As with any software platform, there are several considerations to take into account before implementing a logistics visibility platform.

While a deployment strategy depends vastly on the type of business you run and your supply chain maturity, there are some common denominators that a company should think about on its road to reaching end-to-end visibility.

1. Ascertain your clear-cut objectives for implementing a logistics visibility platform. While no solution will be the
   panacea for all your company’s challenges, it should nevertheless help you to reduce costs and improve productivity.
   The more precise and measurable your objectives are, the easier it will be to carry out the following steps and work
   with your chosen solution provider.
2. Determine the business and process requirements for both your internal, cross-functional departments and delivery
   ecosystem partners.
3. If you currently have access to data, look at performance history of deliveries, including budget variances, service level
   attainment, and customer satisfaction. Ideally, you should review the past three years.
4. Map out your current delivery logistics workflows. Pinpoint areas where information is lacking, and processes are
   inefficient. Determine the causes that negatively impact your delivery performance.
5. Map your ideal logistics visibility value chain. Think about what types of reports and analytics you would like to be able
   to generate with a new logistics visibility solution.
6. Align your ideal logistics visibility value chain with your current (or planned) business rules. This will help you to
   configure alerts and notifications in your logistics visibility platform.
7. Identify critical business KPIs. While you may already have some, you may uncover new ones you want to track based
   on your two mapping sessions. List your IT requirements and constraints.
8. Develop a preliminary implementation schedule, with attributed roles and responsibilities for a logistics visibility
   “taskforce.” At this point, you need not go into all the nitty gritty timelines. Think of major milestones, such as shopping
   for a solution, selecting a provider, implementation, integration with existing IT infrastructure and partners, onboarding
   and training.
9. The goal here is to get a feel as to when your organization and partners could realistically “go live” with a new logistics
   visibility solution. Plan for at least six months once you have selected your provider.
10. Create a communications plan to get all stakeholders on board. Do not underestimate the importance of this step
    as it is inherently tied to the success of your deployment. Change can be hard, especially when users do not see the
    benefits and prefer the status quo. By effectively communicating new processes and the tools to be used, you will go
    a long way into stoking the use of your solution and increasing accountability.

Before selecting the appropriate solution, it is important to consider the four pillars of logistics visibility: Scheduling, Traceability, Communications & Reporting.

The four pillars of logistics visibility

True logistics visibility can only be achieved with a service-based solution that bridges gaps between different teams, different organizations, and different handoffs and touchpoints to provide a real-time holistic picture of the entire logistics value stream.

Scheduling

Schedule deliveries from manufacturers (first mile) to consolidation centres (mid mile) and to customers via carriers (last mile).

Traceability

Plan and track deliveries in real time thanks to barcodes or RFID, with complete traceability of items, orders, transportation mode, tasks per handoff, resources that process each handoff, etc. Manage exceptions and unplanned disruptions.

Communications

Communicate with all stakeholders in the logistics ecosystem (order confirmations, order transit status, ETAs, post-delivery surveys, etc.) by in-system alerts, texts, voice or email.

Reporting

Access business-critical KPIs via comprehensive reports, such as on-time deliveries, first-time-right shipments, customer satisfaction, damaged goods, miles/km per stop, and a wealth of other information.

Create a customer-centric delivery experience based on customers’ needs and complete transparency.

And yet companies continue to find achieving logistics visibility hugely challenging. According to Geodis’ 2017 Supply Chain Worldwide Survey, only 6% of respondents said they had full visibility. Moreover, 70% of those surveyed described their supply chains as being complex or extremely complex and cited this reason as to why they felt they lacked end-to-end visibility.

Complexity is indeed the bane of end-to-end logistics visibility. But what are the causes? Let’s explore the most rampant ones.

Intermodal logistics increases complexity

Today’s interconnected, intermodal delivery networks rely on a wide array of different freight methods, such as trains, trucks, airplanes and boats. The aforementioned Geodis study found that 74% of respondents said they use four to five different transportation modes and work with multiple departments and third-party partners in their supply chains. Trade across cities, states, provinces and even countries may require up to 20 handoffs for an order to reach the destination successfully. These logistical contexts definitely up the complexity ante, particularly if these different transportation modes rely on manual methods.

Processes are not collaborative

Most of today’s logistics workflows involve many stakeholders that work in operational silos (internal business functions and third-party partners) with a lot of different front-end technologies, such as Transportation Management Systems (TMSs) and Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs), as well as backend infrastructure, including ERPs, CRMs, WMSs and accounting software.

Opening up the lines of communication, so to speak to share information and data between these separate solutions requires IT knowledge and investments—a feat that can appear insurmountable when a company’s core business is not system integration.

Lack of a solution that covers the entire delivery ecosystem

Not all software products on the market cover first to mid to last mile deliveries—or across all geographies. This makes it extremely difficult for manufacturers, particularly with online and brick-and-mortar retail points of sale, to achieve complete end-to-end logistics visibility. And again, just because one product is used by one stakeholder, for example, a major carrier partner, does not mean the manufacturer, retailers and other carriers use the same one.

Data is hard to access

Data is only good when you can actually access it to make informed decisions. Not on solutions on the market provide efficient means to comb through and analyze data gleaned from past delivery logistics performance. Dashboards and reports that are easy to configure, generate and actually read are critical for any manufacturer, retailer or carrier looking to better manage their order lifecycles and resolve delivery problems.

Changing demands and issues at delivery

On the flip side, customers who expect shorter cycle times and are intolerant to late deliveries or mistakes are also contributing to logistical complexity. In a recent study by Deloitte, 40% of company executives identified “sudden demand changes” and “problems at delivery” account for the great expenses and disruptions in their supply chains.

Despite these hurdles, with the right processes and integrated digital platform, there’s no overstating the tremendous benefits end-to-end logistics visibility has on a company’s supply chain ROI, overall performance and customer satisfaction levels.

The reason? Logistics visibility solutions give users, whether at the manufacturer, retailer, carrier or consumer level, access to real-time data. It seems deceptively simply, but it is not. Imagine being able to pinpoint where an order is landed at any precise second. Imagine knowing what part of the order has been processed, who processed it and what the current status is. Imagine viewing each handoff point, regardless if it is managed internally or externally, and detecting potential issues before they occur.

Let’s take a look of some of the most compelling benefits businesses take advantage of when they implement a fully integrated and open logistics visibility solution.

Seamless collaboration

Transparency and improved communications means that all stakeholders can better collaborate to increase fill rates, reduce errors in orders, prevent orders from being lost or mis-shipped, respect delivery schedules and manage delivery bottlenecks.

On-time deliveries

Guaranteeing deliveries when customers want them is critical. A logistics visibility solution can proactively identify potential risks that a delivery will not be made on time, such as supply or transportation disruptions, weather conditions or delays from upstream providers. Contingency plans can therefore be swiftly put in place to respect delivery times.

Improved inventory management

Without access to real-time information and communications, manufacturers and retailers can quickly lose their grip when it comes to effectively managing inventory.

Picture this: an order is shipped out using a third party for a customer delivery. Without the manufacturer and retailer knowing, the delivery is not made or the wrong product is delivered. The order is then sent back to the third party’s warehouse. The manufacturer and retailer have zero visibility as to where this one item is located. A logistics visibility allows companies to track any given item and any given order, regardless of the location or situation.

In addition, a logistics visibility solution can, from an operations standpoint, help to accelerate inventory management. For example, a manufacturer can position inventory at a warehouse or distribution centre that is closest to a critical mass of customers.

Respect of service line agreements

Carriers are often obliged to respect service line agreements (SLAs) to guarantee their clients on-time deliveries within large territories, adhere to delivery windows, ensure no damaged orders and respect certain levels of service quality. A logistics visibility solution provides the tools carriers need to generate comprehensive reports to prove their SLA compliance as well as survey customers to measure their satisfaction.

Increased regulatory compliance

Whether shipping items to another state or province, within a country or across international borders, a logistics visibility solution centralizes all the data and documentation required by governing authorities to clear the shipment. This, in turn, eliminates delivery delays and fines.

Reduced costs

Better planned deliveries using a logistics visibility platform can be a company’s secret weapon to reducing transportation costs, namely generated by repeated truck rolls, shipments that are not completely filled (LTL) or commingled, fraud, etc.

Simplified reverse logistics

One of the biggest profit-gouging issues in logistics and freight movement is reverse logistics—when customers receive the wrong orders, incomplete orders or damaged orders. Having to literally reverse the delivery process back upstream, either for corrective measures or proper disposal, can cause many headaches without the proper tools to carry out damage control: authorizing and tracking returns, managing inventory, overseeing material handling and routing status, dealing with carriers and contractors, the list goes on and on. A logistics visibility solution helps to ease the process for both customers and stakeholders.

Growth of a future-proofed organization

A logistics visibility solution provides in-depth reporting and analytics needed to determine and correct inefficiencies in current logistics workflows, which inevitably will reduce OPEX—but capital expenditures (CAPEX) as well. For example, gains in efficiency mean that businesses need not invest in more resources or scout out new transportation partnerships to keep their service levels in check. Furthermore, thanks to insights gleaned from a logistics visibility solution, companies can work proactively to address skyrocketing freight charges, forecast accuracy, upswings in demand and new business, evolving regulations and changes to the overall supply chain network.

In sum, all of these benefits to using a delivery logistics platform can help manufacturers, retailers and carriers increase their competitiveness and deliver on their promises for complete customer satisfaction