Supply chain visibility software: solutions to improve logistics management
Global supply chains are undergoing a major transformation and interest in supply chain visibility software is growing — with forecasts predicting it will hit an annual growth rate of over 13% through to 2032. With this comes the need for better visibility and managerial control.
Yet, despite the increasing demand for immediate transparency in supply chains, there remains a noticeable shortfall. Research shows that fewer than half of all corporations maintain significant control over their first-level suppliers. This shortfall in comprehensive oversight hampers effective risk management, adherence to regulations, and the fulfillment of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) goals, exposing companies to operational disruptions and inefficiencies.
Traditional supply chains, often marked by disintegrated systems, manual operations, and obsolete technologies, fail to deliver the essential instant insights required to manage business complexities effectively.
In this evolving context, the demand for supply chain visibility tools is growing significantly for companies that want to heighten their operational efficiency and lower expenses.
What is supply chain visibility software?
Supply chain visibility software gives stakeholders real-time access to crucial data related to the entire order-to-delivery process, including shipment tracking, inventory monitoring, and potential disruption identification.
In traditional supply chains, a lack of visibility leads to challenges like shipment delays, inventory shortages, and inaccurate stock information. These issues often result in increased costs, reduced productivity, and dissatisfied customers, which supply chain visibility software addresses.
The benefits of visibility extend beyond simply knowing where the goods are. It empowers businesses to:
Lower operational costs Examining historical and current shipping data can uncover insights that allow for better appointment scheduling, smarter allocation of dock staff, and shorter waiting times. This can lead to considerable savings by reducing fees like detention charges, penalties for missed appointments, and additional operational costs.
Automated tracking tasks Time-consuming and error-prone manual tracking and tracing processes become a thing of the past with automation. It allows staff to focus on strategic tasks while real-time status updates and live-tracking dashboards keep customers informed and satisfied.
Improved on-time delivery Real-time alerts on dwell time, weather, traffic, and load status enable proactive exception management and timely deliveries. By leveraging accurate predictive ETAs, businesses can consistently meet customer expectations, fostering trust and loyalty.
Centralized communications Smooth integration with existing supply chain systems creates a unified platform for communication and collaboration. This eliminates information silos, promoting transparency and empowering teams to work together more effectively.
Better customer service Real-time visibility enables proactive communication. This commitment to superior customer service differentiates businesses in a competitive market, attracting and retaining high-value clients.
Supply chain visibility software bridges the gap between data and action, helping companies confidently manage their logistics.
Role in logistics management
Supply chain visibility software is a command center for logistics operations, delivering real-time insights and fast communication that directly translate into enhanced efficiency, cost savings, and risk mitigation.
Therefore, this software plays a transformative role, as it tracks and monitors the movement of goods and information across the entire supply chain network in real time. The solutions use GPS, RFID, and IoT sensors to provide granular visibility into every aspect of logistics operations, from shipment tracking and inventory management to warehouse operations and customer service.
Key features of supply chain visibility software
Delivering exceptional customer experiences requires a supply chain that is responsive and transparent. Discover the visibility software features that help meet and exceed customer expectations:
Multi-modal coverage: Supply chain visibility software tracks shipments across various modes of transportation, ensuring a holistic understanding of your supply chain regardless of how goods are moving.
Predictive ETA calculations: Advanced ETA calculations leverage machine learning and historical data to provide precise arrival time estimations, enabling proactive planning, streamlined operations, and improved customer communication.
Integrations with TMS and ERP Systems: Seamless integration with existing transportation and enterprise resource planning systems creates a unified view of supply chain data, eliminating silos and streamlining processes.
Multi-dimensional analytics and reporting: Customizable reports and dashboards offer in-depth insights into key performance indicators, empowering data-driven decision-making and continuous improvement initiatives.
In-transit visibility: Businesses can monitor the location and status of all shipments across all carriers and modes, regardless of booking method.
Transactional visibility: The software aggregates supply chain data from various sources into a single platform, eliminating information silos and providing a holistic view of all transactions.
Performance analytics: The software tracks and analyzes KPIs, identifies inefficiencies, and uncovers hidden costs and savings opportunities with comprehensive reporting and analytics tools.
Financial visibility: The software provides a comprehensive view of freight spend, measures routing guide compliance, and automates the order-to-cash lifecycle.
These key features, when combined, allow businesses to turn their supply chains into agile, efficient, and cost-effective, which is a key to success in the current dynamic marketplace.
How supply chain visibility software improves logistics management
Beyond basic tracking and tracing, top-tier supply chain software visibility offers a wide set of advantages that allow companies to optimize their operations over the long term.
Enhanced collaboration
Visibility tools cultivate a cooperative atmosphere, enabling everyone involved – from suppliers and carriers to in-house teams – to exchange and view data in real time. Such open access enhances teamwork, facilitates anticipatory issue resolution, and speeds up decision-making. By dismantling information barriers and enhancing openness, companies can establish a cohesive, agile supply chain that functions fluidly, even when unforeseen challenges arise.
Efficiency and cost reduction
Through actionable insights, businesses proactively identify and address issues to refine operations — this data-driven approach allows for optimal inventory management, preventing stockouts and excesses through accurate inventory tracking. Similarly, real-time visibility streamlines transportation by enabling improved route planning, efficient shipment consolidation, and selection of the most cost-effective carriers. Synchronizing production schedules with demand forecasts and optimizing resource allocation helps minimize waste, ensuring further cost reductions. Additionally, automating manual tasks and streamlining workflows improves labor productivity and reduces labor costs.
Overall, real-time visibility is a powerful tool for businesses seeking to create a leaner, more efficient, cost-effective supply chain. It can contribute to increased profitability and a stronger position in the market.
Risk management
Shipment visibility software empowers businesses to proactively identify and address risks of delays, disruptions, or quality issues. The software provides real-time alerts and notifications, enabling businesses to respond to potential disruptions and mitigate their impact quickly. It employs machine learning algorithms for predictive analytics, allowing companies to foresee potential risks and prepare contingency plans.
These enable companies to create a more responsive, customer-centric supply chain that will expand regardless of the circumstances.
What makes a good supply chain visibility software solution
The best supply chain visibility software allows companies to shift from reactive to proactive supply chain management, anticipating issues and adapting to market changes. To achieve this, the software must offer the following:
By carefully using these features, businesses can strategically select a supply chain visibility solution that aligns with their unique needs. But evaluating the right software and its features is only half the battle. The next step is easy implementation into your existing ecosystem.
Implementing supply chain visibility software
Integrating a supply chain visibility solution adds substantial value to any business, but adoption and implementation should be done strategically. Taking a thoughtful approach helps ensure smooth onboarding, boosts widespread usage, and allows companies to fully capitalize on their investment.
Assessment and selection
The first step in the implementation process is to assess the organization’s specific needs and requirements.
Once a business clearly understands its needs, it can start considering different supply chain visibility solutions. Here’s a detailed checklist of capabilities to look for:
Real-time tracking and monitoring: Comprehensive, real-time visibility into shipments and inventory across all modes of transportation, enabled by robust integrations and bi-directional APIs.
Multi-modal coverage: Support for various transportation modes, including air, sea, rail, and road, ensuring comprehensive visibility regardless of how goods are moving.
Track and trace: Integrated and automated shipment updates across all internal and external systems within a single platform.
Forecast spend: Tracks and monitors freight charges across the shipment cycle, with the ability to compare estimated charges to actual costs and enable accurate forecasting.
Routing compliance: Identification of routing non-compliance to ensure best-cost carrier selection and minimize unnecessary expedited charges.
Order fulfillment: Monitors suppliers to ensure orders are shipped using preferred carriers and account numbers, along with instant visibility into order fulfillment and product/PO tracking.
Data completeness: Consolidates ERP, TMS, and carrier portal data into a unified view for comprehensive shipment insights.
Data timeliness: Utilizes bidirectional APIs to capture real-time updates across all supply chain systems.
Data ownership: Maintains complete control over shipping records, safeguarding critical data to ensure regulatory compliance.
Document repository: Centralized storage and access to critical shipment documents like BOLs, PODs, and invoices.
Advanced analytics and reporting: Customizable reports and dashboards offering in-depth insights into key performance indicators.
Customizable reports: Utilizes custom KPIs and powerful data visualization tools for easy interpretation and sharing of complex supply chain data.
Proactive risk monitoring: Identifies potential disruptions and the provision of alternative solutions to maintain supply chain continuity.
Collaboration tools: Facilitates communication and information sharing between stakeholders.
Scalability: The ability to adapt and grow with your business needs.
User-friendly interface: An intuitive and easy-to-use platform that ensures all stakeholders can readily access and utilize the data and insights.
By considering these important features, companies can select a supply chain visibility solution that fits their unique requirements and objectives. Nevertheless, selecting the appropriate solution is merely the beginning — the next phase is ensuring its seamless integration.
Integration process
While potentially complex, this process ensures smooth data flow between platforms and grants stakeholders access to the required information.
A successful integration typically involves data mapping, cleansing, and validation. It may also require API development or integration to facilitate communication and data exchange. Partnering with a vendor offering robust integration support facilitates this stage and minimizes disruptions.
Training and adoption
Comprehensive training helps staff utilize its features effectively and realize the full benefits of a supply chain visibility solution.
Effective training programs typically cover:
System navigation and basic functionality
Data interpretation and analysis
The usage of collaboration tools
Troubleshooting and issue resolution
In addition to formal training sessions, ongoing support is vital. Resources like user guides, knowledge bases, and access to dedicated support teams can ensure teams use the visibility solution effectively and achieve the best results.
Future trends in supply chain visibility
The niche of supply chain visibility solutions is constantly changing, with fresh tech and functionality popping up all the time. While specific trends seem promising, it’s important to evaluate them carefully, focusing on options that provide real benefits that are enduring.
AI and advanced analytics
Artificial intelligence (AI) momentum is building in most sectors and is significantly impacting supply chain management. Studies show that 85% of corporations have already embraced AI technologies, with an additional 45% planning deeper integration within their supply chain operations.
Looking forward, the evolution of supply chain management is tied closely to the strategic application of AI and automation, which aims to enhance visibility, improve efficiency, and foster quicker responses.
AI and analytics are some of the main instruments in attaining supply chain transparency. The ability to analyze extensive datasets and derive valuable insights is crucial for refining operations, reducing risks, and empowering decision-making. Yet, the hype surrounding AI can sometimes overshadow the importance of quality data. AI’s true potential lies in its capacity to amplify the value of accurate, standardized, and real-time data. It’s not about blindly following the “AI is the answer” trend, but about harnessing its power with reliable data to drive meaningful improvements.
Hyperautomation
Implementing strategic automation can greatly improve the efficiency of supply chains by simplifying monotonous tasks and minimizing human mistakes. However, fully automating the supply chain is still far from becoming a reality. Due to the complex and multifaceted nature of the industry, which involves numerous variables, stakeholders, and systems, the need for human insight and decision-making cannot be overlooked. The real success comes from finding the right balance — applying automation judiciously while equipping supply chain experts with the necessary tools and knowledge to execute wise, strategic choices.
The rise of low-code platforms
The supply chain sector is increasingly adopting low-code platforms to streamline collaboration between IT and business teams. These intuitive platforms enable supply chain professionals to develop tailored applications and workflows without extensive coding expertise, equipping them to adapt to shifts in market dynamics or alterations in supplier and carrier stipulations. According to a recent report, more than two-thirds of enterprises surveyed have already incorporated low-code platforms into their supply chains.
Transparency and visibility beyond tier 1 and 2
To truly ensure resilience within the supply chain, companies must gain insights beyond direct suppliers, reaching into deeper layers of the network. KPMG highlights the significant challenges organizations face due to poor visibility in these intricate layers, especially when adhering to regulations and minimizing exposure to risks. Overcoming this obstacle is key to gaining a full picture of the supply chain ecosystem, which in turn facilitates the discovery of potential risks, enhances the ability to track sustainability efforts (ESG), and provides a clearer analysis of what causes disruptions.
The rise of data aggregators
The sheer volume and variety of data that modern supply chains generate can be overwhelming. Data aggregators are emerging as a critical solution, collecting data from disparate sources and employing advanced algorithms to assist logistics professionals in resolving contingencies and making informed day-to-day decisions. Some also leverage AI to generate predictive data, offering greater accuracy in estimated arrival times and enabling proactive responses to potential disruptions. These aggregators help provide ‘best-in-class’ visibility and facilitate collaboration between software companies and logistics providers by integrating information from various sources, including vessels, weather data, and communication systems.
Personalization and customization
As customer expectations for personalized products and services continue to rise, supply chain visibility becomes essential for enabling customization and on-demand fulfillment. Real-time data and analytics empower businesses to tailor their supply chains to individual customer needs, improving satisfaction and loyalty. This trend drives the need for flexible and adaptable supply chain solutions that support mass customization and rapid response to changing consumer preferences.
Final thoughts
To wrap up, acting on the need for immediate insight into supply chains can help companies achieve unparalleled levels of efficiency. The advantages of uncovering the supply chain are clear, as visibility enables companies to base their decisions on data, refine operational procedures, and offer outstanding customer support, all while cutting down on expenses.
Agistix is a high-performing supply chain visibility platform. It offers a robust suite of features designed to empower businesses with end-to-end visibility and control, expertly incorporating visibility and transportation management system (TMS) functionalities. Since its inception in 2004, Agistix has been a pioneer in delivering end-to-end visibility, boasting a vast network of over 4,000 integrations across ERPs, TMSs, 3PLs, and other third-party data sources.
Key features:
Agistix Visibility. Centralizes real-time cost estimates and tracking updates across all carriers and modes, serving as a single source of truth for managing all inbound, outbound, and third-party shipments. This ensures comprehensive visibility into supply chain performance, which enables businesses to proactively identify and resolve potential disruptions, optimize routes, and enhance customer satisfaction.
Agistix TMS. Functions as either an enhancement to existing TMS systems or a standalone solution, accommodating diverse shipment types and transportation modes. Its advanced rating, bidding, auto-tendering, routing compliance, and document automation features streamline multi-modal shipment management.
Agistix Microsites. Offers customized applications tailored to specific user groups within the supply chain. These microsites enable stakeholders to self-serve critical data throughout a shipment’s lifecycle, significantly reducing the workload on supply chain teams and improving data accessibility.
This visibility suite is perfect for businesses with complex, multi-modal supply chains that demand comprehensive visibility and control, particularly in industries such as aerospace, biopharma, and tech manufacturing.
President at Agistix based in San Francisco. I am an entrepreneur with a passion for data, and technology. I am results-oriented and committed to developing fast-deployment solutions to help customers seize the new opportunity coming from big data in the global supply chain.
