Using technology to drive strategy and improve performance—and ultimately create financial value—is top of mind for shippers today managing complex global supply chains. A key component of this technology trend is the need for a supply chain visibility platform.
Research shows that having real-time supply chain visibility is necessary to build a responsive, resilient, competitive, and profitable operation. According to Gartner, “By 2023, 50% of global leading enterprises will have invested in real-time transportation visibility solutions.” In our own survey of 3,000 shippers, over 60% of technology decision-makers said they desire improvements in visibility. Furthermore, 65% said they either have or are planning to implement real-time visibility and insight tools in the next two years.
Our real-time visibility solution
As technology, predictive analytics, and artificial intelligence rapidly advance, we are leveraging our global network of 1,000 data scientists, engineers, and developers to build solutions that increase our customers’ efficiency, visibility, and reliability.
Utilizing this expansive talent network, our global suite of services, and information advantage we have developed a world-class visibility platform called Navisphere® Vision, which was just included in Gartner’s 2020 Market Guide for Real-Time Transportation Visibility Platforms. Navisphere Vision gives our customers visibility to all inventory at rest at their facilities or supplier facilities and in motion throughout LSP (Logistic Service Providers) networks. To do this we utilize an industry leading suite of APIs that connect to your ERP and to the LSPs you work with today and run that information through our data science algorithms to predict ETAs in order to calculate risk or disruption within your supply chain.
Through data science, artificial intelligence, and machine learning, Navisphere Vision helps shippers track, monitor, and react to supply chain disruptions before they occur—across any mode or any region around the world.
We recently onboarded Internet of Things (IoT) device connectivity in the platform to provide monitoring around six physical elements that impact shipments: shock, tilt, humidity, light, temperature, and pressure. With this feature, customers can not only see the real-time location of their products, but also monitor and be alerted to potential spoilage, damages, or tampering of their goods, with the goal of engaging and recovering from the issue immediately.
Business case for visibility:
Some of the common business cases and ROI for real-time visibility tools include improving inventory management, optimizing decision modeling, and revealing valuable business insights. Real-time visibility tools also address a couple of the top trends and challenges that we hear from global shippers:
- Increased Customer Expectations: Customers want to know how their order is progressing through every stage of the journey and when it is going to deliver. Speed, flexibility, and consistency are not only expectations but demands. This makes supply chain execution and visibility vital to delivering a positive customer experience. With real-time visibility and proactive alerts, you’re the first to know about shipment status updates, delay notifications or disruptions so you can improve service to your customers.
- Exponential Growth of Data: We’re seeing an explosion in the amount of data available across the supply chain. But taking that data and turning it into an actionable strategy is challenging, especially if you are pulling the data from multiple platforms. A real-time visibility platform can reveal valuable business insights within your supply chain by turning floods of data into powerful business intelligence that can impact areas outside logistics, like innovation, value creation, pricing, and more.
Is the lack of real-time visibility holding back your supply chain? Request a demo here or connect with our experts.
Gartner, Market Guide for Real-Time Transportation Visibility Platforms, Bart De Muynck, 25 February 2020.
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