Meeting Fast Delivery Demands in a Dynamic Freight Environment

Introduction & Background

In a world where on-time delivery of shipments means everything, and where the next competitor is literally one screen tap or mouse click away, even just one poor experience can derail an entire customer relationship. Customers won’t tolerate slow, late, or damaged shipments; a lack of delivery updates, or unexpected shipping fees as thy have grown accustomed to receiving orders within a day or two of placing them.

Retailers are exerting similar pressures on their suppliers, with companies like Walmart recently tightening up its delivery standards for suppliers with the goal of receiving goods “just in time” to reduce inventory on hand and facilitate cross-docking. To meet these demands and avoid customer service issues, more shippers are working with their carriers to enhance visibility and traceability. The former provides a “window” into the end-to-end supply chain and tells where shipments are at any point in time, while the latter identifies, tracks, and traces products (and their components) as they transform from raw materials and into finished goods.

“Companies are under greater pressure to know where their freight is at all times,” Transplace’s Karen Sage writes in Logistics Viewpoints. The expectations around visibility have evolved past simple track and trace capabilities, and true visibility is about gaining deep insights into your data and leveraging that data to be proactive rather than reactive. “As customer expectations for fast and efficient shipping continue to rise, globalization is increasing, and we see ongoing fluctuations in freight capacity,” she continues, “it’s more important than ever for companies to know where shipments are at every stage.”

Read the full brief here.