the deals;
  • Unified quote formatting – solid brand image;
  • One platform for all commercial activities – increased business intelligence;
  • Easy sales onboarding – no more lengthy handovers;
  • Intuitive UX and modern UI– sales people love it!

 

Freight Software for Logistics

 

Freight forwarders get access to more and more digital tools each year. There is a big interest in digitizing the customer interface: offer online freight quotes, online bookings, online tracking, etc. All these customer-facing digital initiatives are very necessary, but hardly possible without digitizing the back office of the freight forwarder.

It’s not possible to offer online freight quotes if your selling rates are maintained in Excel. You run a big risk of low data accuracy, which can cause financial loss and/or reputational risks.

It is necessary to start from the basics – automate and digitize your freight rate management internally, and after that integrate your automated freight quotes online.

Quotiss software could be the right solution to digitize freight ratesheets using a simplified upload mechanism. Quotiss is a practical tool, which automates all kinds of freight ratesheets in a smart and simple way. All freight rates from all suppliers in one place, available instantly to everyone in the organization.

With Quotiss, you can increase your sales productivity without increasing headcount. When your business is driven by efficiency, it directly impacts the company’s bottom line.

 

Would You Like a Quick Start with Quotiss?

 

Click here to register your company. We’ll activate your company’s profile and help with the initial settings and user onboarding. You can start uploading your freight ratesheets and quoting freight from Quotiss on the same day we sign the deal.

Freight quotes quotiss

What’s in Those Freight Quotes?

Automation & Digitalization, Digital Freight, Logistics Software as a Service, Sales Automation / By

In freight forwarding, transparency in the sales activities has never been the case. The complexity and volatility of freight rates significantly limit the visibility into what’s going on in the commercial organization on a daily basis.

Usually, the management team doesn’t know how many freight quotes have been sent today, this week, or this month. And there is no way to check. It is almost impossible to monitor the margins applied to ocean freight and local charges in the quotes. The sales manager must rely on the data that comes from various sources, the information is unstructured and often biased.

This lack of transparency is also an issue for sales reps themselves – they have to search for freight rates in various files and emails, and there is no clear record of what rate has been offered to a client. This is a waste of time and resources, and it often leads to lost business opportunities.

 

Transparency of Sales is Essential

 

The importance of having transparency in sales activities is crucial for any business. The key to gaining control of the revenue is to have real-time access to sales performance. The live data stream is invaluable in spotting changes in trends and picking up on issues before they become a problem.

Also, studies show that when employees know their performance and have an instant overview of their KPIs, they improve their work. Focus, motivation, and accountability come when teams can see where everyone stands in just a glance.

Transparency in freight rates can be achieved in the organization when both pricing and quoting are done via the same platform. A platform where all freight rates and quotes are stored, in the most structured and most proper visual way, accessible from anywhere and anytime. Quotiss software provides such a platform for the freight forwarders.

 

Visual Sales Performance

 

Quotiss software stores freight ratesheets, local charges, pricing guidelines, customer database, and an archive of freight quotes. Quotiss enables sales teams to generate perfect freight quotes, which can be emailed to customers directly thanks to the full email integration.

Quotiss dashboard is a powerful visualization tool. It provides an analysis of freight rates history per carrier, client acquisition data, freight quotes stats per person or per team, average margin history, etc.

Quotiss dashboard puts your commercial KPIs and critical metrics together into an artfully designed and intuitive display. Data is updated in real-time. It allows setting goals and opens opportunities for immediate feedback and action. Everyone in the company is on the same page when it comes to sales performance and pricing guidelines, enabling better communication and collaboration across the teams.

By switching from Excel to Quotiss software, you can automate the sales activities and get access to the sales performance analysis, in real-time. There will no longer be a need to manage a number of complex freight ratesheets in Excel. Most importantly, your commercial data will stay secure!

 

Would You Like a Quick Start with Quotiss?

 

Click here to register your company. We’ll activate your company’s profile and help with the initial settings and user onboarding. You can start uploading your freight ratesheets and quoting freight from Quotiss on the same day we sign the deal.

Logistics Software as a Service

Automation & Digitalization, Logistics Software as a Service / By

The massive growth of startup communities all over the world is one of the global trends nowadays. Internet of Things (IoT), Big Data, robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), 3D printing, cloud technology – startups disrupting traditional businesses in ways no one could have ever predicted. It is happening now, and either you are aware of it or you are part of it (otherwise you would not be reading this).

“Fully 80 percent of the products and services being consumed today are different from those that were being consumed five years ago. And five years from today, fully 80 percent of the products being used will be new and different from those being used today”, says Brian Tracy.

 

Logistics Software – a Product or a Service?

 

A product is a physical item that people purchase to own it. Once you own a product, you have all the rights to use it as you wish, until it finishes, breaks, gets lost, etc. A service, as The Economist defines it, is something that “you can’t drop on your foot” – which is technically not always true, think of all the digital products, like e-books, for example. Service is an economic activity between a provider of the service and a buyer, where a buyer does not get to exclusively own it.

Software is a non-typical example. It is a digital commodity, yet for years it’s been treated as a physical product. Corporate software license deals can cost millions of dollars, paid in exchange for a single CD. Very expensive CD. For this reason, new business models have been born, and they spread like wildfire.

 

What Is SaaS?

 

SaaS stands for ‘Software as a Service’, Salesforce.com is probably the most famous SaaS. The model is so successful, it extended Salesforce’s reach far beyond its status as a CRM application provider and challenged many of the traditional enterprise software vendors.

Historically, companies were required to buy, build, and maintain their IT infrastructures despite exponential costs. SaaS gives companies an alternative. Now, they can plug in and subscribe to services built on shared infrastructure via the Internet. The SaaS model has flourished in recent years because of the many benefits it offers to businesses of all sizes and types.

 

Benefits of SaaS

 

Software as a Service has a lot to offer. If it’s used properly, it can help your business save money, time and human resources.

  • SaaS is easy to use

SaaS applications are available from any computer or any device – anytime, anywhere. Because most people are familiar with using the Internet, SaaS apps tend to have high adoption rates, with a shorter training period.

  • Lower costs

SaaS applications are subscription-based, which means lower initial costs. Having the SaaS provider manage the IT infrastructure means lower IT costs for hardware, software, and the people needed to manage it all.

  • Painless implementation and upgrades

Because the SaaS provider manages all updates and upgrades, there are no patches for customers to download or install. The SaaS provider also manages availability – all you need as a customer is a web browser and internet access.

  • Seamless integration, customization, and scaling

SaaS companies with true multitenant architectures can scale indefinitely to meet customer demand, including customization if required. Plus, many provide APIs that let you integrate with existing ERP systems or other business productivity systems.

 

Is SaaS Right for Your Business?

 

For newly established companies it’s almost a ‘no-brainer’ to quickly deploy a collection of SaaS business applications and pay for them with a monthly subscription, rather than invest in IT infrastructure and technical support. Probably the biggest problem for small businesses is the enormous amount of choice that’s already available in the SaaS market.

Larger businesses have a different set of problems to deal with when it comes to SaaS, mostly around integration with existing enterprise software (which can be already locked with costly contracts). Still, enterprises looking to expand into new regions, or adopt new ‘social’ business processes, may well find that SaaS is the most cost-effective way to go.

 

SaaS = Innovation

 

Innovation is everywhere; it can be hard to keep up, but that is part of the fun. New products and services are released every month, and they challenge the way business operates today.

SaaS applications are setting the stage for a new era of IT, and the biggest advantage of all is how quickly they can be re-shaped and re-purposed by a constantly changing business environment. The possibilities are endless for what lies ahead.