A circular file for the transports, printing out receipts, searching for the file in case of order changes and exchanging the corresponding pages –this is how the management of logistics orders and container requests works in many logistics companies. Despite existing software, the situation was similar at BD Containerhandel und Logistik GmbH in Bremen.
Goodbye circulation folder
That’s when Ole Brümmer joined his father’s company last fall as branch manager and successor to the managing director. In search of a solution for more efficient and digital processes, he became aware of Indiwa Digitale Kommunikation GmbH from Bremen. As a logistics software provider, their specialized product offering consisting of Contado as TMS software for container transport and Tarico as rate management software was of interest. “The CEO, Ingo Litek, took the time to explain everything to us and then customized his software products to our exact needs with a modular system. I noticed the team’s experience, both as software developers and beyond, clearly as a former logistics professional. Indiwa then accompanied the implementation and training within the company, so that everything worked from day one. The entire changeover was easy and took less time than we had expected.”
Digitization makes things easier
Software can only work with what has been previously entered. It is on this point that Ole Bruemmer encourages his industry colleagues to scan in the office: “Yes, scanning the first order folder took 15 minutes. After that, everything went faster and faster. The result makes our work much easier. Now we can see the status of all orders and inquiries from any workstation, we can edit the data digitally and, above all, certain processes, such as creating the invoice, function automatically with a click of the mouse. Subsequent archiving is now absolutely simple, without full shelves. Working with our subcontractors has also become easier and clearer for everyone.”
Ole Brümmer is also pleased about the ecological aspect, because printing ink and paper are saved when everything is now paperless, from receipt of the order to invoicing in the Bremen office. The new transparency and efficiency he feels he needs today as a freight forwarder and service provider is complemented by the good experience gained from the supportive cooperation with business partner Indiwa. “At the same time as the software changeover, we opened a second branch office. Here, too, Indiwa solved the situation with us and for us, so that we can, for example, send the same mail or info simultaneously with different senders at all locations and there is no chaos anywhere.”
Despite all the automation, the software doesn’t replace thinking, but it does make it easier to act. In the beginning, it’s an investment that may seem risky. But in the end, in my good experience, digitization is a win-win for everyone involved in the logistics process.