De-risk Your Supply Chain with the Right Operator

Do you know who moves your cargo? You wouldn’t want a stranger manning your storefront. So why are you in the dark regarding the business critical figures moving your freight from A to B? Make your freight operations specialist an extension of your team to leverage their expertise. Four talented operators from the Explorate team share how they go the extra mile for their customers.

Why should you care?

Last year, the volatile waters of the logistics industry exposed vulnerabilities in how businesses produce, ship and deliver goods. Now we know the threats to be on high alert for this year.

World Trade Organization predicts: World merchandise trade volume is expected to slow to 1.0% in 2023. [3]
Shopify surveyed 900 global brand: 66% expect supply chain issues to get even worse in 2023.
Descartes Buying Habits Report found: 23% of customers will not order from a retailer after a negative delivery experience.

Buyers Spending Less

As The Reserve Bank of Australia works to curb high inflation, buyers are predicted to be spending less, and less often.

Inflexible Digitization

Digital systems continue to be expensive to run, inflexible and often over-reliant on legacy technologies.

High Expectations

Customers are less tolerant of poor delivery performance and chose to do business elsewhere as a result.

Personalization

A lack of flexibility inhibits the ability to address customer demands for personalization and customization.

Industry Talent Gaps

Talent gaps across the supply chain and operations continue to create high dependency on the human workforce.

Volatility and Layoffs

Uncontrollable market volatility and resulting mass layoffs continue to ratchet up the stress levels for logistics workers.

All things considered, when you’re approaching choppy waters, who can you call on?

Your Cargo Concierge to the rescue.

As freight operations specialists, we know the ins and outs so you don’t have to. So when you’re facing choppy waters, we’re that extra set of hands and expertise you can call on.

Your operators can:

Ensure you’re aware of delays
Mitigate the challenges that may arise from disruption
Assist with the adoption of new technologies in your workflow
Pass on your feedback or suggestions to our in-house development team
Suggest different trade-lanes or incoterms to better service your supply chain.

For too long, logistics operators have been the unsung heroes of the supply chain. Meet four of our talented operators to hear, in their words, the difference they can make to your supply chain.

MEET OUR FREIGHT OPERATIONS SPECIALISTS

Jo Wilson

Head of Freight Operations

Zach Collins

Senior Operations Specialist

Cameron Holzeimer

Freight Operations Specialist

Lachlan Campbell

Freight Operations Specialist

1. What difference does it make having the ideal operator?

Asking the Right Questions

Productivity comes with asking the right questions, and that comes with experience. The diverse experience of our team means we know the right questions to get the answers we need quickly.

Being Proactive

When we’re alerted to interruptions in specific regions, we will identify and notify all clients that move cargo to or from those areas.

We’re very open about what you need to do to get in front of disruptions and how to plan for them. We talk to our customers to find out what challenges that might present for them and what we can do to try to counteract them or help.

“For me, good operators care and that extra level of care that a really great operations team can give you get to that extra mile, the extra 10%, maybe that extra email or the phone call. If they really care about your freight, it’s going to get where you need to be quicker and more effectively.”

Zach

“Being a great operator requires attention to detail and being a very good listener. Working with a client to help them as much as possible. Make it as easy as possible for them and really becoming a team with the client.“

2. How are Explorate Operators are setting a new standard for the industry?

Our In-House Development Team

One of the big points of different difference at Explorate is working with our in-house development team.

As a team, we’re constantly trying to be faster and more efficient. So working beside our developers means we can inform the tool we need to go beyond our current capabilities.

Learning and Development Opportunities

Our operators aren’t just moving freight every day, they’re innovating technology and seeing the bigger picture.

Therefore, we arm our operators with learning and development opportunities that furthers their understanding of the industry and our role in transforming it. Whether they’re interested in new trade lanes, incoterms or sustainability, we have the resources to evolve their expertise.

“The software is a pretty cool part – being able to build something while you actively use it. It’s pretty exciting to know that there’s constantly new features evolving and also that you can walk ten meters and harass someone to build you a new pretty feature.”

Lach

“A great way we show we care is by implementing change within our process and with their application. We’re really dynamic in that way and it means that we can shift process, make changes very quickly, whether that be process in operations or within our application as well. Being able to have those deliverables, and getting there very quickly in a short time-frame, really shows we care and gets the job done the way that our customers want it.“

Zach

3. What makes being an operator with Explorate so special?

Opportunities to Diversify your Experience

When disruption arises, coming up with 20 different solutions instead of one requires experience. That’s why Explorate gives their operators the opportunity to diversify their logistics experience. With in-house development, procurement and customs clearance, our operators work alongside industry experts of various subsections of logistics.

Visibility and Accuracy

Having access to the right information at the right time gives our operations team the confidence to combat any logistics hiccups.

When juggling so many moving parts, having one control tower means our operators can spend more time going above and beyond for their customers.

“They have the opportunity to learn all aspects of site forwarding as they dedicated to specific clients. They will look at imports, exports, airfreight, ocean freight, where most of the big freight forwarders, they are very much locked into one mode only, so they don’t get to expand their knowledge as well.”

“Visibility. Having visibility of all the data and the technology so we can help customers see their shipments in real time is great for them, it makes their job easier, as well as as well as ours obviously.”

Cam

“If you involve your operator right at the start, which we have clients that do it, we’re part of that team from the get go. From when that order is placed all the way through, we’re aware of where it’s at. We will deal with their suppliers if they want us to. We part of their team.”
Jo Wilson, Head of Freight Operations

Frequently Asked Questions

Freight operations is the team responsible for moving your goods from A to B. They co-ordinate full end to end import and export, air and sea freight operations while keeping the customer informed along the way.

Expert problem solvers, freight operators know their way around congestion, capacity shortfalls and disruption. Our operations team also work hand-in-hand with our development team to innovate new technologies that streamline their role.

Other than co-coordinating the movement of cargo, freight operations interacts with shipping lines, airlines, and co-loaders to find the best solutions for their customer. They’re also responsible for co-coordinating the relevant documentation and preparing a shipment for invoicing.

Do you have a function or feature idea? We’re constantly improving our technology and our developers love your feedback. Get in contact with your operator so we can make sure your voice is heard.

A better freight forwarding experience is possible! Find out how our operations team can make it happen and find the solutions you need in your supply chain. Contact us, we’re always happy to chat. Follow us on LinkedIn for more freight forwarding insights.

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