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Dive into the top 3 takeaways you missed at our session during this year’s virtual event
Another successful ProS Who Know Virtual Event has come to a close and Varsity is thrilled to have been a part of it. This annual webinar event, hosted by ProShip, Inc., is a one-of-a-kind opportunity to hear from industry professionals, supply chain experts, and logistics leaders on a wide variety of crucial and timely parcel and LTL shipping topics. For the second year in a row, Varsity Logistics participated in a webinar session, this year joined by experts from customer companies, 3PL NRS, Inc. and rug retailer Gertmenian.
While last year’s webinar focused on unexpected shipping costs, this year’s insightful session was focused on the pain points associated with utilizing multiple carrier systems in today’s modern supply chain landscape. Are you regrettably thinking to yourself, “this sounds great, but unfortunately, I missed it”? Don’t worry – we’ve got you covered. While ProS Who Know 2024 might be officially over, not only can you view the on-demand session recording, but we’re also diving into the top three takeaways from this year’s session.
Here’s what you missed at…
[Unearthed Pain Point] Carrier System Memorial Service: A Farewell to Utilizing Multiple Shipping Systems
Takeaway 1: Puzzle Pieces That Don’t Fit – The Disjointed Integrations Dilemma
For businesses managing multiple carrier systems, shipping logistics can feel disorienting. Rather than forming a unified picture, these systems work independently of each other, causing a tangled web of processes, interfaces, and data that doesn’t connect. Each carrier system likely needs their own integrations with other essential software such as enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems and warehouse management systems (WMS), resulting in a fragmented experience that’s as time-consuming as it is confusing.
More than just the chaos disjointed systems create is the potential of siloed data. When using multiple shipping systems, data can get trapped in different systems that don’t communicate with one another. It also likely looks completely different in each system. Not only can the lack of connectivity lead to unnecessary manual processes that absorb valuable time, but it also leads to increased errors which can snowball into major issues such as inaccurate shipping labels, incorrect tracking information, and delayed deliveries (yikes!).
Furthermore, each shipping system comes with its own interface and workflows, making it far from intuitive for staff to navigate. System usability is crucial as it takes a lot of time and money to train staff to properly use them. However, throwing several different systems into the mix creates a steep learning curve, increases onboarding time, and leads to a greater chance for mistakes – all issues that would be avoided with seamless system integrations.
“Integration is a big piece of it. When looking at systems, it was a big deal for us to make sure that [it] not only integrates well, but it also is very user friendly at the other side. Training is a big part of everything, and you want to make sure not to over complicate things and make sure the user is able to use that system wisely.” – Robert Banas, Chief Information Officer at Gertmenian
Takeaway 2: Caught in Shipping Gridlock – Slow Speeds and Decreased Throughput
When relying on multiple systems, each system adds an additional layer of complexity, slowing down operations and throughput. Without a streamlined integration, each carrier’s system can take a painfully long time to process and update – a major problem for shippers especially around peak season and high-volume periods.
This lag creates a delay at every stage in the shipping process, from order processing to label creation, forcing teams to wait for each system to catch up. Not only is this strategy a drain of valuable time, but these snail-slow processes can severely impact shipping output, negatively affecting customer satisfaction and your bottom line. A unified shipping solution eliminates these bottlenecks, streamlining the shipping process for faster operations, more efficient workflows, and increased throughput.
“With a single carrier station, we weren’t able to keep up with the shipping that we needed to do and sometimes it exceeds one thousand packages a day…it would take us two to three minutes to ship one package sometimes, by the time they filled in all the information manually.” – Mike Corbo, Director of Software Development at NRS, Inc.
Takeaway 3: One-Way Street – Limited Multi-Carrier Strategy Flexibility
One thing for certain is that times have changed and relying on just one or two carriers isn’t enough to cut it in today’s fast-paced logistics landscape. There is a wide variety of shipping options now available, so businesses that choose to limit their set of carriers also choose to miss out on opportunities to optimize costs, delivery times, and service quality.
Modern shipping demands flexibility, and businesses need the capability to choose the best carrier for each individual shipment based on real-time factors such as cost, time in transit, and delivery reliability. This level of flexibility, however, becomes nearly impossible to achieve when utilizing multiple disconnected shipping systems. The lack of integration between platforms forces companies to settle for suboptimal options or spend excessive time comparing prices and services across several systems.
“These carrier-provided systems were really designed just to process and create a manifest billing file for the individual carrier. They’re so far from a good multi-carrier shipping software package”, explains Charlie Hawkins, Director of Sales at Varsity Logistics. “These carrier-provided systems create situations where you have reduced efficiency based on exceptions. There’s basically no rules there…you want a system that makes decisions based on a lot of different factors and the integration is definitely one of the big shortcomings of the carrier provided systems.”
Top-tier multi-carrier solutions eliminate these limitations, giving businesses the ability to make smarter, faster decisions, especially when it comes to selecting the best shipping option for each package. It opens the door to a world of flexibility that enables companies to stay competitive in a landscape that values efficiency and customer satisfaction so highly.
Goodbye Multiple Shipping Systems, Hello Unified Shipping Solution
During this ProS Who Know session, we dove deep into the challenges of managing multiple carrier systems and the pain points businesses face as they struggle to keep everything running smoothly. From disjointed integrations to slow speeds and limited flexibility, it’s clear that a multiple shipping system strategy only creates more roadblocks than solutions. But as these experts discussed, the single most important takeaway is simple: businesses need to shift gears and embrace a unified multi-carrier shipping software (MCSS) solution.
Varsity Logistics Multi-Carrier Shipping Software
Varsity Logistics deeply understands the complexities of modern shipping, which is why our industry-leading multi-carrier shipping software suite is designed to address the very issues discussed at this year’s ProS Who Know session. Built exclusively for shippers on the IBM i (AS/400) Power systems, our advanced platform streamlines the entire shipping process by unifying carrier integrations, improving speed with automated workflows, and offering the flexibility needed to optimize every shipment.
With Varsity’s MCSS, businesses can easily manage both parcel and freight shipping in one solution, eliminating the inefficiencies and limitations of using multiple carrier systems. Our software supports a wide range of carriers, allowing you to compare rates, select the best shipping options, and track shipments in real time—all from a single, intuitive interface. This not only improves operational efficiency but also ensures your team can focus on delivering the best possible experience to your customers.
Ready to discover how a unified multi-carrier shipping solution can revitalize your shipping operations? Catch up with the on-demand session and then contact our team of shipping experts today to learn more about our software suite and how we can help you navigate your shipping system pain points in the modern supply chain environment. Better shipping starts with the only holistic shipping solution built for the IBM i.
