Way forward for freight forwarding
The India Logistics Technology Summit, a closed-door event, saw the presence of 50+ eminent industry professionals from FreightBro, FreightCrate, Adani Port, Delhivery, Shipwaves, Vamaship, Ramco Systems, Cogoport, among others.
FreightBro, associated with the Journal of Commerce, hosted their first India Logistics Technology Summit at the Centre of Incubation and Business Acceleration, Navi Mumbai. The summit witnessed sessions on how software can make key ocean freight processes and capabilities more efficient and less costly, potentially positioning India as the key growth market for world trade in the coming years.
Raghavendran Viswanathan,
CEO & Co-founder, FreightBro, said, “The acceptance curve of the freight forwarding industry for digitisation will be gradual and eventually inevitable. There will come a point when the freight forwarder will make decisions looking at dashboards rather than just using it as a price comparison tool.” Eric Johnson, Senior Editor Technology, JOC.com, said, “It is an interesting phase as we witness logistics networks moving towards supply chain networks with frontend and back-end technology working seamlessly.” The panel discussion brought up interesting conversations and observations; plug and play software start-ups offer a layer of flexibility and standardisation to the freight forwarding community, the technology platforms act as salespersons reducing customer acquisition costs and older players are opening up to technology once they realise that it is enabling them in all possible ways. The event showcased the potential of technology to completely change the landscape of international freight movement by reducing reliance on manual processes and paper-based documentation for freight forwarders.