The importance of digital integration

The moving industry is undergoing huge transformation, and digital integration is playing a crucial role in this change.

Digitalisation has, of course, been happening for many years already. So far, most medium to large businesses have adopted some form of digital technology to help them with the management of day-to-day operations, including the digitalisation of documents.

In mobility, we have seen the gradual replacement of paper with digital files, and companies starting to use in-house databases – a process that is two decades old. Recently, we have also seen new investment interest in move management software coming from outside the industry and an increase in standalone solutions being offered for different parts of the business, such as virtual surveys or move management tools.

Today, however, the pace of business has increased – and is getting faster still. Consumers want transparent and efficient services, and the convenience of being able to access them whenever they need, typically on their mobile devices. For me, this is what digital integration is about: giving you the tools to give clients what they want. This means moving away from paper or not-for-purpose tools such as Microsoft Office or own databases, and bringing information together, moving towards sharing data, and using it in an open and transparent fashion to solve problems and offer the best possible services to your customers.

Several obstacles have hindered the implementation of realistic data-sharing capabilities across the industry to date. These include: fragmentation of the mobility industry, where the function of each company and how they carry out their business can vary widely, even within the same sector; a lack of viable solutions because this fragmentation creates needs that are unique to individual firms; and a lack of standardisation. These have had an impact across the entire move or relocation process, and led to major inefficiencies in how movers and their stakeholders manage client information.

So, how can our businesses change this and move their services to the next level through digital integration? In short, by collaborating on and sharing critical shipment data, such as sea and air freight tracking, estimated time of arrival and real-time location.

To do this, we must put an end to data fragmentation and create unification. Instead of embarking on a massive IT project for your company, we propose leveraging existing information and establishing an interconnected ‘ecosystem’ that serves as a central repository for data. Additionally, the ecosystem connects you with your network partners and customers, ensuring standardisation and visibility at every stage.

Shipeezi was designed as an integrated ecosystem and is built on four key pillars:

• Simplified electronic files, sorting important customer moving information
• Agent and trade partner databases to manage data exchange permissions
• Open application programming interfaces (APIs) that facilitate the seamless and cost-effective exchange of data between various applications. These APIs establish a bridge between different systems, allowing effortless data integration with virtually any software provider in the industry
• The ecosystem serves as a unifying platform that brings together various software applications used throughout the moving process. Whether it’s sales, operations or shipping software, the ecosystem acts as a collaborative tool, leveraging shared data to streamline and simplify operations. By harnessing the power of this ecosystem, we can collectively provide the services your customers desire, offering them an unparalleled ‘Amazon experience’ of accessibility and visibility throughout their move, from start to finish.

Discover how Shipeezi can revolutionise your business by unifying data, optimising business operations, enhancing customer experiences and enabling scalable growth. Visit moving.shipeezi.com or reach out to our team at sales@shipeezi.com to learn more.

Shipeezi is an ecosystem in shipment visibility, providing end- to-end management tools for every move, mode and task along the way. From sales to operations, it offers the flexibility to connect with any data source, ending data fragmentation across your workflow.

With Shipeezi, you’ll gain real-time visibility, optimise your operations, enhance efficiency and elevate the moving experience for your customers.