Benefits of Having Mobile App for your Logistics Company
The logistics industry has progressed by leaps and bounds widening its geographical circumference to the entire global arena. As per the stats, the spending of logistics and transport industry in the US has reached up to $1.48 trillion in 2015, which is around 8% of the GDP. The term logistics is predominantly used in various perspectives. If one has to give a simple definition then, it is a task of managing the flow of things from the point of origin to the point of delivery. It may involve a varied number of jobs such as packing and transportation of the goods and materials, warehousing, material handling, maintaining and managing the inventory or stock, the flow of information through the supply chain management and much more. In fact, the eCommerce and even the online retailers are largely dependent on the logistics company. Therefore, whether it is shipping the cargo through courier, the movers and the packers, storing the necessary goods at a warehouse etc. The logistics company will hugely get benefited by online manufacturing industries as they would deliver the goods products right at the doorstep within quick time. However, one must be aware that since the number of logistics companies are increasing in the market, the level of competitiveness will also enhance. The customers usually rate these companies based on how optimal their services are. It means that the goods need to be delivered within the shortest possible time. So, if you want to compete then, you have to adhere to the latest technology and the need of the hour is an attractive but user centric mobile application. It will just simplify all your tasks as you can carry out your work through a single app. The mobile apps are just more than a boon; it helps in improving a number of activities like managing the inventory, keeping an eye on the warehouse, supervising the goods carrying vehicles and so on. So, let’s discuss the various aspects and see why the logistic company requires the support of mobile apps. Monitor the Location of Vehicle Today, you know that most apps have the geo-location facility and indeed this pivotal feature is a must add in the logistics mobile app. You can instantly receive the information on the location of the vehicle. You can even track the location by using the GPS technology. The GPS system is basically based on the satellite tracking. The trackers track the location of the vehicle and then send the information to the server via mobile network or satellite modem. On the other hand, we also have the cellular tracking, which is more dominant in the urban areas due to much better network coverage. The location of the truck can be traced in real time. If there is no network, the data then gets stored in the memory and becomes available once the network is back. Helps in Managing your Fleet Appropriately The logistics company has a fleet of vehicles, specifically the trucks, which needs to be maintained well and managed appropriately. This step is necessary if you want to enhance the services of cargo transportation. In addition, the performance of your trucks will also improve. The app will keep a data of all the trucks operating at various routes and also can store the registration numbers of all the vehicles included in the fleet. You can also note down which truck driver is driving which truck and where he is currently located. Even the inception of the vehicle is necessary. The app keeps you informed if your vehicle needs a servicing including the condition of the engine and brakes etc. You can also be familiar whether your truck has developed a snag on the road and see if it is getting overloaded or not. Online Booking of Cargo and Parcel Most of the renowned courier and logistic company such as FedEx or DHL offer the facility of online booking. Using this facility a user can easily book his parcel or goods. This can be done using the mobile app as well. All you need to do is login into your account, choose the appointed date and time for pickup, enter the two places, from where the goods is sent and what is the destination, what type of parcel it is, for example, cloths, books, medicines, etc. The app offers you the benefit of not only scheduling the appointment for the pickup but also set your own time for the delivery of the goods. You can get the tariff rates based on whether is a domestic or international cargo. This saves a lot of time as you don’t have to travel to your next courier service center. Tracing the Cargo through App Well, this is supposed to one of the most important job profiles as far as the logistic company is concerned. They have to continuously monitor and keep a track of the cargo movements. This means keeping an apt record of what type of cargo is traveling in which truck. To simplify the task, you can opt for either of the prescribed alternatives. It includes using the QR- code and secondly you can use RFDI or NFC technologies. The first option is relatively easier as you just need to scan the QR- code for each of the assets using your Smartphone. You can use the camera of your phone or you can make use of the specific scanner or QR-code app. In the second technique, which is using the RFID (Radio Frequency Identification), one uses the frequency or the waves of the radio for scanning and identifying the goods. Here you will find a scanner and a tag which is fixed to a chip or antenna. The tags are active and passive. The tracking capability of active tags are about 100 meters, whereas the passive tags have the capacity of only 25 meters. There is also NFC or Near Field Communication Technology is based on the same technique, but the difference lies with the distance.
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