1. Contact: Nowadays, customers want faster answers to their queries, they want to be heard – or read – right at the moment they are making a buying decision.
Digital freight forwarders make use of digital tools in their websites to allow people to get in touch with them instantly. Most of them have an online support system, for instance, as well as contact information visible at their site and social media presence. This helps to improve the communication flow and to answer in a short time. On the other side, to reach a traditional one to answers your questions may be a little bit more time consuming since most of them don’t have such a big online presence, nor they give short time replies to their customers.

2. Buying experience: Customers also expect to have better experiences when they are making any purchases. They want to get the best quote and shipping service without any hectic. This is probably the main difference that separates digital freight forwarders from traditional ones. With the advancement in tools and technologies, digital freight forwarders provide:

• Instant quotes, or at least the option to request them online and receiving a short time answer afterward.
• Transparent pricing, because customers can actually see the breakdown of all the costs involved in their shipments.
• Customers can compare rates and carriers and choose the ones that suit them the best.

3. Tracking: Being able to access an online platform to buy and manage freight services allows customers to track their shipments. Digital freight forwarders have notification systems and are offering better visibility to help clients to know the status of their cargo in transit. Most of the traditional freight don’t offer a tracking system, so customers don’t really know the status of freights unless they call in several times to ask.

4. Paper Work: Digital freight forwarders offer the option to share all the documents needed in every freight within their online platforms. This makes it easy for everyone involved to have quick and easy access to all the documents when required. On the other hand, traditional freight forwarders usually have to look into several emails to find the right documentation for each freight, which causes delays in many situations.