Discover how a shipping manager streamlined cross-border shipping operations with smarter software solutions

If you’ve ever shipped across borders, you’ve probably discovered the real challenge isn’t the distance, but the documentation it requires. Every international shipment comes with a stack of required forms including commercial invoices, certificates of origin, bills of lading (BOL), packing lists, export licenses, and more. And each of these documents must be flawlessly accurate, as a missing field or mismatched form can land your shipment in customs purgatory, rack up extra fees, and frustrate your customers. Furthermore, businesses who manage this paperwork manually endure time-consuming processes at higher risk of errors, slowing down their cross-border operations.

Let’s take a look at how one shipping manager tackled these challenges head on:

Meet Mandy, a shipping manager at a fast-growing e-commerce company that ships nearly 40% of its orders internationally. Her team is very familiar with the complexities of cross-border shipping documentation, as they handle thousands of cross-border shipments each week, requiring detailed paperwork and compliance checks. Mandy has spent countless hours buried in forms, rekeying shipment data across several systems, and trying to stay up to date with constantly changing rules and regulations. When delayed shipments, unsatisfied customers, and stress amongst her staff continued to build, she knew she needed to make a change.

What saved her from the international shipping despair? Multi-carrier shipping software (MCSS). This advanced platform is designed to streamline and automate document generation, turning tedious processes into fast, accurate, and fully integrated workflows. Keep reading to follow Mandy’s journey to streamlined shipping documentation and explore how the right shipping software can transform how your business handles international shipping paperwork.

The Paperwork Nightmare

Before discovering multi-carrier shipping software, Mandy walked into work every morning to be greeted by a mountain of international shipping forms. With each shipment from a different carrier, with varying country-specific regulations, trying to piece together the correct documentation was chaos. While some shipments were processed smoothly, others hit unexpected roadblocks, forcing her to track down missing information or completely redo paperwork from the beginning, taking up more of her time that could have been allocated elsewhere.

Mandy soon realized the current process for handling cross-border paperwork was no longer sustainable, and something needed to be done.

Discovering Pre-Written Documents

Everything changed when Mandy discovered an advanced multi-carrier shipping software solution and its ability to handle the nuances of international paperwork by providing pre-written documents. The software could automatically populate pre-written templates such as commercial invoices, customs declarations, and BOLs with shipping data pulled directly from their existing systems, completing accurate forms for each carrier and country in just seconds. [Explore the breakdown of parcel and LTL shipping documents.]

The difference that the software made in Mandy’s daily tasks was immense. She was able to avoid time-consuming rekeying and eliminate worries about inaccuracies delaying their shipments.

Adding Custom Documents for Special Cases

While the shipment details differ, many cross-border shipments require the same types of documentation to enter a new country. However, not every shipment will fit into the pre-written templates provided by MCSS. Special case items such as hazardous materials and controlled goods require additional paperwork beyond what is considered standard.

When Mandy received an order that required special handling, she was relieved to discover her leading MCSS solution enabled her to create custom documents tailored to the specific needs of special case shipments. Previously, these unique situations would have required Mandy to manually adjust several forms and double-check carrier-specific rules, ensuring that everything was filled out to comply with laws. Failure to do so could cause delays, significant fines, or even the seizure of the goods being transported.

Her new shipping software enabled her to add custom fields, include special handling instructions, and adjust templates to meet specific carrier or customer requirements. This flexibility was revolutionary, giving Mandy confidence that each package would reach its destination seamlessly.

Automation at the Point of Shipping

After seeing substantial improvements in her cross-border paperwork processes thanks to the pre-written templates and custom documentation features in her MCSS, Many thought she’d reached peak efficiency. However, the real magic occurred when the goods were ready to be shipped with automated document generation at the point of shipping.

Top-tier multi-carrier shipping solutions integrate seamlessly with existing enterprise resource planning (ERP), warehouse management systems (WMS), and order management systems (OMS), enabling a seamless flow of data. When an order reaches the shipping stage, the system then automatically generates the required documentation, ensuring consistency and compliance every time.

As Mandy prepared the next international shipment, she was able to simply enter the shipment details once, and her MCSS automatically generated each of the required forms. Gone were the days of entering data by hand, creating documents, printing, sorting, and a slew of other manual tasks. Her shipping software now handled everything automatically, from label generation to running compliance checks, getting her packages ready to go in minutes.  

Automation at the point of shipping gave Mandy control over her international shipping operations. The advanced capabilities of her MCSS produced several benefits including faster processing, better accuracy, compliance, and scalability to support high-volume shipping.

Going Paperless

With a completely transformed shipping process, the final breakthrough was adopting paperless documentation. Modern shipping solutions offer the generation, transmission, and storage of shipping paperwork electronically, eliminating the need for physical copies.

Mandy spent years buried in stacks of printed custom forms, commercial invoices, and export declarations. Finding a single document could take minutes, sometimes even hours, and more often than she cared to admit, paperwork vanished in the shuffle, eating up time and creating panic. Her MCSS allowed her to store documents digitally, linked to each associated shipment, making crucial paperwork accessible from anywhere. These documents could also be submitted electronically to carriers, customs, authorities, and other stakeholders.

By going paperless, every form was stored, tracked, and version controlled, giving Mandy complete visibility into her company’s international shipping records. This transformation not only simplified Mandy’s job, but it also sped up operations, automated workflows, and made international paperwork processing more secure.

The Technology That Brings It All Together: MCSS

All the improvements made to Mandy’s role including pre-written templates, custom documents, automated generation, and going paperless would not have been possible without the right technology behind it. These capabilities are not just nice-to-haves, but are essential tools for international shippers looking to streamline processes, reduce errors, and stay compliant. The same level of customization, automation, and compliance is exactly what Varsity Logistics Multi-Carrier Shipping Software delivers.

How Varsity Logistics Powers Smarter International Shipping

Built exclusively for the IBM i, Varsity Logistics industry leading MCSS simplifies international shipping from end-to-end for both parcel and less-than-truckload (LTL). With seamless integration with your existing systems, Varsity facilitates the direct flow of crucial information between systems, significantly minimizing errors and eliminating bottlenecks. Our top-tier solution empowers our customers with advanced tools to streamline cross-border shipping from automated generation to accurate forms and carrier compliance, without the manual work.

Here’s how Varsity ties together each moving part in one centralized, intelligent platform:

• Pre-written documents: Varsity’s solution quickly generates necessary pre-written templates for both parcel and freight international shipping documentation, populating accurate information for carriers, customs, and compliance without repetitive manual work.
• Custom documents as needed: Varsity’s platform is highly customizable, allowing shippers to configure and generate custom shipping labels and documents to meet specific business needs, regulatory requirements, and special shipment cases.
• Automated generation: Varsity’s MCSS seamlessly pulls data at the point of shipping to automatically generate compliant labels, shipping manifests, crucial export documentation, and UCC-128 barcode labels. It also supports hazardous materials and dangerous goods documentation and ensures each package is shipped to compliance standards.
• Paperless documentation: With direct integration to existing systems, Varsity supports digital storage and electronic transmission of international shipping documents, eliminating the need for printing and manual handling. Varsity MCSS also supports Electronic Trade Documentation (ETD), enabling shippers to electronically submit customs documents to carriers.

An unexpected bonus? Reduced manual tasks and faster processing times result in measurable cost savings. With less paper waste, fewer labor hours, and minimized customs delays, international shippers can reinvest their time and money into continued growth rather than troubleshooting.

From handling cross-border parcel shipments to complex freight operations, no solution streamlines and unifies all the moving parts of international shipping quite like Varsity MCSS. Thanks to advanced shipping technology like Varsity Logistics, Mandy was able to turn her daily struggles into a smooth, automated process.

Ready to simplify your international shipping documentation processes? Take the next step forward and contact our team of shipping experts or schedule a pressure-free demo to discover how Varsity Logistics can streamline your global operations.