A logistics network is a highly complex “organic” group of trading partners. Many industry players have become seasoned users of SaaS applications that pertain to specific functions.
As supply chain processes become more complex, the need for partners to work together, be more efficient, and keep pace with the latest legislative requirements for advance information, and accountability continues to grow. SaaS 2.0 becomes the only avenue to enable multi-party, workflow-based applications that need to be shared by thousands of companies on a daily basis.
In the past, SaaS applications tended to serve a specific business function or vertical. A federated SaaS 2.0 platform serves as “all things to all people” by connecting the entire community of logistics service providers and trading partners through a single multi-party business process network capable of acting on behalf of multiple organizations simultaneously.
This concept promises to take the industry well beyond its reliance on rented SaaS 1.0 or on premise standalone solutions and individual transactions. Rather, it delivers a wealth of advantages, including standardization of documents and data, increased automation of routine functions, and easy accessibility to real-time information for all partners. By bringing applications and the trading community together, there are no longer any communication barriers between manufacturers, retailers, transportation providers, government agencies and other stakeholders.
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