- Convenient customer information
- Information in real time
- Significantly less research effort
Service portal
protects competitive advantage
Customers get information around the clock
EIKONA Logistics has created a portal for transparent customer service that significantly speeds up communication.
What was the customer service challenge for Hellmann Worldwide Logistics?
Hellmann Worldwide Logistics is an international logistics service provider with a broad product portfolio ranging from air and sea freight to general cargo. The company had logged a particularly large number of phoned-in service requests for full and less than truck loads in its freight forwarding business. Shippers and consignees wanted to stay informed of the current shipment status to cover their planning. Their phone inquiries kept the service department busy, including repeatedly checking in with the drivers of the various trucks. One of the project's goals was thus to provide the same information automatically in a service portal. Its development code name: Direct Load Portal.
Solution: digital status information in real time
One of the functions of the new product is to give Hellmann's customers the information they need at every link in the value chain with just a few clicks. That means all status information on full and less than truck loads can be instantly retrieved in real time. The convenient and transparent display of data is just one attractive feature. Indeed, the core function of the solution has become its ability to combine all the information in a simple process much faster and with significantly less communication effort. This is because the logistics service provider now manages its carriers in the Direct Load Portal. The solution is clearly a data hub for transport orders and trips, including status management for shipment tracking. However, carriers also use the application to capture all the documents involved in carrying out transports – all adapted to each industry's specific requirements: drivers' qualifications such as driving licences and ADR licences as well as vehicle data such as insurance certificates and registration for dangerous goods transports. The benefits of the service portal are enormous: The logistics service provider's support now meets even higher standards but requires much less effort than before. The online channel keeps Hellmann customers fully informed about every issue 24/7. Information quality and reliability has improved enormously along the value chain.
We were one of the first logistics service providers to develop a service portal in 2014. This locked in a longstanding competitive advantage for us and our customers.
Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) Germany at Hellmann Worldwide Logistics
Result: competitive advantage for the logistics trendsetter
At the same time, when Hellmann launched its Direct Load Portal in summer 2014, it set the industry trend for customer service. "To our knowledge, we are the only logistics service provider in the market to offer this kind of a service for all direct shipments," Kai Hasenpusch, CCO Germany of Hellmann Worldwide Logistics, said in a press release at the time. "Together, we developed a product for Hellmann that has become a key factor in its long-term competitive advantage by significantly improving communications for the freight forwarder and its customers."
Logistics benefits
- Real-time information: every new status is immediately available online.
- Lower costs: digital communication answers inquiries cheaper and faster.
- Carrier management: new feature improves quality and reliability.
About the company
Hellmann Worldwide Logistics
Since its foundation in 1871, Hellmann has developed into one of the largest international logistics providers. With its high-performance products Airfreight, Seafreight, Road & Rail, and Contract Logistics, it always offers the right solution for the complex logistics requirements of its customers and rely on future-oriented digital services for maximum transparency and more efficient supply chains. Today, Hellmann Worldwide Logistics has a global network of 489 offices in 173 countries with more than 19,500 employees. In 2019, the Hellmann Group generated revenues of around EUR 2.42 billion with 10,743 employees.
What are the responsibilities of a freight forwarder’s customer service team?
Answering status inquiries and logging complaints about delays and damages: the people in a freight forwarder's customer service department work at the interface between planning and production. They handle communication about services in all areas of transport logistics: handling, procurement logistics and distribution logistics. They are generally communicating about good services because quality and reliability are high in the logistics industry. Employees can draw on their experience when individual orders are not handled the way customers expect them to be. Their job also requires them to know what all industries expect of freight forwarders' production processes and to understand the callers' concerns.
