In our multi-episode series, Voyager CEO Mathew Costello discusses workflows, technology & where the 2 intersect with the maritime industry.
Today’s episode covers complexity with multi-party workflows and how technology can be part of the solution.
In daily commercial marine operations, 99% of a team’s work requires executing workflows to get a job done. Whether you realize it or not, you are following a set of tasks within a formal or informal workflow process. It can be fixing a cargo, collecting demurrage, sending an ETA update, or any other operation along these lines.
For 95% of our customers, executing these workflows requires a combination of many moving parts. For example, jumping between ERP/VMS, outlook, spreadsheets, chat, SharePoint, and the phone – sound familiar? Graphically it looks something like this or an iteration of it.
Moreover, multi-party workflows are one of the greatest challenges to digitization in the industry. Workflows that touch multiple stakeholders within and outside of your company pose a threat to communication and organization. As a result, the REAL workflow looks something like this:
You don’t have to go far to see the effects, front line operations teams directly feel the impact.
“On any given day, our team is constantly jumping between different systems. The result is 300+ emails a day and multiple personal spreadsheets”
Adam, Operations Manager at a global oil trading firm
How Multi-Party Workflow Applications Can Help
Multi-party workflow applications are systems that mirror your existing workflows. They allow more than one company to take part in the execution of the workflow process. This is critically different than most software systems. Most systems start by requiring the user to build processes around their system. Then, they use email or other tools as the primary transfer of data between parties.
Above all, a strong multi-party workflow application will act as the connective tissue between your systems, service providers and customers. Such systems also provide the bedrock of data centralization, structuring, and automation.
Book a time with our experts to learn more about multi-party workflows and how they can support your business. View a demo today.
About Voyager
Voyager is a leading workflow and analytics platform for commodity supply chains. The software allows teams and stakeholders to project manage shipment operations – email free.
We bring workflow automation and analytics into the hands of front-line operations. Our customers achieve gains in productivity, reduce freight costs and optimize contracting terms by using Voyager. A cloud-based solution, Voyager is deployed quickly and easily. We enable our customers to uncover insight and value buried in mountains of data previously inaccessible to stakeholders. Find out how Voyager can help you by setting up a demo today.