Faster and Easier Digitization: the Benefits of an Integration Platform for the Transport and Logistics Sector

To respond to change, data-driven working in the transport and logistics sector is essential. Yet investments in digitization are lagging behind, because organizations often lack the right knowledge and resources. In addition, time is often consumed by day-to-day activities, making it difficult to focus on digital transformation. In this blog, you can read why the introduction of an Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS) helps to simplify and accelerate the transformation process.

COVID-19 had a major impact on the growth expectations of companies in the transport and logistics sector. According to ING, the pandemic was 'disruptive', and the volume loss in 2020 averaged 3 percent. However, the crisis is not the only challenge: customers expect short delivery times and low prices, and the utilization rate of transport vehicles is often insufficiently optimised. In addition, there is increasingly strict legislation for transport, such as cities opening their centers only to vehicles without exhaust.

These challenges also offer opportunities. Smart technology makes it possible to optimize and automate the production chain as much as possible, in order to work more service-oriented. The simplest example is a current track-and-trace of a package. A customer knows when to be home and a supplier does not encounter standing in front of a closed door.

But much more is possible by allowing applications in the chain to work together better. A digital order can automatically trigger all kinds of actions, without human intervention. Robots find a product and put it on a pallet, while the computer checks when a port is available for loading. Transport is ordered automatically. At the same time, a signal is sent to the supplier, who replenishes the stock.

Make your business processes sustainable and future-proof

By optimizing logistics processes, an organization not only provides better service, it also contributes to reducing waste and emissions. This way Picnic works completely digitally. The shop closes at 10 p.m., when the baker knows exactly how much bread to bake. The online supermarket runs smart routes, so that groceries are delivered to the entire neighborhood in one go. Better for the environment and it keeps costs low.

Yet it is difficult for organizations in practice to be competitive and innovative with digitization. For example, they work with outdated systems, making it difficult to collect data from different applications. Connecting and sharing data can also be difficult in a fragmented IT landscape, in which applications all speak a different language. There are also concerns about safety and reliability.

These objections are removed by an integration platform. An integration platform makes EDI (electronic data exchange) possible. Data from different applications is brought together in one place, and can therefore be easily combined. This enables better analysis and data-based decisions, in many cases automated.

By purchasing that integration platform as a service (iPaaS), an experienced knowledge partner takes the implementation and linking of data out of the hands of the organization. They also ensure that security is optimally arranged, for example by configuring who has control over your data.

Would you like to read more about the benefits of an integration platform for the transport and logistics sector, and how it helps to work more data-driven then read our Ebook. Or would you like one of our experts to show you which benefits your organization will get by implementing an integration platform? Then contact us today.