Updates and upgrades to stay digitally ahead
Issue 41
November, 2021
Digitally Driven
The desire to trade and succeed changed the shape of the world. Until Ferdinand Magellan of Portugal circumnavigated the world in 1522, the world was considered to be flat. This crossing of the seven seas, was one of the contributing factors for the Renaissance. Today we stand to see another transformation in trade, with technology revolutionizing movement of goods at the tips of the fingers – a shift that has opened up numerous possibilities for future-ready logistics services companies like ECU Worldwide and the industry at large.
Diverse industries and sectors the world over are making a move towards digitalization and embracing the Internet of Things (IoT).
One of the leading sports and footwear brands, Nike, has been revolutionizing customer experiences with technology. The company recently launched an app that takes a leg scan, collects points of reference from it and suggests the most suitable shoe for customers. As an added benefit, the inputs also help Nike improve and modify its existing designs and products.
Global coffee chain giant, Starbucks has launched its Artificial Intelligence (AI) initiative Deep Brew to power personalization, optimize workforce allocation at stores and also drive inventory management. It is likely to optimize operations to a great extent and allow customer-facing store professionals to spend more time connecting and interacting with customers, to offer them a great experience.
Logistics services providers like ECU Worldwide that aspire to be frontrunners in the sector’s digitalization are not too far behind.
ECU360, ECU Worldwide’s state-of-the-art digital logistics platform is helming the digital transformation in global cargo movements. It simplifies the process of moving goods across geographies and empowers freight forwarders and customers with a one-stop solution for all their freight forwarding needs, powered by a modern UI/UX interface.
Convenience – backed by a host of features
Businesses can now get complete transparency of their cargo with the track and trace feature, quick quotes for shipments across different countries, instant booking, automated billing, among other such nifty features.
Moreover, with ECU Worldwide’s door-to-door services offered through ECU360, customers can now benefit from pick-up and drop services right at their doorstep, in 52 markets.
Since its launch, ECU360 is disrupting the way logistics is done especially in geographies which were earlier hesitant to adopt digital modes of working, such as India.
Leveraging the logistics industry’s shift towards digital
“Indian logistics is experiencing a digital renaissance much like the rest of the world owing to the current socio-economic effects of the pandemic. The integration of digital technology across core supply chain processes, an evolution that faced systemic resistance to adoption in the past, is now being welcomed with open arms, within the logistics industry,” says Executive Director of ECU Worldwide, Vaishnav Shetty.
Embracing technology offers businesses a logistical edge which was hitherto absent. Even medium and small industries can now access the global market for cargo movements since ECU Worldwide operates in more than 180 countries and over 2400 direct trade lanes for LCL. In this sense, a platform like ECU360 can be seen as an equalizer in the sphere of logistics, giving smaller businesses a chance to compete with the big companies that have traditionally dominated the market.
An opportunity to broaden horizons
With ECU360, that lets customers ship with just a click and conduct business 24×7 at their convenience, the ease of doing business is now unparalleled. For instance, a business located in Vietnam, can move cargo from Saudi Arabia to Chile without having offices in either the origin or destination country. Similarly, customers are not limited by geography. They now have access to a global supply chain for their businesses, enabling them to leverage economies of scale. ECU360, therefore, is helping to globalize the world economy, where the barriers of national and ocean boundaries are increasingly being reduced to lines in geography text books.
Having swift, efficient and cost-effective logistics is essential not just for a business to grow from a micro perspective but from a macro perspective enables growth of the economy. The speed offered by digitalization is sure to accelerate the velocity of any economy in an upward direction.
Empowering small and mid-sized businesses with digitalization
The e-commerce boom, necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic will also see a large number of Medium, Small and Micro Enterprises (MSME) going digital to stay afloat in a market that has big global players. In such a situation, a digital option with a worldwide network of offices is just what would be necessary for these enterprises to row through the storm of the pandemic to reach calmer shores as sunny prospects arrive.
With the adoption of ECU360 ranging from the Americas to Asia, and across ECU Worldwide’s global network, the platform is helping democratize technology. More and more businesses are using it to give their business a digital edge – which was earlier an expensive and inaccessible proposition.
At present ECU360 around 30% of the company’s global export value – which is a significant amount considering that ECU Worldwide is the largest Less than Container Load (LCL) consolidator in the world.
Conclusion
In summation, one can say that in a world where the future will be digital, adoption of digital modes of working will have a cascading effect ranging from businesses, to the logistics sector, the national economy and finally the world economy. With ECU360 at the centre of its digital play, ECU Worldwide remains keen to drive and lead this change.
Quick Bytes
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The pandemic has exacerbated the pace of embracing digitalization.
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ECU360 is helping democratize technology in a sector that was previously slow to embrace it.
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Post-pandemic, medium, small and micro enterprises’ reliance on e-commerce will increase, creating bigger demand for LCL services.
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Platforms like ECU360 act like equalizers, enabling small players to compete with big, global entities.
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By providing easy access to global supply chains, digital logistics portals like ECU360 are giving an impetus to globalization.
