Why LogisticDocuments.com?
"Annually, we export around 200,000 boxes of grapes from our South African farm, primarily to Europe. During the export season, which runs approximately from November to March, we found it increasingly challenging to keep track of all our shipments.
We were in search of an easy yet effective way to monitor our containers with our existing workforce, and to reduce the time-consuming, manual, and hence error-prone work surrounding our exports. Moreover, we wanted to amass data about our shipments.
When we found LogisticDocuments.com, it seemed to fulfill all our requirements. We've been with them from the early days, having heard about the platform's development from our network."
Getting up to speed
"The first year with LogisticDocuments.com was a learning journey. The platform had just taken flight and not everything was seamless. But, our rapport with Christian and David from LogisticDocuments.com has always been excellent. They were receptive to our feedback and effectively addressed any missing or malfunctioning features on the platform.
In the past two seasons, everything has run like clockwork. We maintain regular contact with David, discussing potential value-adds we can draw from the platform."
"How do larger exporters still manage all this manually?"
"I genuinely believe that for exporters, this platform recoups its cost rapidly. Just through customer satisfaction: a client who receives current data about their order's status, for instance, can better manage their expectations.
Moreover, it puzzles me how larger exporters are still manually tracking shipments. Prior to using LogisticDocuments.com, we were already struggling to keep track of all our ocean-bound containers, and manual tracking was also time-consuming. But I know exporters who have 5, 6, 7 times more at sea than we do. I can only imagine the chaos in their back offices. And where do they find the time?"
"If LogisticDocuments.com says that ship is docking tomorrow, it's a done deal."
— Jaco Tredoux
LogisticDocuments.com in use: easy peasy
"The implementation of LogisticDocuments.com was a smooth process, and its usage is self-explanatory. There are no hidden menus; everything you need is immediately visible, functioning in a clean and intuitive manner.
Our general manager in South Africa also states: I don't actually spend much time on the platform because it's simply not necessary. That's true, as the platform allows you to customize your workflow and receive notifications at particular triggers. We've set that up, and with these email alerts, we're sure we won't miss anything critical.
We have also learned to trust the information on the platform. If LogisticDocuments.com says that ship is docking tomorrow, it will."
A wishlist for the future
"What we needed: it has made our work more transparent and swift while allowing us to accumulate valuable data. We also appreciate the collaboration: the team at LogisticDocuments.com is incredibly pragmatic. They are always easily reachable and maintain excellent personal rapport with us.
We are currently discussing an integration with David and our export system provider. This step will allow for fully automated data and document sharing with our supply chain partners, saving us even more manual work."
