In traditional freight operations, the same shipment data often gets sent back and forth through dozens of emails and documents, leading to confusion and wasted effort.
What it is:
This problem stems from the habit of resending rate, schedule, and document data across multiple parties instead of updating a single shared source of truth.
How it works:
Every minor change in a shipment (for example, an updated ETA or a port change) tends togenerate a new version of a spreadsheet or a fresh email thread. Without a synchronized system, eachstakeholder ends up working with their own version of the truth. Over a single shipment’s lifecycle, fiveparties emailing each other can easily produce 25+ separate document versions. If a carrier announces a last-minute cut-off time change, it typically triggers yet another round of emails and file attachments torealign everyone.
Examples:
- It’s not uncommon for a single international shipment quote or booking to involve an extendedemail thread. In fact, a survey of logistics managers found that getting one quote took an average of 3 days and required up to 50 emails and 10 phone calls among various parties, a telling example of repetitivecommunication in action.
- Multiple forwarders report that a typical shipment coordination email chaincontains around 12-15 messages over its duration, as updates and clarifications bounce between shippers,origin agents, carriers, and destination agents.
Facts:
- Approximately 40% of operational errors in freight forwarding are attributed to version mismatches, in other words, someone acting on outdated information because one document copy wasn’t updated.
-Email overload is the norm: industry analyses show forwarders send or receive dozens of emails pershipment on average, contributing to missed information and delays.
Misinterpretations:
Many believe that copying every partner on every email will ensure clarity. In reality, copying everyone often multiplies confusion. Each reply-all can introduce another document copy ordivergent thread, making it harder to know which information is current. The lack of a single reference point means no one is truly on the same page, even though inboxes are full.
Who solves it:
The key is to replace these fragmented communications with a collaborative, real-timeworkspace. Skypace’s Collaborative Workspace exemplifies this solution by keeping all shipment data,conversations, and documents in one synchronized platform accessible to all stakeholders. Instead of five people maintaining five versions of a spreadsheet, everyone interacts with the same live data. Digital logistics platforms that centralize information create “a single, organized hub” for shipments, all documents and updates reside in one place, so there’s no confusion over versions.
In Skypace’s system, for instance, booking details, transport plans, and even Bill of Lading documents are part of a unified record. Any change made by one party (say, adjusting a delivery date) is instantly reflected to all others. This drastically reduces email volume and eliminates the error-prone task of consolidating updates frommultiple threads. By working in a shared workspace, forwarders and their partners can cut down theredundant communications and focus on execution, confident that everyone is looking at the latestinformation.
