Printer FriendlyWith the seemingly unstoppable trend to source goods globally, supply chains are getting longer and more complex. On average, there are 10-20 different links from purchase order to proof of delivery, involving numerous systems, trading partners and suppliers, often across vastly disparate geographic locations. All of which means there is greater margin for error, delay, and additional cost.
To combat this - to ensure the right goods are delivered to the right person at the right time - today's logistics professionals need advanced technologies to effectively manage this environment and to ensure the highest possible level of customer service is maintained at the lowest delivered cost.
Multimode (covering air, ocean, road and rail) supply chain visibility and event management solutions can dramatically ease the connection, collaboration, and communication of logistics information among suppliers, customers, and transportation providers. By accessing a single, Web-based portal that tracks real-time order and shipment data, companies can effectively eliminate the ‘black holes’ in their supply chain, control inventory levels and manage the flow of goods from beginning to end:
Manage Suppliers
Advanced supply chain visibility solutions allow you to manage the entire lifecycle of a purchase order to reduce total cycle times and simplify the management of your inbound supply chain. Purchase orders can be delivered by a standard electronic data interchange (EDI) transaction to your vendor's systems, available online through a supplier portal, or delivered as spreadsheet email attachment. Once an order has been delivered to the supplier, its status can be accurately updated, quantity discrepancies tracked to a line level, and estimated time of delivery monitored against a specified need date. Moreover, milestones associated with production can be defined and status reported as the order is processed so you can proactively respond to discrepancies in good time.
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Manage Global Shipments
Supply chain visibility solutions aggregate all of your shipment information to track fulfillment from purchase order to warehouse receipt and final proof-of-delivery. This means you can focus on the most critical issues and take immediate corrective action as required. Look for solutions that provide information at the Case/SKU level so you can treat your shipment as if it is a moving warehouse. In this way you can make allocations on goods in-transit to deliver direct-to-shop floor or divert to satisfy specific customer demand.
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Enhance Customer Service
Supply chain visibility solutions not only coordinate the inbound supply chain, but can also provide your customers with the information they need to track final delivery of their shipments. So, whether a customer is served from the store, online, or shipped direct from a third-party logistics provider (3PL), supply chain visibility provides accurate order and shipment delivery status in real time. Also, by using advanced alerting capabilities, your customers can be notified to expect delivery the day before arrival. By providing a simple, web-based self-service application and proactive notification, you can significantly decrease the number of calls received by your customer service department.
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If you are looking to improve your import, export, supply chain and global trade operations, call us on +44 (0)1932 445220, send an email or submit an online enquiry