Supply chain visibility software was created to help shippers answer the question, “where’s my truck?”. It quickly evolved to provide highly accurate, real-time estimate times of arrival (ETAs) and applications using that data, downstream and upstream in the supply chain, were created to answer new questions. For example, how can I plan my labor better based on when products are arriving? If I know the ETA of a truck that is coming to load, can I sequence my warehouse picking, packing and staging accordingly?
While answering these questions has always been important, a pandemic, war, material shortages and other disruptions exacerbated the need. In response, companies accelerated the digitization of their supply chain systems and have accelerated their investment in real-time visibility in order to keep pace with customer demands, labor shortages and the overall need for greater resilience.
Growing Customer Loyalty
When supply chain disruptions made it difficult to find products at their favorite stores, many consumers quickly looked to retailers they hadn’t shopped with before. Additionally, the pandemic accelerated the desire for a seamless e-commerce experience or the ability to buy online and pick up in-store. Now, customer expectations are higher than they were three years ago and loyalty is up for grabs.
And these expectations are seeping into the business-to-business (B2B) world, particularly expectations for detailed tracking information. Thankfully, self-service tools close the gap between question and answer for customers while reducing their cost to serve up to 33%. You can give customers the same view you have to your mutual network by granting access to freight details, keeping everybody in the know without needing an extra phone call or email.
What’s more, having visibility of your entire supply chain network — seeing all your inventory, including inventory in transit — to make strategic decisions that best fulfill orders is game-changing, especially when disruptions continue to hit supply chains.
A smooth-operating supply chain and the ability to provide self-service isn’t an expense; it’s the key to retaining customers.
Building Efficiency and Resilience
Before COVID, supply chains had really optimized around being hyper-efficient. But this way of operating also leaves little room for error, and disruptions have had an inordinately large impact.
Now companies are more willing to take on more costs – whether it’s more expensive services or higher inventory carrying costs – to gain more resilience. However, as BCG points out, companies must “pinpoint where redundancies and buffers are most likely to yield benefits that justify the costs. Companies that succeed in establishing real-world resilience will be rewarded with smoother supply operations in the face of both normal volatility and severe disruptions.”
With that in mind, real-time supply chain visibility becomes the underpinning for multiple use cases, whether it’s analytics for potential network redesign or intelligent data that gives better insight into operations, linking transportation to facilities and beyond.
However, not all efforts to create a resilient supply chain require sacrificing cost-efficiency. Take, for example, SKU rationalization. By gaining insights from data and collaborating, retailers, CPGs and manufacturers can determine which SKUs sell, which don’t and the associated costs and/or supply chain challenges.
Optimizing Labor
While labor shortages have made headlines, many supply chain leaders have shifted their focus to making the most of the labor they do have by augmenting their existing workforce with technology to be more productive. And there are other benefits as well — automation and technology can create a better environment for employees and, ultimately, a better customer experience.
For many, real-time supply chain visibility is an easy place to start. While automating track-and-trace is an obvious example, having real-time visibility can maximize your team’s productivity substantially in other areas by:
- Giving up-to-the-minute insights into PO & SKU-level location data, helping dock workers understand which inventory is a priority
- Streamlining yard processes with faster turn times, making drivers and gate staff more effective while reducing dwell time and human capital needed to perform functions.
- Pushing load-level data to all members of support, purchasing, et al., to drive time-to-value for every deal.
The other great benefit of labor optimization is that it allows your workforce to be more engaged and strategic in their roles, which, in turn, improves retention. When your employees aren’t trapped in the endless cycle of spreadsheets and phone calls, they can focus on meaningful problems and drive significant customer value.
Supply Chains of the Future
Customers’ demands, new distribution models, automation, climate change and more will ensure that supply chains continue evolving in complexity, accelerating the need for companies to invest in the latest technologies to keep pace. Technologies that provide supply chain intelligence — analytics and insights that can optimize supply chains, unlocking meaningful efficiency by lowering costs, driving higher service levels, improving communication and creating greater network transparency.
(The author is Ms. Rashi Jain, Managing Director, FourKites and the views expressed in this article are her own)
