Global Link Logistics Case Study
Providing Customers with Superior Order-to-Delivery Visibility
Freight forwarder uses a global visibility system to deliver superior customer service and gain a competitive edge.
Business Challenges
Global Link Logistics is a freight forwarder specializing in containerized ocean freight transportation across Asia–United States trade lanes.
To achieve its goal of lowering the total landed cost per shipment for customers without requiring them to increase staff, the company needed to improve its ability to provide customers with visibility into shipping information—from the status of orders, to identification and resolution of potential problems, to real-time inventory location. Its current manual processes required Global Link Logistics staff to re-key basic shipment status information into spreadsheets that were then sent to customers as often as once a day.
Selecting TradeBeam
Global Link Logistics recognized that if it could provide more information more quickly to its customers, it could gain a sales advantage over competing freight forwarders. The company decided to deploy a supply chain visibility platform that would let customers access this information in real time over the internet, eliminating the need for manual reports and customer inquiries. Global Link Logistics selected TradeBeam’s visibility solution because TradeBeam had proven shipment tracking capabilities between Asia and the U.S. and TradeBeam’s on-demand solution would support continued growth while letting Global Link Logistics pay only for the volume actually processed.
Sophisticated Visibility
Following the initial successful deployment of TradeBeam’s supply chain visibility solution, Global Link Logistics created its FLEX service based on additional functionality from TradeBeam. The new functionality bridges the information flow between the buyer’s purchase order and Global Link Logistics’ shipment manifest by providing high-quality data for the definition of shipments, packing information, consolidation of multiple small shipments into containerized loads, and door-delivery for all retailers. The result is a significantly lower overall landed cost and faster shipment time for customer export shipments.
Global Link Logistics customers now access the TradeBeam visibility system via their Web browsers wherever and whenever they need it. Customers have real-time visibility, from initial purchase order through container return, and the ability to search on shipment and inventory status using a variety of parameters, such as by purchase order number or destination. They can also manage proactively by exception with online or e-mail alerts concerning delayed shipments. Customers now have robust reporting, including comprehensive “out of the box” reports and customization capabilities.
Key Business Benefits
- Real-time order-to-delivery information for customers
- More accurate information
- Automation for improved customer staff productivity
- Expanded revenue growth opportunities based on the ability to improve customers’ global supply chain efficiencies
- A competitive edge in attracting new customers thanks to superior visibility into shipping information
