Dealing with overseas suppliers, inventory management, and tracking shipments can lead to headaches for any type of business. But for small companies with limited logistics resources, managing shipments can be an even bigger hassle.
HD Trade Services, a Y-Combinator Backed software provider, aims to make the whole process easier for small businesses by using photos and videos to prove that shipments actually are where the supplier says they are.
The system works by using mobile phone and tablet apps to take photos and stream videos of the shipments or scan barcodes to supplement data entry. The purpose of this is to make business to business deals more efficient and to help improve liability for shipping companies and logistics service providers, instead of just relying on simple data entry to provide accurate information about the location and condition of a product.
With the globalization of the economy, shipping and distributing items, especially ones that come from suppliers outside the country, can be a big risk for logistics companies. Small businesses can often fall victim to trade fraud due to lack of communication with suppliers. The HD Trade Services tracking apps make it possible for those companies to make sure that shipments arrive to the correct destinations on-time and in-tact, and that they actually are what they say they are.
Large shipping companies like UPS and FedEx already have services like this available, but the HD Trade Services apps allow smaller logistics companies to offer the same liability as larger companies, by using devices like tablets that are widely available in the consumer market.
The availability of these products, along with the wide array of innovative apps and the ease and affordability of cloud storage, has made some important and often overlooked functions much easier for small businesses.
HD Trade Services has a variety of products available for different functions such as inventory management, product listings, and inspections.
Reduce liability for logistic companies. What? What about the client? We ship tile…lots of tile…when our tile get damaged by a shipper it:
a) takes forever to be compensated
b) they cannot be held liable for the delay it causes on projects due to the damaged goods….which can be in the $1000s
c) refuse to pay more than the cost of the goods + shipping.
d) I run the risk of losing jobs due to the shipper’s neglect.
e) I lose my reputation or brand due to the shipper’s carelessness.
As business that uses shippers/logistics I want more responsibility on the part of the logistic company to get my products there safely…hire better handlers…what ever it takes. If they fail I want compensated not just for the good but the downstream effects of the damaged goods.
Thank you
Dave Perry