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Closing the Gap
International Agent Connectivity
Systems integration is certainly not a revolutionary concept - its ability to pool resources in a collaborative real-time web environment enhances relationship-building and leverages information-sharing among international partners.
AIT's suite of "homegrown" IT products is designed to integrate with our international agent community and their IT systems, giving them the ability to rate shop for the lowest-cost transportation option, gain real-time tracking and shipment visibility information and obtain proactive notification upon delivery or change in status. Not only does our software help our agents maintain better control over their transactions, it also monitors the execution of those tasks and enables them to control their costs. We strive to develop an open line of communication with our partners, exchange local market intelligence and provide complete agent visibility to our USA staff.
International Agents Service Center (IASC)
This web-based tool was developed to enhance the communication and data flow between AIT's operations and our global partner's operation, speed up transaction time and limit misinformation.
The IASC enables our international agents to provide us with an array of important shipment information directly into our operating system during non-working hours. Our partners can use this application to create shipments, update status information, and approve invoices without any assistance or involvement from an AIT operations or accounting staff.
From an accounting standpoint, the IASC nearly eliminates the age-old headache of "invoice disputes." In the accounting section of the application, our partners can create, approve or reject invoices and debit notes. This allows for all parties to accept or reject invoice amounts prior to or during shipment transit. Once a hard or electronic copy of the invoice is received, it can be processed by the accounting department without any interruption, as the document has already been pre-approved. A significant byproduct of this process is we are able to pay our agents sooner, which is an important element in being a solvent business partner.
The system has just been upgraded to accept EDI transmissions from our international partners, which limit double data entry on their part. Once they create a new shipment or update the status on a current shipment in their system, it uploads the information into the AIT operating system for real time updates.
Another feature of the IASC is the online quoting tool, which enables our international agents to obtain origin fees, destination fees and all ground transportation costs within the 48 states. Our partners have 24/7 direct access to AIT's USA domestic infrastructure costs. In conjunction with our air and ocean department's rating tools and standard fee schedule, our partners can complete virtually any type of air or ocean quote, no matter what the incoterm.
Sales Lead and Routing Order Application
Exchanging local marketing intelligence is essential for any international partnership to flourish. Selling on both sides of the ocean is critical for lane segment development and generating sales leads for your partner is a fundamental foundation for a successful partnership.
With the help of some very talented employees in AIT's IT department, we have developed a dynamic, efficient and productive tool to manage sales lead and routing orders between AIT and its international partner community.
This platform is used by all AIT sales representatives, sales managers and international partners to exchange, track and manage sales leads between the USA and their respective countries.
The SLRO is a versatile web-based solution, as it covers all aspects of sales lead management and addresses the complete sales lead cycle from lead creation to ultimately closing the sale. The system is an interactive application between both parties involved in a lead - essentially, it contains all shipper and consignee information, competitor and commodity descriptions and additional details that make up a sales lead.
One of the largest shortcomings of any sales lead program is that a good hot lead quickly becomes an old and stale lead if not actioned in a timely manner. We address this "aging process" by establishing event triggers within the SLRO application. These event triggers manage the sales lead process in terms of event milestones from an aging perspective. We have established milestones in the form of status updates, which track the progress of a sales lead through the sales cycle. If the milestones are not met in a timely manner, the system will generate e-mail reminders to the sales staff. If the milestone remains incomplete, an e-mail escalation process is implemented. The process consists of reminders sent every 24 hours to the sales representative and then to their direct report until the milestone has been completed.
The e-mail reminders act as encouragement for representatives and international partners to complete their lead obligation and demonstrate their acknowledgment of lead ownership and accountability.
AIT and our international agents have benefited greatly from the exchange of marketing intelligence, which demonstrates true partnership.
International Agents Directory Blackberry Style
As a sales representative in the "old days," I would carry around my "International Agents Directory" which listed 190 of our agents in all the countries we serviced. The directory was typically between 50 - 60 pages and was often out of date even before it was printed, as many of the agents had changed in the meantime.
In an effort to give sales representatives and management teams complete visibility to our international agent community, AIT has developed a Blackberry support tool which enables our staff to have the most up to date accurate information at their fingertips.
This tool allows all of AIT's sales representatives to advise their customers of the most current agent information anywhere in the world. They can supply detailed e-mail, address, phone and contact information on the run or while with a customer directly from their Blackberry.
In two of these examples, a single theme emerges - AIT is being proactive by offering our international partners a suite of software solutions that will enhance our partnership and make both companies more competitive in the marketplace, ultimately offering better global service solutions to our customers. In the last example, we strive to provide the best quality of information to our front line sales staff so our customers can benefit from having our true partners' corporate identity and contact coordinates.
AIT will remain on the cutting edge of agent integration in efforts to continue promoting and cultivating true international partnerships.
If you have any questions or comments regarding the Partner News eNewsletter,
please contact Larry Georgen, Director Global Network. |
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