Real-Time Freight Visibility Tracking: Keys to a Successful Implementation

Introduction & Overview

While industry leaders have embraced real-time capabilities of freight visibility to improve their performance, visibility functionality is still very new to many companies. To realize the maximum value from their investment, organizations need help understanding the best practices for implementing a visibility solution. For example, having a strategy to encourage adoption of the new solution is imperative to ensure success. Expecting the organization to immediately rally around the solution without first explaining its future benefits is a guaranteed way to limit its potential return on investment (ROI). It’s also important to have monitoring procedures that can identify potential risks within a program and opportunities for ongoing improvement. A classic “Golden Triangle” approach that uses People, Process, and Technology variables is one effective way to evaluate visibility solution implementation. Each of the variables is codependent on all of the others, and enhancing one area will usually result in an improvement in others.

Below you’ll find a description of six interdependent variables that contribute to a successful implementation, along with examples of key indicators associated with companies operating at various performance levels. The KPIs and measurements used to define each category are based on observations of implementation practices employed by companies using Descartes MacroPoint™ visibility functionality.

Objectives of the ebook:

• Evaluate their visibility program
• Understand and define implementation best practices
• Identify risks and opportunities for improvement

People: User Access and Adoption

• Recognize access to shipment information is important to multiple groups using multiple systems – not just transportation and logistics management
• Visibility is provided to external stakeholders including customer service, merchandisers, retail stores, downstream production and warehouse facilities, and the final customer
• Shipment visibility data is available within systems used by all user groups such as TMS, WMS, ERP, sales, business intelligence reporting, and customer-facing portals
• Greater than 80% of all potential users have access to freight visibility data within the various enterprise systems
• Executive leadership is engaged and has defined the vision and importance of the visibility program to all stakeholders
• …

Process: Exception Management

• Daily notifications for exception management
• Notifications shared and targeted to multiple user groups (i.e. customer service, customers, warehouse operations, sales, etc.)
• Data provided to carriers proactively, so they can react and update customers to in-transit issues
• Stop updates on > 75% of loads
• Inbound ETA data integrated into TMS, WMS, and ERP systems
• Effective track and trace, but no proactive exception management

Process: Business Intelligence, Reporting & Analytics

• Visibility data incorporated in business intelligence reporting dashboards, enabling transparency to trends
• Reporting included in management meetings and made available across multiple groups
• Carriers have visibility to their own metrics and are involved in conversations around continuous improvement
• …

Technology: Breadth and Depth of TMS Integration

• Carrier codes, stops, and planned appointment windows supplied on 100% of loads
• More than 80% of shipments are tracked with the capability to track specific lanes, carriers, modes, business units, etc.
• Real-time shipment data in the visibility tool mirrors data in the TMS

Technology: Data Quality

• Accurate, robust, and actionable data throughout the entire network enables companies to make informed business decisions that can provide a competitive advantage
• Real-time shipment data provided back into their own TMS, WMS, ERP, and reporting systems is consumed and made available to locations where users need it.

Conclusion

Whether you’re exploring a new visibility tool, or searching for ways to improve your existing program, Descartes MacroPoint can help. With our industry-leading supply chain visibility platform, you can view, analyze, predict and communicate the status of all your freight shipments in real time. We can guide you through a successful implementation and help you identify opportunities to maximize your current visibility program’s performance.