We are thrilled to announce that Simply Deliver has become the latest Transportation Management System (TMS) to join the prestigious Transporeon Integrated App Program (TIAP). This strategic partnership marks a significant milestone in our commitment to providing cutting-edge solutions that drive efficiency and operational improvements for our customers.

Joining the TIAP initiative is more than just an integration—it’s a commitment to enhancing the logistics experience for our mutual customers. By leveraging the powerful capabilities of Transporeon’s Transportation Management Platform, Simply Deliver can now offer a range of enhanced features designed to streamline logistics operations and improve overall productivity.

One of the standout benefits of this integration is the ability to import assigned transports directly from the Transporeon platform into Simply Deliver. This means that our customers can now manage their transport assignments seamlessly, without the need for manual data entry or the risk of errors. The automatic import of No Touch Ordersfurther simplifies the process, allowing for effortless management and timely decision-making on transport acceptances or declines.

In addition to these features, our integration with Transporeon enables automated license plate allocation and vehicle tracking, significantly reducing the administrative burden on dispatchers and ensuring accurate and up-to-date vehicle information. This level of automation not only enhances efficiency but also minimizes the potential for human error, leading to more reliable and effective logistics operations.

Another critical aspect of our collaboration is the improvement in slot-booking efficiency. By integrating with Transporeon, we provide our customers with enhanced scheduling capabilities, reducing wait times and optimizing resource utilization. This ensures that logistics operations run smoothly and that customer satisfaction is consistently high.

Moreover, the full integration with Trimble onboard telematics and camera devices provides comprehensive tracking and monitoring capabilities. This allows for real-time insights into vehicle performance and delivery status, ensuring that our customers have the information they need to make informed decisions and maintain control over their logistics processes.

Are you a Logistics Service Provider using the Transporeon platform, Trimble Transportation Europe, or both? Discover how this integration can reduce dispatcher workload, minimize data entry errors, and prevent missed updates or bookings.

By joining TIAP, we’ve committed to supporting our customers to be able to…

• import assigned transports directly from the Transporeon platform into our module.
• automatically import No Touch Orders from Transporeon into our module and accept/decline transports
• automate licence plate allocation and vehicle tracking
• increase slot-booking efficiency
• reap the benefits of full integration with Trimble onboard telematics and camera devices

Find out more: Transporeon Integrated App Program

Demanding customers in logistics.
How to deal with them?  

As a logistics service provider, you face high Service Level Agreements (SLAs). These contracts specify customer-specific performance levels and responsibilities. Have you also noticed that customer demands and expectations are increasing and changing more frequently? That’s why ensuring SLA compliance has become more important. You need clear agreements to ensure a smooth collaboration. In this blog, you will learn how to set service levels per customer and maintain an overview.

Customers expect efficiency, reliability, and quality. A high level of service has become the norm. Your customers also want to track shipments in real-time and be proactively informed about any delays or issues. In the e-commerce era, they want to know precisely when orders will be received, down to the minute. Moreover, they require more information, such as photo proofs, certificates, and signatures. As a logistics service provider, you certainly don’t want to handle hundreds of phone calls and emails. With today’s technology, you can address these challenges. How can you make the lives of planners and drivers easier?

Demanding customers require flexibility.
To provide up-to-date information, drivers need to have the right tools. When you expect a lot from them, you must empower them as well. After all, drivers need to indicate when each package is delivered. Each loading and unloading address has its own rules and instructions, depending on the product and the client. One customer may want a photo of the unloaded cargo, while another wants a package delivered to a neighbor. Drivers cannot possibly remember all these details, especially when instructions change regularly per address. Moreover, in many logistics companies, there is not enough time for training.

Board computer are no longer sufficient
Mobile devices offer a lot of flexibility with an endless number of features and sensors for smart support and scanning. Is using a board computer still adequate in this day and age? Drivers need a device for handling transports both inside and outside the cabin. Moreover, such a device should be easy to use. Many fleet managers struggle with board computers because they are often not user-friendly. The software and technology are outdated.

Are you considering purchasing new board computers? Especially today, it’s crucial to work with a modern and flexible solution. Being able to adapt quickly to customer needs has become a prerequisite. To meet SLAs effectively, the worlds of transport management and board computers need to come together, in a user-friendly manner for planners and drivers.

Drivers want satisfying work
Driver shortages are becoming more severe. Competitors are ready to lure away your best employees. In this tight labor market, you want to keep your drivers happy. It’s important that they go through the day with a smile and not get frustrated with all the administrative tasks. How can you make their work easier? What role can new systems and technologies play in this? After all, you don’t want to train drivers for every customer’s request.

Planners want insight
In recent years, planners have gained more control over their own fleet. However, managing drivers, charters, and exceptions remains challenging. Additionally, planners need to consider SLA instructions for each loading and unloading address, which can be cumbersome. How can they ensure optimal fleet occupancy, routing, margin, and minimal CO2 emissions? How can they be proactively informed about delays such as traffic jams? How can the planner maintain control and oversight through a central dashboard?

The advantage of an App
Everyone is familiar with the images of offices in the 1980s. Various devices such as a telephone, fax, and calculator cluttered the desks. Nowadays, all these functions are integrated into our mobile phones. Whether you want to take a picture, send a message, or perform calculations, your mobile phone can do almost anything.

This philosophy is also the basis of the plug & play Driver-App. The app that combines order information, vehicle data, and hour registration can be easily downloaded from the App Store. You can centrally handle all order-related information: order management, track & trace, POD scans, barcode scanning, damage registration, photos of shipments, and pallet registration. You can also monitor vehicle data in real-time: mileage, fuel consumption, CO2 reports, driving behavior, tachograph data, tank data, and traffic information. Driver data is fully transparent, including hour registration, delays, overtime, and rest times.

Real-time communication
Add to that the ability for planners to communicate in real-time with their own drivers and charters. It provides control when receiving proactive notifications of any deviations from the schedule. With such a Driver-App, you provide your drivers and charters with the right information at the right time, both inside and outside the cabin. Real-time updates make their workday easier, more efficient, and more enjoyable. With the right app, they can be productive every day.

Benefits drivers
As a native app, drivers can download it directly from the Apple App Store (iOS) and Google Play Store (Android). After a short registration, they are linked to your system, and seamless communication can begin. Register, download, and go.

Drivers need a user-friendly and ergonomic solution that requires no training. They deal with an influx of information every day. With our Driver-App, they only see what’s necessary, allowing them to make the most of their day.

With the Driver-App, drivers can take photos of shipments and scan documents. It supports drivers both inside and outside the cabin. With a press of a button, all information is instantly available to everyone. All of this is done intuitively. With the app, you always have evidence that shipments were delivered on time and correctly.

Simplifying IT processes
Regardless of how you look at it, there are increasingly more challenges for logistics service providers. SLAs require simplification and process optimization. With the Driver-App, you can streamline your processes, increase your fleet occupancy, and enhance the visibility of your operations. Your drivers can easily meet the growing demands. As a result, their job satisfaction will increase, making them more loyal to your company, which is crucial in a tight labor market.

The introduction of the Driver-App also leads to more control and efficiency in the office. Planners can provide specific instructions and ensure that activities at loading and unloading locations are in line with the SLAs. They can proactively respond to changing circumstances. Are you ready to simplify IT? Take the step towards the Driver-App. During the summer period, we offer subsidies for onboarding the Driver-App. Take advantage of our summer subsidy now! Limited subsidy spots available. Send an email to: subsidie@simplydeliver.com 

Logistics is like a top-level sport. Each generation has its own challenges. Continuously innovating is the key to success. What is top of mind for the current generation of logistics entrepreneurs? Huib Claassen of Claassen Logistics, Roy van der Heijden of Van der Heijden Transport, and Osman Akdemir of Simply Deliver share their vision on the next generation supply chain. They explain why sharing real-time data is a must to make the transition to the future. 

It is spring 2015. Two students from Breda University of Applied Sciences are working on a case about digitization within logistics. Huib and Roy are in complete agreement that the time has come to optimize beyond the boundaries of their own business. Together, they fantasize about the opportunities that real-time data sharing offers. Imagine how much smarter you can set up your processes.

Client portal provides insight
It was therefore to be expected that the two entrepreneurs would cross each other’s paths again. Both of them use a customer portal that allows customers to have real-time insight into the status of orders. Exactly in line with their thoughts on data sharing in 2015. The men are thrilled that their foresight has come true. And this is just the beginning.

From ‘on premise’ to SaaS
Huib explains how Claassen Logistics has a different perspective on IT today: “In the past, you would buy a system and there was little development in it. Nowadays, software systems keep evolving. Ideas that are suggested are immediately incorporated into the product development. We also benefit from the improvements that others come up with. It’s like joint innovation. This way, you are assured of an up-to-date solution.”

From Capex to Opex
Osman adds: “Especially with Software as a Service (SaaS), you make solutions available to the entire market. From implementation fee (Capex) to a monthly fee (Opex) based on usage. This way, IT is delivered in a fair manner; if you do less, you pay less. A new generation of logistics entrepreneurs also requires innovative IT that provides continuity. You choose ICT solutions for years, and such a monthly model removes mental barriers.”

Flexibility and continuity
Roy is excited about the implementation of the customer portal: “From the first conversation to go-live it took 3 months. The limited front-end investment and standard TWS/WMS integrations were the deciding factors. If you want to move quickly and seek flexibility, SaaS is really the way forward. The standard processes are easy to tailor to customer needs.”

Personal attention and IT go hand in hand
Despite the fact that you can automate many processes with IT these days, customer contact remains essential. “Actually, you want to digitally relieve the customer while being accessible when necessary. Customers must, of course, have a positive feeling about the company and its employees. Personal contact is necessary to feel whether a customer is happy or not,” emphasizes Huib.

A future with chatbots?
Osman sees a future for chatbots in logistics: “I’m always looking at other industries. They are often ahead of developments. How great is it when you can just ask a chatbot for proof of delivery, invoice or CMR? That is valuable for everyone. You immediately have the information you need. A chatbot and human contact is a winning combination.”

Generational connection
Roy thinks that young people are more likely to embrace new systems: “Of course, there are enough older people who also want to move forward. In general, you can develop faster with young people. Innovating is also about trying and daring to make mistakes. You have to be open to this and be willing to fail. Fortunately, the older generation sometimes pulls us back, so that we don’t make unnecessary mistakes. This way you make use of all the qualities within an organization.”

Competitive advantage
Everyone struggles with a lot of manual work. A tight labour market requires smart solutions. Huib says: “When you take the lead in this as an organization, you can gain competitive advantage. It’s all about processing orders quickly and being transparent to customers. It is precisely by digitizing and automating that you can fulfil the Service Levels Agreements.”

Information on delivery
Roy takes it a step further: “If you don’t start working with automation and digitization, you’re done for! We process a thousand orders per day. Our goal is almost 100% ‘information on delivery’. That means sending a message in real-time when a shipment is delivered, including additional information such as a signature, packaging, and photos. Customers ask and we deliver. This way, you can move along with the customer’s wishes and increase your market share.”

Ready for the future
Osman notes that there is still resistance from the market: “Many parties talk about sharing data, but only a limited group actually does it. Our customers see the importance of it and are already reaping the benefits of digital collaboration. Everything becomes more efficient, you can free up your employees to satisfy customers instead of plugging holes. This new generation sees the added value of SaaS solutions. Especially through real-time exchange of information, they are ready for the future.”

Osman Akdemir, Founder and CEO of Simply Deliver, wants to make the life of people easier. Since graduation he has dedicated his career to continuous improvement and efficiency within transport & logistics. He believes that “the only constant is change” and therefore software developments should be incremental and ongoing. Logistics calls for an agile working methodology in which small projects are validated and scaled upon results.

Osman, please tell us more about this agile approach

From the beginning I sensed that logistic companies are more and more fed up with big and expensive software projects. They need more flexible, smaller and less risky project implementations. In other words, they need agile implementations. This is more efficient and enables you to set things up quickly, get results and move on to the next project. At the heart of this model lies efficiency at a competitive price. Simply Deliver offers an ecosystem with end-to-end solutions for the logistics market b a step-by-step approach where customers can only pay what they use!

With this approach, we have implemented our solutions for more than 30 customers. They mostly start with the easiest, most effective and fastest implementable solution, see the benefits of usage, success rate by users and then scale up for the next efficiency or supply chain service improvements. A great advantage of our Software as a Service is the scalability and the bi-weekly automatic updates. The number of users, supply chain partner-users, transactions or computations is unlimited.

If you could describe your solutions in one word …

I know it’s 2 words, but it’s the reality of what we’re offering to the market. All our modules increase the efficiency of your organization and facilitate visibility, control and the digital interaction with clients and supply chain partners in the fastest, easiest and cheapest way. For instance, our Automated File Converter can receive & process any type of file (PDF, Excel & Word) and convert the order data into a booking in your system in seconds. This removes human mistakes and unburdens the organization from much administrative work. Imagine, what your colleagues can do if they no longer need to copy and paste information manually. And the implementation of this module can be done in 2/3 weeks!

Any new developments you would like to share?

Recently, we launched Simply Commercial, a unique proposition in the logistics market that makes sales smarter and boosts sales efficiency. Logistics is getting more complex with many different supply chain parties. Calculating different routes can be a daunting and time-consuming task. On top of that we see that more and more buyers do not want long term contracts, but spot-based pricing. This has an enormous effect on the number of quotes an organization has to send out. Automatic checks of complex intermodal network plannings and extended SLA’s with minimal efforts becomes reality.

This CRM & Offer Management module is the Salesforce / Hubspot for the logistics market and brings speed to your quotation process while helping you to keep all CRM processes & information centralized. This module provides lots of data analytics during the offering process, such as success rate of quotes per customer, pricing analysis from the past offers & contracts. You automatically get routing options for transport requests, have a pro-active automated follow-up and get a 100% clear overview of all your sales activities. And not to forgot, our forthcoming release of our Intermodal TMS, which is real-time connected with all sub contractors and terminals.

What do you envision for the coming 5 years?

Personally, I think that every logistics company and shipper should work with an ecosystem or has to become an ecosystem itself. All parties need to work seamlessly together, and it is not unthinkable that a selected group of platforms will handle the order management in the future while others will remain suppliers. Whether you are a trucking company, a warehouse, an operator, or a carrier, your capacity has to be available online to maximize utilization, reduce CO2, be reliable and agile. It is all about flexibility and transparency.

Companies want to compare pricing, service quality and keep challenging the logistics service providers with real-time track & trace information as out-of-the-box features. Therefore, in 5 years, any logistics company who is not yet part of an ecosystem or an ecosystem-itself will absolutely be obsolete!

How does Simply Deliver fit in this picture?

We have developed a white label ecosystem with a variety of plug & play modules in which logistics companies can digitalize & automate their processes, extend their services, quality, network fast all at a competitive price. It is the connectivity, delivery speed, scalability and pay-per-user model that makes our modules so successful at a competitive price. Customers including Van den Bosch & Van der Vlist do not want to integrate with all platforms themselves; instead, they use our platform that already offers all these integrations & connections Out-of-the-Box. That is cost efficient and fast. Using our systems frees up time to come up with creative solutions for customers and ultimately work on your competitive advantage.

Frank Erftemeijer has been on the front line of ICT solutions for transport management for 25 years. As business development manager he was the driving force at several leading companies until he recently decided to take a new path. A road towards ‘the new world’ as he himself calls it, namely that of Simply Deliver, developer of ultramodern plug & play cloud solutions for transport and supply chain management. What is his motivation and what does he see happening in the market. An interview.

What are the major challenges that logistics companies are currently struggling with?

“With the rise of e-commerce last decade, we have all become used to an extremely high level of visibility, delivery reliability and ease of use. Everything can be purchased online and can be delivered wherever you want, super fast and at no extra cost. Sometimes you can change the delivery time and location up until the last minute. What we as consumers have become completely accustomed to has also become the frame of reference for logistics service providers in the B2B world. In order to comply with this expectation, companies actually have to drastically modernize all their processes; smarter planning, faser order processing, exchange data real-time with subcontractors, setting up visibility platforms, etc. This requires advanced ICT systems, but many logistics companies are reluctant to do so. Their experience is that it costs a lot of time and money and they are a bit fed up with that. They are tired of automation, even though it is precisely now that they need to take steps to improve. That’s where I think the big challenge lies.”

How do you think companies should address this challenge?

“I think the key lies with cloud solutions and the implementation/payment model such as Simply Deliver offers. Most companies have invested a lot in standardized processes, integration and enterprise-wide ERP, TMS and SCM systems in recent years. What they need now are specific solutions that deliver rapid improvement and are easy to fit into their current IT landscape. No large implementation projects but targeted fit for purpose modules that you can easily access from the cloud and that are so user-friendly that you can work with them immediately. Companies should also be able to decide for themselves what additional components they need and where they want to start with. For example, if a customer wants to automate the manual entry of orders, they will choose the Simply Converter that allows you to read emails, PDFs, Excel or Word files directly into your TMS. If this works out well, they move on to other modules. They determine their own growth path and pace.”

A lot of software runs in the cloud already, why is this suddenly such a breakthrough?

“It’s a misconception that so much software now comes from the cloud. Many companies have their systems hosted by a cloud provider, but in fact they are still working with their own expensive, customized software. Of course you have benefits in relation to Hardware availability & service management. But that is not what I mean. Real cloud software, is Plug & Play and every company works with the same software, setup as you want and you pay purely on the basis of useage. We call that Saas, Software as a Service. You don’t have to install anything yourself and you always work with the latest version. So you immediately benefit from all the functional product improvements and latest security patches. The modules have standard plugs and are easy to connect, Users experiences it as one seamless operating integrated system which fit completely to their process. And additional advavateg of Cloud-software is that you can “Click-On” additional module which you can also directly make available for Subcontractors and Customers. For example, you can also equip your subcontractors with an POD-visibility app and offer your customers a central visibility platform, completely in your own house style.”

But every company has unique software requirements, right, so how do you deal with them?

“Those specific requirements are mostly related to the data they wat to see and the functionality a company does or does not want to use. With a good cloud solution, you can configure all that yourself. Every transport company needs an order management system, but the difference is related to the field & data a company wants to see & record of an order and which functions they want to use. In Simply Deliver’s order management software, you select once the fields and functions you want to use and then the platform and apps work exactly the way you want. So a road hauler in chemicals sees different information than a company in Fast Moving Consumer Goods, but the functionality can be the same for both companies.”

Is the transportation industry actually ready for the Software as a Service model yet?

“I think they are ready for it right now. The supply chain sector has invested a lot in standardization and electronic data exchange in recent years. Think of the development of the electronic waybill, the integrations with portals & platforms and the standard EDI messages between companies. Transport companies realize better than anyone that they are a critical and essential link in a supply chain and that IT systems must communicate perfectly with those of other companies. In order to achieve this, they have improved their backend processes and have become more mature in terms of IT organization. Therefore this is precisely the ideal time to start working with cloud software. Now they can harvest and benefit from all those efforts and investments they made earlier. They’ve had the IT-sour(challenges) , now comes the sweet.”

You’ve been in the business a long time, what gets you so excited about Simply Deliver?

“The industry is entering a phase where fundamentally different approaches to transportation management software are being taken. No more large implementations and investments and delay in functional , technical and security updates , but expansion of existing systems with plug & play solutions that can run in just a few weeks. Solutions that are also compatible with systems from other suppliers, such as a TMS, WMS, ERP or on-board computers visibility connectors . And not to fotget, you only pay when you actually use it. That is the new world in which Simply Deliver wants to be a leader. The state-of-the-art cloud architecture! The applications we have developed have proven themselves in the meantime, with both large and small companies. It really catches on. Our customers, the early adopters, saw a quick return on investment and are extremely enthusiastic about our approach. That is for me the incentive to continue again with full dedication. I feel that a new era in transport management has dawned and I would like to be the pioneer in it again.”

When it comes to offering SaaS platforms, it is of vital importance to maintain the confidentiality, security, integrity and accessibility of information assets. At Simply Deliver we have demonstrated that our information and security measures are safe and stringent. Therefore, we have been recently awarded with the ISO 27001 certificate, which embodies an international recognized framework and is a specification for an information security management system.

Founder & CEO of Simply Deliver, Osman Akdemir adds: “We are delighted and proud that we are awarded with the ISO 27001 certificate. Receiving this certificate, allows us to work safely with customers & partners and meet their needs for security controls and data & information handling”.

Simply Deliver is the first IT company to have iSHARE proof. This means that barrier-free secure data sharing is now possible for Simply Deliver customers. iSHARE is an appointments system that ensures a fast and secure way of data sharing, providing more insight into the supply chain. Director Osman Akemir on the entry of Simply Deliver: “We want to ensure that our customers can share their data safely and easily with other parties. They need to be out of the box to use without our customers having to modify anything”.

Smeets Ferry, specialized in transport between the European continent and the United Kingdom, receives more than 100,000 transport orders annually. For several large customers, these are automatically shot in via an EDI connection, but the majority of the orders come in via e-mail, accompanied by a pdf, Excel, or Word file. “We can ask customers to deliver an order in a standardized way for us, but they often don’t feel like it at all. This does not have any priority at all in their IT department”.

Simply Deliver is the first company to meet the requirements for joining the iSHARE network. Akdemir is clear about why he wanted the Simply Deliver software to be ready for iSHARE so quickly: “In the near future, everything revolves around digital business. As a result, the aspect of data security will increasingly come up as a topic for discussion. Companies are struggling to choose the right or workable security level for data sharing. The iSHARE standard is a good standard and has a double-check. Joining the iSHARE appointments system allows us to offer customers even more security in the Simply Deliver cloud environment”.

Sharing data safely and reliably

Thanks to iSHARE, parties who share data via the Simply Deliver platform have the certainty that they are sharing the data securely and reliably. Even if they don’t have a commercial relationship with each other or haven’t shared data before.

The advantages of iSHARE within Simply Deliver are great

The advantages for Simply Deliver customers are great, Akdemir explains. “Imagine if you want to link up with a new partner within the chain, then we have two important advantages. Firstly, there is no need to discuss what type of security you need or how to implement it. It’s just already there. Secondly, there is an advantage if the integration between cloud systems takes place. The identification for an individual company can be done using an EORI number without having to worry about the technical aspects of the story”.

Proud to be the first

Simply Deliver wants customers to use its own platform quickly and easily in all cases. “At the same time, we want to have proper control over the data for our customers. Thanks to iSHARE, customers who use our cloud solution have the assurance that parties with whom they share data are actually who they say they are. I’m really very proud that we were the first to successfully complete the certification process. Our next step is to now apply the iSHARE specifications in the data integration with our partners JORR-IT and Yellowstar”.