End-to-end visibility in the supply chain domain is one of the most inessential things to have in the modern industry. Within and without the perimeters of warehouse, the knowledge of the location of shipments has become the mainstay of trust across the line of stakeholders.
The 21st century post-covid scenario has validated the veracity of the dictum, ‘Communication is the key’. More than ever, all the stakeholders associated with the supply chain are feeling the need of a better communication ecosystem amongst them. And at the very core of this ecosystem lies the simple and a very fundamental business concept of transparency.
Transparency in Logistics Industry
With the supply chain increasingly becoming multi-layered, transparency across the entire gamut of logistics has become inessential. The complex network of suppliers, shippers, carriers, warehouse owners, consumers need to rely on each other in the matters of their consignments. The location of the freight, the status of loading, expected delivery time are imperative information that all these parties want to be privy of.
The complexity of supply chain industry also lies in the fact that many of the manufacturing industries have gone off-shore and have outsourced their production. Unless all the echelons are suitably aware of the details of their shipments, this ever-flourishing, complicated system would collapse. Technological innovation, which has got its due impetus in the post-pandemic days, comes in handy over here. The complexity has been synthesized and all the stakeholders now work in sync, having been fully cognizant of the status of their shipments.
Visibility and Data Accumulation: Major Takeaways
This transparency in business owes a lot to the real-time visibility of the shipments. Not only does the tech-stack enabled and interfaced by API give the accurate geo-location of the goods, in transit or static, but also provide valuable information pertaining to the other stakeholders.
Shippers get to know about the rate charts of the carriers for each shipment. Moreover, the advanced transport management system has enabled them to be fully aware of the routes the carriers would take. Having the plethora of options at their disposal, the shippers can choose the best carrier, according to their convenience. On the other hand, the technology synergizes the carrier and the shipper by making the former aware of the kind of goods they need to deliver. Carriers can thus adopt suitable action in handling the particular type of product. Having been apprised of every single piece of information, punctuality gets deeply embedded into the corpus of supply chain. Everyone, ranging from dock workers to warehouse employees, factory workers to truck drivers, work in a synergy so that timely actions take place and postponement and erroneous, fallow actions are mitigated.
Eventually, while the entire oeuvre of supply chain reaps the fruit of technological advancement and visibility, solid, actionable data is produced and stored. This data is analyzed for the future activities of the organizations. Effectiveness of the actions that are taken is duly gauged; shortcomings and inefficiencies are singled out and steps are taken to curtail the same and improve service for the better transparency in dealing.
Conclusion
Sturdy and steady bond with stakeholders, based on the transparent dealings has become the mainstay of success in business. In order to hold one’s own profitability and fuel it further, companies must invest in technology and specifically in TMS and warehouse management systems. Cloud-based SaaS providers are bringing the operational cost down to a great degree. Shippers and carriers need to avail this facility and ponder upon the possibilities that technology can offer. Change in the business proceedings has made customer demand volatile and retention of consumers has gained prominence. To carve one’s own niche and to become a force to reckon with, forward-leaning organizations and industry must take a call on long-term investments. Resilience through visibility is no longer an abstraction. It is a fact and the sooner the companies embrace it, the better and stronger performance they would give in the industry.