Logistics businesses transform digitally to optimize costs

The interface of the virtual reality tour system of the warehouses of U&I Logistics.

Technology application development

Dang Vu Thanh, Vice President of the Vietnam Logistics Service Business Association, said that applying technology helps logistics businesses optimize costs, increase delivery productivity and provide customer-satisfied services.

According to Thanh, to solve this problem, many businesses in the logistics industry have applied breakthrough technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), automation, big data and the internet of things to scale up, and provide safe, enjoyable delivery services while optimizing costs or even identifying new revenue streams.

Specifically, logistics operations management platforms powered by artificial intelligence and automation enable businesses to optimize delivery costs, improve resource utilization, and ensure fast and accurate decisions while promoting rapid scalability.

In addition, AI-powered route planning tools can consider factors including cost, fuel consumption, third-party logistics (3PL), performance, volume order quantity, delivery type, distance to create an efficient and cost-effective delivery route. These factors enable them to reduce operating costs and increase profit per order.

Applying technology to logistics activities helps businesses reduce last-mile delivery costs by 14% and increase the number of goods delivered per vehicle by 13%. In addition, these disruptive technologies enable logistics companies and service providers to further optimize costs and increase delivery productivity by intelligently planning routes.

Core delivery activities such as task allocation, scheduling, list management, driver payments, 3PL selection can all be automated. Not only reducing costs, but automation also helps logistics businesses manage on a large scale.

Automated and artificial intelligence-based logistics management tools can save 56% of time in shipment processing. At the same time, the technology reduces manual data entry by 65% and saves 77% of steps in shipping operations.

The technology investment is oriented to long-term development and to international standards, making it easy to link with global logistics activities.

According to Ms. Dang Thi Bich Loan, Director of Mekong Logistics Co., Ltd., as the gatekeeper of the economy, the Customs sector plays a very important role in the development of Vietnam's logistics industry. Mekong Logistics Co., Ltd. recommends that the Customs industry needs to boost digitalization and digitize business processes faster and more streamlined for logistics enterprises to operate more efficiently.

Modernize delivery procedures

In order to further improve the speed of processing, delivery and payment processes, limit errors and increase customer experience, save time, human resources and production costs for import-export enterprises, ships and ports, common costs for society, minimize traffic congestion, and at the same time contributing to reducing paper use, reducing emissions, and protecting the environment, Saigon Newport has developed Ecosystem Digital transformation with products: ePort electronic port allows businesses to make most of the declaration of goods such as container delivery, registration of export ships, registration of seal cutting, withdrawal of goods, lookup of container location information, customs clearance status and online payment; EWMS electronic warehouse management system allows to manage and monitor the status of goods safely and effectively, helping businesses to be proactive in terms of time, saving costs, and meeting the standards of global corporations.

In the future, Saigon Newport will continue to perfect and upgrade digital applications, ensure information synchronization throughout the system, help enhance control, optimize management and automatize port management, and practical support for logistics activities, contributing to bringing Vietnam's value to the world.

Pham Anh Tuan, International Air Freight Sales Director of U&I Logistics Joint Stock Company, said that in logistics development, people often aim at sea and air freight infrastructure instead of network infrastructure. In the period of industry 4.0, customs units as well as businesses are in the digital transformation phase. If the internet infrastructure is not paid attention to, there will be a network jam like a traffic jam. Customs has undergone many modernization reforms. “However, to meet the needs of logistics infrastructure development, Customs authorities need to pay more attention to network infrastructure. If the network infrastructure of the customs is not responsive, it will lead to congestion, which will also affect the flow of goods of businesses," Mr. Tuan suggested.

In order to master the operation, and serve faster and more efficiently, U&I Logistics Joint Stock Company has applied digital transformation to build business management systems according to the specific needs of customers such as warehouse, transportation management, centralized operation management, human resource management, customer relationship management and intelligent analysis.

This has optimized shipping routes and inventory management time, reduced distribution and warehousing costs, increased supply chain visibility, cut administrative costs and invoice errors, verify tracking freight operations on one platform.