When I started in transport 25 years ago, I had no idea how far the industry would develop and what trends would become fashionable. Microsoft had just brought out a program for the PC called Windows for workgroups (WOW) and the only mobile phone you got was a built-in car phone that only the super-rich driving a Ferrari could own. Fast forward 25 years to 2018 and what do we have:
- Smart phones/tablets/laptops and watches that keep you connected to everyone and anything
- The internet where you can find anything/follow anything/look up anything
- Social media that keeps you connected with anyone around the world through Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, WhatsApp.
We are now the click generation. The internet is used for more things nowadays than ever before and even this is expanding rapidly with the advent of online food ordering and deliveries, online shopping, online dating, online studying etc. Amazon is about to revolutionise the way in which we buy and live online with Amazon go, you can book an airline flight with Webjet on any airline, for any destination, at any time. Everything is at your fingertips (or thumb tips as is the case).
So as I sit down to watch another episode of “I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out Here” or the “Cricket test” on a Saturday afternoon I am bombarded with adverts for Trivago, Hotels Combined, Trip Advisor or Hotels Direct. Even insurance is getting in on the act – “Simples” I hear you say with Compare the Market.com.au and Iselect. But what is all this stuff, why is it so popular and what is it all about? Well, as the lovely lady explains on the advert, you simply select when and where you want to go, and the website gives you a selection of multiple options to chose from. It makes searching for “accommodation”, in this case, easy by doing all the searching for you. So what. Don’t people prefer looking things up themselves and cut out the “middleman”? its all about convenience and saving time. Isn’t everyone “time poor”? Wouldn’t it be great to get someone or something else to do all the hard work of finding out all the different options so you don’t have to? Well, it must be popular, because advertising is still terribly expensive, so for these companies to advertise this much, something must be working.
What does this have to do with freight and transport? There are companies that specialise in online freight management. At KIS Corporate Logistics (KIS Transport), we manage freight like these other websites manage hotels or airline flights. We offer an online website where you can enter what you are sending, where it is going and when it needs to be there, and we do all the work for you by finding multiple different freight carriers who will deliver your cargo.
So, what are the benefits of such a service, well for one thing, you don’t have to call or login to multiple different carrier’s websites to get a quote, it is all under one portal. It costs nothing to join, you get the benefit of better rates through the combined buying power of multiple companies using the service and one consolidated invoice combining all different carriers and services into one. This can save companies up to 20 or 30% on their freight costs. Quotes, bookings, labels generated, manifests printed, track and trace and enquiries are done through the website.
But the most important benefit I believe is to offer people “TIME”. KIS Corporate has a Customer Care department that spend all day, every day dealing with freight companies, so you don’t have to. A call centre that is based in Brisbane, has key contacts within the Australian Transport Network and can help to follow up on your transport queries. They say time is money and every second you spend on the phone is costing your business – in lost productivity. How much is your time worth?
I can tell you, it works. Just look at our Google rating. More and more people are signing up to reap the benefits of having someone negotiate your freight rates, deal with transport companies, follow up on issues and generate one invoice for you.
So if you want to find out how it works, contact KIS Transport to review your freight requirements and we will help make your life just a little bit easier in this crazy world.
Andrew Mac Callum
