America’s supply chain has been struggling since before 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic and other black swan events, from shutdowns in China to a cargo ship blocking the Suez Canal, have exacerbated the problem. And the distress isn’t expected to subside any time soon as the largest type of carrier shippers use – trucking companies – struggle with driver shortages that limit asset utilization and capacity.
Shippers need a solution, and their carriers play a major role.
The experts say the answer is real-time visibility (RTV) because it helps shippers limit cost, improve efficiencies in back-end operations and source capacity at higher service levels while gaining data-driven insights into their supply chain to improve on-time performance, customer service, sustainability and predictability. While RTV may not be able to predict dwell times, it can give shippers more certainty in planning and help them respond more quickly to delays.
And carriers must make headways in developing the capability to operate in a connected RTV environment if they want to maintain a competitive edge in the freight market.
Jenny Bebout, global leader of last-mile solutions at Project44, said RTV is considered a critical service differentiator for shippers and carriers.
“The supply chain disruptions over the last two years make it apparent that having a partial or disparate view of transportation movements is not enough. The supply chains of the future will be characterized by full transparency and increased resilience,” Bebout said. “Carriers of all sizes must integrate with a variety of different systems and services across the operating spectrum. At the same time, streams of data from a range of devices and sensors need to be captured and processed in support of the ever-present demand for visibility.”
That demand is increasing daily.
