Offering estimated quotes in as little as a few minutes benefits shippers and is expected to attract new clients through comparisons with other companies.

 

STANDAGE Co., Ltd. (Minato-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Akinori Adachi; hereinafter referred to as STANDAGE), a developer and provider of digital trade platforms, has added the rates of Shibusawa Warehouse Co., Ltd. (Koto-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Takeshi Osumi; hereinafter referred to as Shibusawa Warehouse) to its "DigiTrad Forwarding" system (hereinafter referred to as "this system"), an instant international logistics cost estimation system developed and officially launched in October 2023, as of January 29, 2024. Shippers can now obtain an estimated international logistics cost from Shibusawa Warehouse in just a few minutes through this system, saving approximately one hour per transaction compared to the traditional method using email or telephone. As this system allows users to obtain simple estimates from multiple logistics companies at once, Shibusawa Warehouse also hopes to attract new customers through comparisons with other companies via this system.

 

■Background to the implementation: The legacy logistics industry and the "2025 cliff"

In 2018, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry introduced the keyword "2025 Cliff" in its "DX Report." With 2025 just one year away, issues and analyses related to the "2025 Cliff" are being disseminated across all industries.

 

The "2025 Cliff" refers to the economic losses in domestic industries primarily caused by the persistence of legacy systems, which are estimated to amount to as much as 12 trillion yen.

The persistence of legacy systems refers to a situation where, amidst the advancement of digitalization, existing systems have not been adequately improved or customized to keep up with the times, resulting in a lack of coordination with internal and external parties, and continuing to exist in a state of increasing complexity and opacity.

 

The trade and logistics industries are also being swept up in the wave of operational efficiency improvements brought about by digital transformation (DX). In logistics, while major companies are making progress in developing and utilizing their own systems, the focus has been on systemization in isolation, resulting in a lack of horizontal collaboration between internal and external parties. This has led to inefficiencies in operations due to the persistence of legacy systems. In fact, interviews with major logistics companies reveal that half of their workday is spent checking and responding to emails and phone calls.

Even when it comes to introducing new DX systems, many logistics companies are hesitant to take the risks of changing their existing operations, which is leading to delays in digitalization and efficiency improvements across the industry.

 

In its 2023 medium-term management plan, Shibusawa Warehouse has positioned "digitalization and mechanization" as one of the pillars of its growth strategy for the logistics business, and is promoting operational improvements and efficiencies through digitalization. The use of this system is part of that effort.

 

■ About DigiTrad Forwarding

Developed by Standage and officially launched in October 2023, DigiTrad Forwarding is a system that allows users to instantly obtain simple online quotes for international logistics costs from various logistics companies.

This service bridges the gap between shippers who want an estimate quickly, even if it's just a rough estimate, and freight forwarders who need accurate information and multiple processes to calculate the price, thereby improving the efficiency of operations for both parties.

 

During development, we spent several months immersed in the operations of logistics companies, aiming to create a system that would allow legacy logistics companies to smoothly transition to digital freight forwarders while minimizing changes to their long-established existing operations.

By utilizing this system, shippers can not only instantly obtain estimated quotes from various logistics companies online, but also request quotes and exchange information directly through the system's chat function, completing the entire process, including project management with attachments, within this single system.

 

◇Click here for DigiTrad Forwarding:https://forwarding.digitrad.trade/digitrad/rates

◇Click here for the service landing page:https://boueki.standage.co.jp/forwarding/

 

■Comment from Mr. Takashi Yoshida, International Sales Manager, Shibusawa Warehouse Co., Ltd.

By appealing to a wide variety of customers with our forwarding services, we expect to gain new customer touchpoints and acquire new projects.

 

■ Future outlook

By incorporating rates into this system, Shibusawa Warehouse aims to attract new customers and projects, while also confirming the usefulness of the system's UI/UX. They will then collaborate with Standage to develop a platform specifically for existing customers, enabling them to obtain simplified quotes, request full quotes, and conduct related communications.