Case Study: Freight Rate Calculator

Case Studies

How a local Freight Forwarding Company increased orders and reduced admin without requiring them to change their existing software system

Hobbs Global is an established Global Supply Chain Management Company with an enviable reputation for personalized service through senior staff with a depth of experience.

While they already use a software called CargoWise for a lot of their main processes, Hobbs approached Orchid with the idea of creating an online freight calculator for their clients. Something that would be simple and easily updatable.

In the old days clients would always call them to get a quote over the phone, but as their own client base became more technologically demanding, they started getting more requests for the ability to offer on-the-fly quotes through a dedicated online calculator.

This would give clients the option to retrieve quotes faster, on-demand, and allow them greater flexibility in exploring their various shipment options.

Key requirements for the freight calculator

As they already use CargoWise, a fairly complex software, they particularly wanted to avoid adding complexity to their day-to-day tasks, something that would be easy to use and save them time.

  • Clients to have separate logins and trade lanes personalized to their needs
  • Quotes to be calculated on demand with a full breakdown of costs
  • Support for FCL quotes (Full container load) & LCL quotes (Less-than container load)
  • Ability to apply charges separately to different trade lanes
  • Ability for their own staff to manage and update all aspects of the calculator (trade lanes, types of shipments, charges, associated costs and clients)

Solution

Orchid built a custom cloud-based web application for Hobbs that has provided their clients with a simple, quick solution to retrieve a quote.

Hobbs staff have the ability to add new client accounts to the freight calculator and remove old clients who should no longer have access.

The system is extremely customizable, allowing Hobbs to easily manage trade lanes and all the individual charges for specific trade lanes, which make up a quote.

Results and Future Plans

Hobbs have rolled the system out to a number of their biggest clients, and have plans to further expand its usage and the overall role it plays within the business.

The web application has reduced the time Hobbs spends on the phone with clients and has resulted in clients requesting more quotes, due to the speed and the ease that they can now retrieve them.

Plans for Version 2 of the freight calculator are already underway, with the introduction of air freight and a mobile app version being discussed, as Hobbs looks to further incorporate the tool into the core of their business.

Who is Orchid?

Orchid is the web development specialist for a number of freight forwarding and logistics companies. This includes designing and building specialist web-based software like this freight rate calculator, as well as full order management systems.

Feel free to drop us a line if you’d like to chat with us about how we can streamline and improve your freight forwarding or logistics company.

Article written by

Will Schmidt

- Owner

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