What happens If you do nothing?

The pandemic has shown us just how crucial the supply chain is for businesses. And at the heart of this chain is the shipping dock—a place where things can go really right or very wrong. You might be tempted to stick with your current way of doing things, but here's what could happen if you do:

1. Extra stress on your workers: Without organized processes at the dock, your employees may feel overwhelmed, and that's not good for anyone, especially in an industry with high turnover rates.
2. Paying more than you should: You might end up shelling out extra money for things like detention fees, and overtime labor.
3. Losing the edge: You could lose your status as a shipper of choice, which means you may not get the best rates and access to capacity.
4. Missed opportunities: Without data to measure how well your carriers are doing, you miss out on chances to drive improvement through strong vendor relationships.

What happens when you fix these problems?

Now, picture a well-managed dock. Here's what you can look forward to:

1. Faster truck loading: Trucks get loaded quicker and more efficiently.
2. Smooth truck flow: Traffic jams on your dock become a thing of the past.
3. Seeing the big picture: You can easily plan staffing and keep an eye on dock appointments.
4. Data to drive improvement: Access to data helps you measure how well your carriers are performing so you can hold them accountable.

Calculating ROI: The money you save

When thinking about using dock scheduling software, you're probably wondering if it's worth the cost. Well, the savings start piling up right away by tackling three key issues:

1. Detention: You'll cut down on those annoying detention fees.
2. Scheduling: Save time and money by having your carriers schedule their own appointments online
3. Updates: Real-time updates keep things running smoothly.

The hidden savings

But the benefits of dock scheduling software go beyond just saving time and money. Carriers notice when you're easy to work with, and that can lead to lower shipping costs over time.

When you become a trusted partner—a "Shipper of Choice"—you'll enjoy lower rates and better access to capacity when it’s harder to come by.

Making sense of ROI

Here's the bottom line: The cost of any software has to be justified by the value it provides. Dock scheduling software offers direct and easy-to-quantify savings by reducing penalties like detention and labor costs. And other slower-to-be-realized savings come through better rates and delivery service performance.

Of course, the ROI for any individual company is unique. Get the full ROI ebook that outlines all the hard and soft savings of dock scheduling, and includes access to Opendock’s free ROI Calculator to understand the ROI of your docks.