The logistics industry remains a significant and growing segment of the Philippine economy due to eCommerce and infrastructure developments in the region. The Philippine freight and logistics market is expected to increase exponentially, reaching U$23.7 million by 2027. With that in mind, many international players like FedEx, UPS, DHL, Kuehne + Nagel, are making strategic investments to establish a regional logistics network, opening new distribution centers, smart warehouses, etc. thus giving tough competition to local logistics service providers.
Moreover, the impact of the current global trade environment and disruptions have made it difficult for Philippine freight forwarders to keep up with the pace and stay competitive. As demand for effective and transparent logistics services keeps increasing, it becomes crucial for companies to both advocate and implement digital tools and solutions that go hand in hand with technology development in the industry.
Logistics and freight forwarding is a complex industry that often plays with high stakes. The operations process begins with booking a shipment, juggling countless communications channels with partners and carriers, until the shipment reaches its destination and the payments are received. In such a challenging scenario and to address inefficiencies brought about by manual processes, the Philippine logistics industry has turned to digitalization, which improves user-experience as well as reduces costs through more effective collaboration with carriers, shippers, and partners.
To compete with international players, many renowned freight forwarding companies from the region, including Asian Consolidation, TNL Express, Road Runner, Orient Freight, Asia Cargo Container Line, and Port net logistics have implemented Softlink’s freight forwarding solution Logi-Sys as their technology partner. An internationally acclaimed comprehensive ERP platform, Logi-Sys is designed using the latest technologies to integrate the entire freight forwarding operations and seamlessly connect with all stakeholders and branches with a centralized database.
Established in 1992, to digitalize the freight and logistics industry, Softlink Global comes with a rich domain expertise and industry knowledge. The company has delivered innovative customer-centric digital solutions that are capable of performing end-to-end freight forwarding operations on a single platform.
Over the years Softlink’s Logi-Sys ERP platform has gained the trust of more than 1,000 freight and logistics companies globally and is reaching newer heights every day with new market expansion across APEC, Middle East Americas and Africa.
In this eCommerce age and given the fact that customer expectations are heavily influenced by logistical capability, the shipping and logistics industry is speeding up its transition towards digitalization. To address the increase in volumes, many freight forwarding companies in the Philippines have adopted Logi-Sys not only to attract new business but also to efficiently compete with the bigger international players with deep pockets.
Road Runner Cargo Logistics Inc is one of these companies. Maureen Gutierrez, senior manager of Road Runner, believes web-based solution Logi-Sys efficiently handles all of the company’s operations and finances, giving them the power of a secured connected platform that facilitates seamless exchange of data and documents between various stakeholders. For Maureen, the most important and impressive aspect of Logi-Sys was its swift but smooth implementation process courtesy of the Softlink Philippines team that, in turn, enabled her and her team to get trained on the Logi-Sys ERP and all of its powerful tools easily.
Another Philippine-based global freight forwarder, Asia Cargo Container Line, further fortified–through Logi-Sys–its relationship with customers in Europe, North and South America, especially in Asia through real-time tracking, complete transparency, and auto-notifications that helped achieve increased efficiency and better productivity.
The bottom line is that digitalization is a pressing need in the sector, and those who don’t take the right steps now might soon struggle with competitiveness. Companies who constantly and rightly invest in digitalization will outperform their peers.
The Philippines’ logistics and freight industry are slowly but steadily adopting digitalization to seize more opportunities presented by the Philippines’ growing commercial activity, especially in e-commerce. Today, consumers expect transparency and efficiency at every stage of the supply chain and the demand and expectation for efficient logistical services will continue to rise. To cope with the growing interest of businesses and consumers alike, the Philippine logistics industry must bridge the gap with digitalization. – contributed article
