✓ Supply Chain Method
10 questions about real-time transportation visibility How visibility can become predictive
Transportation visibility is gaining momentum and fast becoming a ‘must- have’ solution for many companies, regardless of their size, geography or industry.
According to IBM, 84% of chief supply chain officers (CSCOs) cite lack of visibility as their biggest challenge. Meanwhile, Gartner says that visibility is among the top three funded investment initiatives prior- itized for many (46%) supply chain organizations. Furthermore, in a survey by Supply Chain Media among 106 European supply chain directors and managers from the worlds of manufactur- ing, wholesale and retail, 27% of companies with an above-average level of supply chain maturity intend to invest in real-time transporta- tion visibility. And five out of the 10 logistics service providers surveyed separately plan to implement such software in the coming year.
From reactive to predictive
In classic transportation visibility, information on the location of goods is entered manually or transmitted at regular intervals by elec- tronic data interchange (EDI). Because this information is potentially not exchanged and made available until several hours after transport events occur, it is less reliable and does not allow for proactivity. The next phase is real-time visibility, for which data is collected from systems – such as smartphones, Internet of Things devices and APIs – in real time to provide live location information about goods at any given moment. This information is reliable and allows for thorough post-delivery performance analysis. For companies to gain predictive visibility, the information collected needs to be cross-checked in real time against previously collected data – such as traffic conditions, estimated delivery times and routes – to accurately calculate an estimated time of arrival (ETA). These insights make it possible to alert stakeholders to problems such as delays sev- eral hours or even days in advance. Supply chain software vendor Shippeo and Supply Chain Movement have drawn up this checklist to help you assess the effectiveness of your company’s last-mile delivery service. Answer these 10 questions to find out whether your transportation visibility is below par, reasonable or optimal.
RESULTS
0-3 questions answered with “No” Your real-time transportation visibility capabili- ties are advanced. You are perhaps even able to automate and synchronize processes, enabling you to run them perfectly. You’re leading the pack in terms of best practice and should continue to explore and invest in new cutting-edge technolo- gies to sustain your organization’s momentum.
4-6 questions answered with “No” You have some end-to-end transportation visibi- lity capabilities and are perhaps able to analyse carrier performance and predict ETAs. However, further investment will enable you to fully maxi- mize the ROI in the digital transformation of your supply chain, allowing you to take advantage of more automated processes and better collabora- tion throughout your value chain ecosystem.
7-10 questions answered with “No” Your end-to-end visibility is limited. You perhaps lack real-time capabilities or just have the basics for connecting with carriers and collecting delivery data. Investing in full end-to-end real- time transportation visibility is critical for running more efficient and robust processes, to maximize profits and ensure optimal customer satisfaction levels.
Checklist for real-time transportation
visibility: 1. Our company monitors the location of shipments and deliveries in real time, via any carrier or logistics service provider.
2. Our logistics system provides predictive data on the estimated time of arrival (ETA) of each of our shipments.
3. Our customers and stakeholders are automatically notified about shipment and delivery ETAs and delays.
4. We receive real-time and predictive information on shipments across multiple modes of transport.
5. We have real-time and predictive visibility of the contents of each of our freight shipments.
6. We have digitized our supply chain transportation processes and no longer rely on paper-based systems or Excel spread- sheets.
7. We don’t experience any carrier disputes or litigation thanks to data we collect on KPIs, including OTIF and punctuality metrics for each delivery.
8. Our warehouses and distribution centres automatically receive advance notice of the arrival of trucks to reduce waiting times.
9. Our customers have online access to real-time delivery track- ing links and don’t need to contact our support teams for deliv- ery information.
10. We can integrate new carriers to our system within two weeks through a simple connection.
Yes No Yes No
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SUPPLY CHAIN MOVEMENT, No.40, Q1 2021
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