Logistics Performance Management Challenge #3: What Are Late Deliveries Costing Me?

Every manufacturer and supplier in any type of supply chain knows that cargo delays or shipment disruptions can have costly ramifications, whether they effect an inbound or outbound shipment. This is especially true for time-sensitive shipments when early or late deliveries could result in penalties, expensive delays or missed customer expectations. For instance, as noted in this article on Grocery Dive, retailers, such as Walmart and Kroger, are handing out escalating fees to suppliers when shipments arrive late.

In-the-moment intelligence across the globe

To save you from the costly consequences of late deliveries, you may want to explore using sensor-based, real-time cargo tracking on your next time-sensitive shipment. You can get global real-time intelligence on your cargo’s exact location and anticipated departure or delivery, no matter where it is, because these sensors travel with your cargo—not the transportation or storage unit.

In-the-moment factual visibility like this provides the data you need to help you avoid costly risks and fines, such as unwanted penalties or charge backs. And, it can help you avoid lost business, production delays, dissatisfied customers and damaged brand reputation.

This innovative technology allows you to:

• Get real-time visibility at every link in the supply chain for greater control.
• Monitor shipments in real time while in transit to avoid costly penalties.
• Proactively manage delays and schedule changes to optimize logistics operations.
• Address supply chain interruptions to improve on-time delivery, avoid costly fees and drive continuous supply chain optimization.
• Improve overall logistics performance with greater speed and efficiency for superior customer service on every shipment.

Make avoiding fines and penalties easier

With sensor-based solutions, your tracking program can be up and running in a matter of days, not months or years. The sensors are easy to use and can be deployed without any operational complexity, complicated integration or the need to buy and maintain complex equipment. Moreover, with real-time in-transit data available at any time, you’ll no longer wonder about your cargo’s whereabouts.

• Deploy tracking quickly and easily.You’ll want sensor-based cargo trackers that are applied right on your cargo, at distribution centers, contract manufacturing sites and 3PL locations—much like a label would be applied during the packing or staging process. Because these sensors travel with your cargo through its entire journey, you can always be on top of any disruptions that might be costly.
• Get automated alerts for fast decision making. The ideal program will provide you with customer-specified real-time alerts for exceptions and reporting on demand, with visibility across each carrier or mode of transport—all without the need for any integration with other systems. You can automatically get notifications of key status indicators, such as late departures, late arrivals and pre-alerts for behind-schedule shipments. This level of visibility allows you to make intelligent decisions in the moment—not after the fact—so you can address supply chain disruptions and take action before they have a costly impact.
• Track your cargo on real-time maps. In addition to real-time alerts, you’ll want a solution that can provide you and your team with access to the cargo’s location at any time via a secure, web-based tracking and monitoring platform. You can provide access to others that need to know where your cargo is at all times, so contingency plans can be put in place to avoid costly fees.
• Maximize the power of your data. A comprehensive program should provide you with a way to easily integrate your cargo sensor data with your transportation management, enterprise resource planning or other logistics systems via API-level integrations. This will give you a holistic view of the timely and accurate information you need to effectively manage the shipment segment of your supply chain
• Find the weak spots in your supply chain. You can’t correct problems you don’t know about, and this is especially true with complex shipments that use multiple logistics partners and transport modes. But, with the right data, you can find the root causes behind shipping delays, interruptions and performance issues to minimize or eliminate them.