The development of logistics industry is closely related to technology application. The exhibitors participating in Asian Logistics and Maritime Conference (ALMC), which will be held on 23 and 24 November, reveal how technology applications ranging from basic solutions like document management to network security and real-time monitoring system assist SMEs to enhance operational efficiency.

Henry Ko, Managing Director of Flexport Asia, also notes that many SME’s in the industry are experiencing shipping logistics the way it was 20 years ago. That includes manually inputting data and doing repetitive menial work with little shipment visibility. Flexport, a Silicon Valley based freight forwarder and customs broker, has built an online platform that streamlines communication to make shipment management easy and transparent. In just 4 years, Flexport has grown to over 500 employees across 9 global offices, Hong Kong being the main office for Asia.

Ko remarks that under traditional mode of logistics, SMEs are often discriminated against because of their small cargo volume. Flexport’s platform is developed to cater the needs of all market segments. However, because of the lower resources and human capital, SMEs in particular greatly benefit from having a platform that acts as a central repository for their entire supply chain. Internally, their platform helps their global operations team manage shipments by the nature of its urgency. Externally, companies benefit knowing where each individual SKU is in real-time. More so, because Flexport digitizes all shipment details down to the SKU-level, clients are able to easily review structured data and analyze reports from landed cost per SKU to booking lead time by supplier. The data analytics is also used for Flexport to give more accurate volume forecasting to ocean and air carriers.

There are numerous parties involved in a shipment lifecycle from when it leaves the factory to arrival at the final destination. Flexport’s visibility helps keep all parties accountable and enables parties to easily pass the logistics baton. Henry Ko states that the company sets out to reinvent logistics. The company has a team of in-house software engineers building the online platform in its San Francisco headquarters. “Our users report a high degree of satisfaction with the platform, and our company is recording a 25% month-to-month increase in income for the last 12 straight months.”

At the upcoming Asian Logistics and Maritime Conference (ALMC), more than 100 companies around the world will showcase an array of logistics services, maritime services and e-commerce solutions to improve supply chain management and operation efficiency so as to open up market opportunities.