Silver Bullet Technologies
Integrates their
Freight Software
with Microsoft Dynamics GP for Blue Cargo
The Background
Blue Cargo, S.A. is the top freight forwarder in Colombia, handling 30,000 shipments last year and growing by 15% annually. Forwarders with licenses like Blue Cargo are called NVO ’s (Non Vessel Operating Common Carriers). While they are not carriers themselves, NVO ’s can sell freight transportation like a carrier since they purchase cargo space from a carrier for resale. Thus, they require freight software to manage operations. Headquartered in Bogota with offices in Barranquilla, Cartagena, Buenaventura, Cali, Medellin and Miami, Blue Cargo was planning an expansion to Houston, Sao Paulo and Panama – but facing challenges of how to grow a multi-national organization with real time requirements for shipment data communication and processing.
While at Microsoft Convergence Blue Cargo visited the exhibit of Silver Bullet Technologies, a logistics and freight forwarding software developer exclusively dedicated to the market of international logistics service providers. Freight software from Silver Bullet provides a business process and decision support system for processing and controlling quotations, documentation, communication, compliance, customer service, accounting, management and reporting responsibilities as cargo is forwarded to locations around the world. Silver Bullet™ solutions have deep functionality and automate business processes for international forwarders, 3PL’s, large importers, distributors and manufacturers. They offer many freight software modules in addition to their freight forwarding module which handles ocean, air, truck, and rail shipments.
The Challenge
David Kassin, the owner of Blue Cargo, knew the plans for global expansion at Blue Cargo required finding a system that could efficiently manage the company’s global logistics and business processes. Communication is essential in this service-oriented industry. Blue Cargo needs to continually share and update loading, shipping and delivery status to their clients in a real-time environment to provide maximum predictability in their supply chain.
At the time, customer service agents at Blue Cargo had no alert system that could detect impending critical events which could impede performance and erode profit margins. Additionally, Kassin wanted to get rid of the manual processes: his agents around the world had to retrieve customer data from email and enter it into Microsoft Excel™ manually. The Blue Cargo service proposition was put at risk by human error in this process. Incorrect shipment data, information loss and significant wasted time needed to be eliminated. His goal was to have real-time information available to manage and track shipments. Plus, he needed the ability to create customized reports for internal and client needs, all at the drop of a hat.
David Kassin knew he had to overcome all these obstacles with one freight software solution before he could reduce overhead, improve work flow and reaction time, and meet the demands of his rapidly growing client base.
The Approach
Meeting David Kassin for the first time, Marcia Dorer, the business services partner at Silver Bullet Technologies knew that Silver Bullet would be a great fit for Blue Cargo. Dorer proposed a combination of Silver Bullet™ modules for the front office operations integrated with Microsoft Dynamics™ GP (formerly known as Great Plains) for the back office. This combination provided a comprehensive customized freight software solution that would meet the unique needs of Blue Cargo. The Silver Bullet-Microsoft Dynamics GP implementation provided a cost-effective solution that allowed Blue Cargo to expand without any down time and simultaneously eliminate needless steps in the global freight management process. After thorough testing, the Silver Bullet team was able to train the Blue Cargo staff on system use and administration – all in less than a day.
The intuitive utility of the Silver Bullet software accelerates user training and provides a critical benefit to forwarders. New customer service agents are productive more quickly and experienced ones are liberated to develop business rather than manage operations. And, the Dynamics GP deployment was fully localized to Colombian accounting standards giving Blue Cargo extreme improvements in their closing and reporting cycles. Today, Blue Cargo is completely self-sufficient. Each member of the Blue Cargo team has the technology they need at their fingertips, they understand their roles, and are empowered to make the decisions that will lead Blue Cargo to growth and profitability.
The Benefits
The robust integration of Silver Bullet's freight software with Dynamics GP allowed Kassin to triple his annual volume to 30,000 shipments, automate data mining for shipment information with just two clicks, and generate a profit and loss profile to project his financial performance beyond just the next couple of days. Before Silver Bullet and Microsoft Dynamics GP were implemented in the Colombia and Miami offices, David Kassin knew that without technology he could not increase annual volume without adding staff and higher operating expenses. Blue Cargo agents are more organized and no longer fear data loss during manual entry because the need for this tedious and risky process has been eliminated. Further, the staff is more motivated by the visibility of company performance through flexible, customized reporting with Crystal Reports and FRx.
After mastering Silver Bullet and Microsoft Dynamics GP, Blue Cargo has continued to expand their client base to a level that will now support an international growth effort. Blue Cargo continues to widen their reach by launching ˝Blue Bullet,˝ an operations reform initiative based on the way Silver Bullet enhances and improves the Blue Cargo business process. This strategic knowledge management initiative will involve all of their new world-wide offices and could not have happened without the commitment to new technology by Blue Cargo.
Silver Bullet Technologies, LLC
a partner who knows your business needs
Silver Bullet Technologies was established in 1999 to provide the most complete, comprehensive, cost-effective, and easy to use business solutions for companies engaged in international trade. Silver Bullet enables international freight forwarders to move goods faster by creating, tracking, and managing the documentation and automating the business process required for international shipments. Their system includes freight software modules for Forwarding, Distribution, Trucking, Warehouse, and Yard operations, to name a few. Silver Bullet's solutions increase speed and accuracy while lowering costs and improving customer service, factors essential to success in the highly competitive global marketplace for forwarders and other LSPs. The development team at Silver Bullet has created unique integrated solutions which provide a seamless exchange of information utilizing the most advanced technologies available. According to Dorer, Partner at Silver Bullet Technologies, "We realize that our only true measure of our success is the success of our customers."
Copyright © 2006 Microsoft, Microsoft Dynamics, and Microsoft Dynamics NAV are either registered brand names or brand names of Microsoft Corporation or Microsoft Business Solutions ApS or their linked enterprises in the USA and/or other countries. Microsoft Business Solutions ApS is a subsidiary of Microsoft Corporation. All the other company names and product names in this document are possibly brand names of the respective entitled person. The contents of this document may be changed without previous announcement when required. These documents may not be reproduced and transferred in any form, neither in parts nor as a whole, without previous written approval by Microsoft Corp. Microsoft Corp. rejects every liability for mistakes and omissions in this document. All not expressly granted rights are reserved.
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