Freight Rate Management

In today’s dynamic forwarding business landscape, staying ahead of the competition requires a strategic approach to innovation. Leveraging cutting-edge tools can be the key to success, and one such tool could be the Freight Quote Widget by Quotiss. This simple yet powerful addition to your website can bring lots of benefits that not only increase your sales results but also elevate the customer experience. In this article, we’ll dive into the ten reasons why integrating a Quotiss’ Freight Quote Widget into your website is a strategic move that can propel your forwarding business to new heights.

1. Increase Sales with Instant Quoting

The primary goal of any business is growth, and our Quote Widget can significantly contribute to achieving this objective. By offering instant quoting capabilities on your website, you’re enabling potential customers to take immediate action. This quick and convenient process can lead to a higher conversion rate, ultimately boosting your sales figures.

2. Respond Faster for Customer Satisfaction

In the competitive world of logistics, speed is crucial. With a Quote Widget, swift responses to customer inquiries are automated. No more waiting for manual calculations – the widget automates the process, responds promptly, and enhances customer satisfaction.

3. Provide Exceptional Support 24/7

Exceptional customer support is a hallmark of successful businesses. By incorporating a Quotiss Widget, you empower your customers to access accurate quotes at any time. This self-service approach gives customers the information they need at their convenience.

4. Save Time for the Sales Team

Time is a valuable resource, and the Quote Widget is a time-saver. Instead of manual back-and-forths for quoting, the widget generates instant quotes and collects online leads, freeing up valuable time for your team to focus on other critical tasks.

5. High ROI / Low Cost for Business Growth

Investing in technology often comes with cost concerns, but the ROI of the Widget can be significant. The automation it brings reduces manual effort, allowing your team to handle more tasks efficiently. The cost pales in comparison to the long-term benefits, which can contribute to improved revenue and online lead traffic.

6. Increase Customer Loyalty with Simplicity

Customers value simplicity and efficiency. A user-friendly Quote Widget that provides accurate freight quotes delivers a positive experience and leads to increased customer loyalty, contributing to a higher customer retention rate.

7. Seamless Omni-channel Integration

In the digital age, customers interact with businesses through various channels. A Freight Quote Widget by Quotiss can seamlessly integrate across platforms, providing a consistent quoting experience whether customers are on your website, social media, or other online touchpoints. This integration can enhance your website’s overall authority.

8. Scale Your Sales Operations

Digital Automation has revolutionized logistics, and a Freight Quote Widget can harness its power. All incoming online leads are automatically recorded while the algorithms can fine-tune quotes based on customer margins, ensuring the accuracy and competitiveness of the rates. As your business scales, automated online lead generation and online quotes can scale to changing demands, providing a better user experience and positively influencing the bottom line.

9. Enhance the Brand with Professionalism

A professional and intuitive website speaks volumes about your brand. By embedding a Freight Quote Widget, you’re enhancing your brand’s digital presence. The widget’s customization options can ensure it aligns seamlessly with your website’s aesthetics and overall branding, which can lead to better user engagement and improved lead flow.

10. Gain a Competitive Edge

In a competitive market, differentiation is key. A Freight Quote Widget sets you apart by offering a modern, efficient, and customer-centric approach to quoting. It showcases your commitment to staying ahead of industry trends and meeting customer needs, which can reflect positively in search engine algorithms, ultimately improving your SEO performance.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1: What is a Quotiss Freight Quote Widget?

A Freight Quote Widget is a tool integrated into a forwarding company’s website that allows their customers to receive instant and accurate freight quotes online. It automates the quoting process, providing a user-friendly and efficient experience. It also collects leads from online visitors who are not registered yet and sends this info directly to the system.

Q2: How can a Quotiss Freight Quote Widget boost sales?

By offering instant quotes on your website, potential customers are more likely to convert as they can take immediate action. This can lead to a higher conversion rate and increased sales.

Q3: How does a Quotiss Freight Quote Widget save time?

Instead of attending multiple incoming quote requests, the sales team can redirect clients to the widget where they can generate instant quotes, saving valuable time for your sales team. This time-saving aspect can improve operational efficiency and overall customer satisfaction.

Q4: Can a Quotiss Freight Quote Widget enhance brand identity?

Yes, the professional and seamless integration of the widget aligns with your brand’s aesthetics and professionalism. It contributes to a positive user experience, enhancing your brand’s digital presence and authority.

Do you want to know more about the Quote Widget? Please register for a free trial via this link or contact us directly to schedule a demo of the widget.

Do you remember when Blockchain was on the first page of every digital newspaper? It was not so long ago – in 2018-2020 everyone was talking about the digital revolution and many different ways in which blockchain will transform the traditional and conservative container shipping industry. Various experts on numerous forums created a lot of hustle around this subject, and it was fueled up to the maximum when Maersk announced a blockchain project TradeLens together with IBM.

Then we all got distracted by COVID-19, and the blockchain got slightly out of the radar. Recently, at the end of 2022, Maersk announced the closure of the TradeLens. If you go to the TradeLens website, you will see a farewell message right at the top of the page that reads:

“TradeLens was founded on a bold vision for global supply chain digitization as an open and neutral industry platform. This vision centered on the ability to enable true information sharing and collaboration across a highly fragmented industry globally. 
Unfortunately, such a level of cooperation and support has not been possible to achieve at this point in time and A.P. Moller – Maersk (Maersk) and IBM have announced the discontinuation of the TradeLens platform.
We would like to express our sincere thanks for those that interacted with TradeLens since 2018. We are honored to have been part of your digitization journey.”

So what did happen to TradeLens and the whole Blockchain technology initiative? Can we call it a failure or is there more to come?

The Blockchain

Blockchain technology has matured and moved beyond the initial hype, entering a phase where its real-world applications are being explored and developed. As with any other technology, initial excitement often gives way to a more measured and focused approach. The focus now is to identify practical use cases that provide genuine value and solve real-world problems. This shift has led to more targeted discussions and implementations rather than broad generalizations about blockchain. Many organizations are exploring how blockchain can enhance their operations, but the integration process often happens behind the scenes and is not always widely publicized.

Blockchain faces certain scalability and technical challenges, especially when it comes to processing large volumes of transactions quickly and cost-effectively. While progress has been made in addressing these issues through various scaling solutions, they remain ongoing areas of research and development. The technical nature of these discussions may make them less prominent in mainstream conversations. In simple words, it’s getting overcomplicated for the general public.

While the hype around blockchain had gone back to the IT community, the technology continues to evolve, and its potential impact remains significant. Ongoing research, development, and real-world implementations are shaping the future of blockchain.

TradeLens

TradeLens is a blockchain-based platform for supply chain management developed by IBM and Maersk. It aims to improve efficiency, transparency, and security in global trade by digitizing and automating various processes. Since its launch in 2018, TradeLens has gained support from several major shipping companies and port operators, indicating its potential for success. These include companies like Pacific International Lines (PIL), CMA CGM, Hamburg Süd, and PSA International.

However, implementing blockchain technology in complex industries like global trade and supply chain management presented lots of challenges. Some potential obstacles that could affect the closure of the TradeLens project or any blockchain experiment in the field may include:

1. Adoption: Achieving widespread adoption of new technology can be challenging, especially in industries with multiple stakeholders such as container shipping. Encouraging all relevant parties to join the platform and integrate their systems can be a time-consuming process.
2. Interoperability: Ensuring seamless data sharing and interoperability among different participants’ systems can be a complex task. Integrating legacy systems with a new blockchain platform may require significant effort and technical expertise.
3. Regulatory and legal considerations: The regulatory landscape surrounding blockchain technology and global trade may vary across jurisdictions. Compliance with existing laws and regulations and addressing potential legal barriers can be a complex process.
4. Scalability and performance: Blockchain technology, while offering advantages in terms of security and transparency, can face challenges related to scalability and performance when dealing with large volumes of transactions and data.
5. Return on Investment: 

Last but not least, there is a financial aspect that is extremely significant for any project of such scale. All of the above obstacles have to be heavily funded to be resolved. But it seems that the companies were not looking forward to investing in it for an indefinite period of time. As formulated by Rotem Hershko, Head of Business Platforms at A.P. Moller-Maersk, “TradeLens was founded on the bold vision to make a leap in global supply chain digitization as an open and neutral industry platform. Unfortunately, while we successfully developed a viable platform, the need for full global industry collaboration has not been achieved. As a result, TradeLens has not reached the level of commercial viability necessary to continue work and meet the financial expectations as an independent business.”

It’s essential to consider that the success or failure of an experiment like TradeLens may depend on various factors, including industry dynamics, market conditions, and technological advancements.

There are still numerous logistics startups working on innovative solutions with blockchain technologies. Areas such as supply chain visibility, operations optimization, and digital freight platforms continue to attract startup activity and consequently, venture and corporate investors. The logistics industry is vast and ever-evolving, and there is a chance we will see the re-birth of TradeLens in a new form. Will definitely watch this space.

Freight forwarding is a complex business that involves many different factors, each of which can add to the overall complexity of freight sales. There are multiple parties involved, including shippers, carriers, customs agents, and other logistics providers. Each of these parties may have their own processes and procedures that need to be followed, which can make the overall process more complicated. Regulations and compliance with a variety of regulations, including customs regulations, trade regulations, and safety regulations require constant attention as non-compliance can result in fines, delays, and other issues.  Factors like distance, mode of transportation, and customs requirements can all affect the overall process and make it more difficult to manage. Add variability and unpredictability (factors like weather, port congestion, and unexpected delays) and it will be a perfect recipe for a nightmare. Is there a way to radically simplify it?

The Quotiss philosophy is based on the Pareto and KISS principles since the very beginning of the ‘idea stage’. Even the name “Quotiss” stands for “Quote It Smart and Simple” as an allusion to the KISS principle. The Pareto and KISS principles align with Quotiss’ goal of providing a simple, efficient, and automated platform for freight forwarding companies to streamline their sales process and improve customer satisfaction.

Let’s see how these principles and the overall simplicity approach can help freight forwarders with their business process.

Pareto Principle in Freight Forwarding

The Pareto Principle, also known as the 80/20 rule, suggests that roughly 80% of effects come from 20% of causes. This principle can be applied to the sales process in freight forwarding to simplify and prioritize sales efforts. Here are some ways to apply the Pareto Principle:

1. Identify the top 20% of customers that generate 80% of your revenue. These customers should be the focus of your sales efforts as they provide the most significant impact on your business.
2. Analyze the shipping patterns and needs of these top customers. This analysis can help you identify common trends and needs that can be addressed with value-added services, such as warehousing, distribution, or customs clearance.
3. Develop a customized sales approach for each of these top customers. This approach should address their specific needs and preferences, making it easier for them to do business with you.
4. Use technology to automate the sales process for these top customers. Implement an online portal that provides easy access to quotes, shipment status updates, and other information relevant to their shipping needs.
5. Continuously monitor and analyze the performance of these top customers to identify areas for improvement and opportunities for growth.

By applying the Pareto Principle to the freight sales process, you can simplify your sales efforts and prioritize your resources to focus on the most significant revenue-generating customers. This approach can help you improve customer satisfaction and retention, resulting in long-term business growth and success.

KISS Principle in Freight Forwarding

The KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) principle is a design philosophy that suggests that simplicity should be a key goal in design and functionality. Here are some ways to apply the KISS principle to simplify the sales process in freight forwarding:

1. Streamline the quotation process: Simplify the quotation process by offering standardized pricing for common routes and shipments. Use an online quotation system that is easy to use and provides customers with a clear breakdown of costs.
2. Automate the booking process: Automate the booking process as much as possible, using an online booking system that is easy to navigate and understand.
3. Use technology to simplify processes: Use technology to simplify processes and improve efficiency. For example, implement an electronic billing and payment system that is easy to use and understand.
4. Provide clear communication: Use simple and straightforward language in all communication with customers. Provide customers with clear and concise communication throughout the sales process. Avoid using jargon or technical terms that may be confusing or intimidating to customers.

By applying the KISS principle to your sales process, you can simplify the shipping experience for customers, making it easier for them to do business with you. This approach can help you improve customer satisfaction and loyalty, resulting in long-term business growth and success.

Constant Improvement

The Pareto and KISS Principles are continuous improvement tools that should be applied regularly to identify areas for improvement and optimize business processes. The frequency of application will depend on the specific business process and the organization’s goals and objectives.

1. Regularly review performance: freight forwarders should regularly review their performance metrics to identify areas for improvement. This can be done on a monthly or quarterly basis to track progress over time.
2. Analyze data: Data analysis should be an ongoing process to identify trends and patterns that can help improve business processes. This can be done using tools such as Quotiss software.
3. Process improvement: Whenever a company is looking to improve a business process, the KISS principle should be applied. By simplifying processes, companies can reduce errors, improve efficiency, and save time and money.
4. Focus on high-impact areas: The Pareto Principle should be applied to high-impact areas of the business, such as the top 20% of customers that generate 80% of revenue. This analysis can be done as often as needed to identify new opportunities or changes in customer behavior.
5. Continuously monitor and adjust: Business processes are dynamic and may need to be adjusted over time. The Pareto Principle should be applied continuously to monitor performance and make adjustments as needed.

By implementing these strategies, you can simplify the sales process in freight forwarding, making it easier for customers to do business with you and improving overall customer satisfaction. We believe that the right freight sales automation software can help to simplify the process and ensure that sales deals are handled efficiently and effectively.

Quotiss is a software company that provides a cloud-based platform for freight forwarding companies to simplify and automate their sales process.

Fill in this form to register for a free trial of Quotiss software. It only takes a few seconds!

Did you know that just one follow-up email on a freight quote can boost your sales results? Many freight forwarders seem to think that replying to their customers’ quote requests with a freight quote is already a great competitive advantage. And it’s not far from being true!

According to the fresh Mystery Shopper Report published by Freightos, the majority of freight forwarders have failed the test, again. Similar to last year’s results, 60% of quote requests still did not result in receiving a quote.

Well, it is indeed great if your sales team replies to all quote requests they receive – but it’s not enough. Follow-up emails to those who didn’t respond to your initial message are a must if you think of a truly efficient sales process. Follow-up is so important that the sales team should realize it even before they start sending freight quotes to clients.

The Mystery Shopper experiment also revealed that out of the 25 quotes received, only 2 (two!) companies sent a follow-up to see if the shipper was still interested in booking. That’s only 8%! In short, hardly anyone sends follow-up emails.

What does that mean to you?

There are three practical matters that are crucial for increasing the quote win ratio, which directly impacts your bottom line results:

• Instant Quoting (sales reps need a simple tool to quickly generate freight quotes)

• Email Integration (seamless connectivity and email tracking automation)

• Follow-up (the feedback loop: was a quote successful or not, why?)

It means that if you do a follow-up after sending the freight quote to your customer, you are jumping right into the “8% club” of salespeople who actually do that. By following up on a freight quote, you show more interest in building a relationship with the client than the majority of whoever reached out to them. This means that just by sending follow-ups on quotes, your sales team will stand out from the competition.

Don’t be afraid of sending follow-ups

Usually, customers do not comment on the freight quotes they receive for two reasons: either they simply forgot or need some more thinking to place a booking. In both cases, we can increase their engagement by following up.

Sometimes people may feel that follow-ups will make the recipient feel stalked and angry. In practice, this is rarely the case. Usually, people feel grateful, enjoy your interest in them, and admire your persistence. Well, most of the times 😊

This is an actual reply I got lately:

“Hi, Margarita,
thank you so much for following up, because right now it is a very busy time. I would like to look into this in April.
Thank you again and I would definitely like to do a trial of Quotiss software in the future.”

Often it’s the follow-up that makes them hit ‘Reply’. Jason Zook reveals in his article that over 75% of all the deals he’s landed over the years have been a result of sending follow-ups. If you think that you can actually get yourself a chance for landing 75% more deals just by sending follow-up emails, you want to start sending them right away, don’t you?

How to Follow Up on Freight Quotes?

As you start sending the follow-ups, you immediately realize that keeping track of all the freight quotes is not as easy as you first thought. You will realize that it takes much more time than you initially expected.

At Quotiss, we understand that forwarders can’t afford to spend that much time on quoting and following-up. Automation of freight quotes and follow-ups is the best way to build an efficient sales process and increase the win ratio.

If you want to check how to automate follow-ups on freight quotes, sign up for a free trial at Quotiss, or request a demo.

In freight forwarding, the transparency of the freight sales process has never been there at all. With the freight tariffs in a form of extremely complicated Excel ratesheets, and freight quotes prepared manually and sent by email or Whatsapp there is no visibility, no control and often no follow-up.

Usually, the sales manager doesn’t know how many freight quotes were sent in any period of time by the sales team. There is no way to check it if it’s all done manually. It is almost impossible to monitor the sales margins in the quotes. Managers must rely on the reports prepared by sales reps, where 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 sales can be achieved in the organization when both pricing and quoting are managed via the same platform. A platform where all freight rates and quotes are created and stored, in the most structured and most proper visual way, accessible from anywhere and anytime. Quotiss software provides such a platform for freight forwarders.

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.

Visual Sales Performance

Quotiss software automatically uploads freight ratesheets, local port charges, customer database. It contains pricing guidelines and an archive of freight quotes. With Quotiss, the sales team can generate perfect freight quotes in seconds, and email them to customers directly. Thanks to the full email integration, the follow-up is automated too!

Quotiss dashboard is a powerful visualization tool. It provides a full rate history per carrier, client acquisition stats, freight quotes performance, average margins, 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 Microsoft Excel to Quotiss software, you can automate 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. That’s right, no more Excel!

With Quotiss, you can increase your sales productivity without increasing your 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 upload your ratesheets and start quoting freight from Quotiss on the same day we sign the deal.

There are 3 things one needs to know to visualize the size of any freight forwarding business:

• how many TEUs/FFEs/mts are handled by the company on a yearly basis?
• how many people are employed?
• how many offices are running globally?

We always assume that the more the better. But is it really so?

‘Lean’ is the New Black in Freight Forwarding

The latest trend, activated by COVID-19 is directed towards efficiency – do more with fewer resources. The main question that forwarders should ask themselves is how to grow annual volumes without growing the administration costs.

In the startup world, the book ‘Lean Startup’ became the bible for any upstarting entrepreneur who is not backed by investors’ money. The book describes the only viable business model – do only the most essential work, cut all unnecessary spending, use the growth hacks and shortcuts wherever possible.

But it’s time to get specific. Here are the tips on how to run a sales support remotely. These tips will help you to create your own “lean” sales team and sell more freight.

Where to Start?

Usually, remote team tips tend to focus on hiring and managing. But, before you even think about your people though, you need to think about your tools.

Hiring takes months. Learning how to be a good manager takes years. But you could get the software you need to run a remote team today. It is possible. Even preferable.

The software brings structure and routine to chaos and mess. For the sales support team in a freight forwarding company, there are several essential business processes that should be digitized and automated:

• One reliable source for freight rates
• Instant freight quotes
• Follow up on deals
• Internal collaboration

Once you’ve got all these elements in place, you’ll successfully conquer remote sales support. Read this before stepping into the remote sales support world and you’ll create a solid foundation to allow your business to grow.

Maximize Your Team’s Performance

Basic email and MS Excel aren’t designed for remote jobs. Invest in sales automation software. The ROI is exponential. And as far as SaaS software goes, it’s relatively cheap.

If you’re planning to offer remote sales support you need sales automation software. Without it, your team will be standing on the shaky ground constantly trying to catch up. It is not only about your customers’ experience, but it also enhances employee experience.

Obviously, we recommend Quotiss software. With Quotiss, your sales support team will leverage the accessibility to the same freight rate management and quoting platform. Every department can see the actual freight rates and active customer quotes in one place.

Quotiss allows the team to collaborate without being in the same place. Our customers been using Quotiss over the years, and scaled their teams without adding unnecessary complexity.

With Quotiss, the team is able to handle a large volume of freight quote requests without a huge staff by maximizing the usage of our sales automation platform.

You can rely on features like replicating quotes in 5 seconds, quick archive search, and direct email replies which help the sales team to respond to customers faster and more efficiently.

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.