5 Key Reasons to Deploy a Logistics SaaS Solution

It can be a little counterintuitive, but technology really does move in cycles. Just look at sound storage media—we’ve gotten so much better at storing sound that you can have essentially the entire corpus of modern music streaming in your pocket, but somehow cassettes are making a comeback with a big subset of consumers. And it’s the same with logistics software: we have the power to offer a full complement of features and capabilities without requiring delivery organizations to have any on-site servers or maintenance staff, but on-prem software is somehow trendy again.

Historically, when it comes to getting the right logistics software, some businesses have opted to build their logistics application via their in-house IT departments. Others turned to developers and providers of customizable logistics technology. Most others chose between vendors, some of whom were offering on-premise solutions and others of whom might provide SaaS solutions. 

In spite of the recent turns in the other direction, SaaS is still the clear choice for logistics organizations who want to improve visibility, boost efficiency, and connect with their customers. In this post, we’ll get into exactly what that is. 

How to Deploy Logistics Software

Now more than ever, businesses have to invest in digitized systems to manage the increasing delivery volume and customer demand. And indeed, more companies are adopting automation and digitization than ever before. One survey shows that nearly 60 percent of logistics providers are already using some kind of automated routing and dispatching, while the other 40% have plans to do so soon.

Logistics software systems help companies meet the increasing demands of customers while addressing the need of businesses to integrate their logistics software solutions into their other enterprise systems. Because they play such a crucial role in modern delivery operations, finding the right kind of solution is particularly critical. 

Why Choose Logistics SaaS Software?

We won’t beat around the bush, our perspective is that SaaS or cloud-based options are the way to go when it comes to logistics software. 

Here are just a few ways you can ensure ROI and logistics efficiency with logistics SaaS software:   

1. Leverage your vendor’s technical expertise

Your in-house IT team might have some experience developing a logistics management solution—but odds are this isn’t their specialty.

In contrast, a solution provider that specializes in logistics software will have a team of experts with many years in the field. You can be assured that the software they offer has been thoroughly tested by experts who are well versed in the challenges of the logistics industry.

Having a logistics SaaS platform from a reliable provider is particularly crucial since you cannot afford any downtime or problems with your logistics operations. It's essential to stress this point. Companies need to understand that the decision to invest in technological tools isn't merely about purchasing software, but also tapping into the existing knowledge of experts who can help you to keep logistics operations running smoothly.

Choosing, implementing, integrating, and optimizing is no walk in the park. Buying a logistics SaaS solution offers you additional support during the implementation and integration phases, thereby making the transition to a new system a lot easier.

2. Give time back to your teams 

Most companies that deliver to either businesses or consumers have more on their plates than ever these days—meaning that most businesses no longer have the luxury of spending months or years creating a software solution. Businesses can't afford to wait to optimize their logistics processes as they need to immediately digitize and automate to meet the increasing delivery volumes and customer demands. 

This applies to SaaS vs. on-prem as well. SaaS solutions will also free your IT team from the tasks of updating and maintaining software so they can focus on other high-value tasks. When you deploy to onsite servers, by contrast, you’re stuck devoting countless person-hours to maintenance and upgrades each year. 

3. Ensure seamless integration and visibility

Most solutions that are created by in-house IT teams are hardcoded. This means, whatever changes are made in a third-party system may cause massive complications. On-prem solutions can have some of these same issues. 

By contrast, SaaS solutions make integration seamless. They allow disparate systems to be connected to each other. For example, 3PL companies' systems can easily be integrated with their clients’ so that route scheduling and planning processes are coordinated across fleets. Given the complexity of modern delivery management, the integration of TMS, POS, WMS, and other systems is crucial for gathering and transferring data among all teams involved in the order fulfillment process. 

Of course, the seamless integration of multiple, disparate systems with real-time data synchronization is no walk in the park. Advanced SaaS software has the power to make integration hassle-free while speeding up the implementation of the logistics software. 

Plus, the best logistics solutions offer real-time syncing between systems and teams to increase delivery efficiency and speed. 

This level of data integration is more than a nice-to-have—it can lay a crucial foundation for increased visibility across the board. When you have the right data, in the right place, at the right time, you can manage your logistics operations much more proactively.  

4. Empower frictionless growth

The ability to scale easily is an absolute must. Businesses that are easily able to adopt new technological tools have an incredible advantage over competitors that weren’t able to power up their capabilities as quickly. 

Many companies adopt their delivery management software based on past needs—the result being that they’re stuck without the features and functionality that they need at present. 

Logistics SaaS solutions don’t present this issue: they accommodate your present business requirements while giving your room to expand when you need to. It enables you to increase the delivery volumes or the numbers of users easily as you handle higher order volumes.

At the same time, advanced SaaS logistics solutions offer more flexibility by letting you modify and customize the software's functionality, and they offer frequent updates and constantly-evolving functionality. This way, your capabilities evolve at the same rate as your needs. 

5. Drive towards ROI

All of these advantages are circling around one crucial factor: logistics cost efficiency. When you zoom out and think about your total cost of ownership for a particular piece of software versus the potential for ROI, the advantages of SaaS come into stark relief. 

While you’re saving the time and effort it would take to run and maintain an on-prem solution, your logistics SaaS software is giving you the capabilities to get more out of your fleet capacity, provide attentive and comprehensive service to your customers, and reduce the hiccups and disruptions that inevitably come with managing deliveries.

Simply put, everything about the logistics management process becomes simpler and easier—including achieving profitability.  

Conclusion: The Power of Logistics SaaS Software

There's no doubt that logistics management software is a powerful tool for ensuring high operational efficiency—but deploying your software in the right way is crucial to success.

That’s why it’s so important to strongly consider choosing a logistics SaaS solution that offers seamless integration and robust capabilities. This way, you’re not hamstrung by the requirements that come with maintaining on-site software, and you can take advantage of much greater flexibility even as you grow your operations.