The digital revolution is underway, and supply chains are no exception. Global companies want to spend less time juggling manual processes and more time focusing on what they do best. That’s why UPS is helping its customers engage with the company faster, more efficiently and with enhanced visibility so they gain a competitive advantage.

“UPS has heard our customers, and we’re giving them what they need,” said Philippe Gilbert, president of Supply Chain Solutions at UPS. “Right now, we are rolling out a new suite of digital engagement tools that will enable our customers to harmonize their supply chains with forwarding, brokerage and supply chain visibility solutions.”

In October, UPS debuted its UPS® Forwarding Hub, a digital tool that allows customers to manage their UPS Global Freight Forwarding Air & Ocean freight from a single hub. It features a modern design and simple navigation that enables customers to manage their freight shipments from end to end. For example, customers can use the highly interactive dashboard to retrieve price quotes, book and track shipments and chat with customer support.

Another UPS innovation designed to streamline the importation of international shipments is the newly launched UPS Customs Brokerage Portal. Designed for importers, the portal analyzes brokerage data to provide customers with insights that can help improve their day-to-day operations, manage compliance and help them with the strategic direction of their brokerage department.

The portal also can help speed import clearance and help customers identify issues early, avoid unnecessary penalties and take advantage of cost-savings opportunities. The portal also allows customers to communicate directly with customs brokers to resolve issues, answer questions and upload documentation through a case management system that time stamps and saves information to comply with compliance regulations. This level of advanced data analytics will become even more robust in time, enabling UPS customers to reap more benefits.

UPS is one of the world’s largest customs brokers with more than 80 years of experience and more than 400 import and export clearance locations. Digitizing the company’s insights and best practices is a critical step toward becoming the global preferred broker.

Finally, UPS Supply Chain Symphony™ Portal, available later this year, will provide end-to-end visibility into customers’ supply chains. Symphony collects, manages, and integrates customers’ supply chain data from UPS systems, giving them enhanced control with almost real-time visibility. Customers will be able to monitor their supply chains from a single sign-on and understand their data quicker, knowing it comes from one single source of truth.

“As we help our customers through these unprecedented times, managing large amount of data across supply chain nodes becomes more important,” said Nick Costides, president of UPS Information Technology. “UPS continues to invest in technologies that underpin the company’s global smart logistics network, and tools like these help businesses improve their customer experience and greatly help with the digital transformations that many of our customers are accelerating now”

Tools that provide enhanced visibility and data analytics can help companies understand why problems occur, when they are likely to arise and how to prepare for them. With the right technology, businesses can access accurate, connected data and derive actionable insights or take corrective actions as needed.

As companies shift strategies to capitalize on online or digital resources, they’re settling into a new normal that is rife with risk and other pain points. With the right technology tools, they can confidently make the world their market.