As supply chain complexity increases, professionals and managers of supply chain and logistics continue to look for ways to streamline supply chain processes, especially by applying automation where possible to allow a more strategic view of all supply chain activities. As new supply chain platforms enter the market to increase efficiency, collaboration, and keep goods moving, the focus has shifted to supply chain warehouse appointment scheduling. Innovative new tools and digital platforms make it easier than ever to automate the supply chain and improve scheduling and overall performance. Bringing shippers, carriers, managers, drivers, 3PLs, brokers, and consumers to a unified front is easier than ever to work together to build a more sustainable future. It has to start somewhere, and digitizing appointment scheduling is where the most significant advancements in sustainability are coming together.
Addressing the Problems of Outdated Warehouse Appointment Scheduling
Every day, idling trucks pump emissions into the air, all without any profits or progress made within the supply chain shipping lines. Just as empty hauling miles create waste, so too does the extensive idling that takes place when trucks wait in long lines to unload or pick up orders. Drivers, workers, customers, and executives experience the frustration caused by the poor appointment scheduling practices.
This is especially true as a simple overhaul of the scheduling technology could take care of the bulk of the issues. According to SupplyChainDive, improved scheduling practices can help spread out the loading and unloading appointments more evenly. Rather than bottlenecking during regular peak days and hours, the schedule remains more evenly distributed to accommodate appointments. Also, allowing carriers a certain degree of control over their own schedule can make it easier for them to plan their routes and easily fit pick up and drop off into their availability.
Acceptance and Utilization of Advancements in Technology Meet Customer Service Demands
A plethora of new technology, dashboards, online platforms, real-time tracking apps, warehouse appointment scheduling tools, and flexible shipping options are more accessible and more practical than ever before. These and other similar advancements represent the shifting focus of consumers in the post-COVID market. Consumers now expect more from businesses and are willing to take their business elsewhere if they feel their needs go unmet.
Combining the data and analytical power of artificial intelligence with the flexibility and adaptability of online service makes warehouse appointment scheduling more manageable than ever. Integrated scheduling tools provide customers with the power to connect to shippers they know and trust anytime, anywhere. At the same time, it also gives transportation managers the ability to go with the flow and adapt to the ebb and flow of the market. This provides competitive advantages that are desperately needed in today’s market.
Benefits of Digitizing Warehouse Appointment Scheduling That Logistic Managers Need to Know
Countless benefits await shipping management, all from improving the process of scheduling and updating appointments within the supply chain. Some of the most impactful include:
- More efficiency with network communications
- More accessibility for a customer-centric approach
- More practicality for appointments set up
- More flexibility in terms of schedule availability
- More transparency between rivers and managers
- More availability for last-minute order capacity
- More adaptability to disruptions and delays
- More accountability in the chain from end to end
This is by no means an exhaustive list of the benefits that come from improving warehouse appointment scheduling procedures. The benefits are vast and far-reaching and can potentially impact the modern-day supply chain in powerful ways.
Embrace Innovation and Maximize Top-Line Growth With Digitized Schedule Management
Innovative tools and improved technology make it easier to manage supply chain warehouse appointment scheduling and overall performance. Maximizing growth and profits is possible with help from powerful third-party tools, such as the Turvo Appointment Scheduling.
Intelligent scheduling apps and dashboards can now allow shippers to meet their customers right where they do business already- online, through mobile devices, utilizing search engines, and on the go. Contact Turvo today for more information on how embracing freight data and technology can improve top-line growth.
