Top 5 Benefits of Gaining Overall Visibility Into Supply Chain Logistics

A 360-degree view into the flow and quality of your supply chain logistics is critical to seamless operations. With this overall visibility, you can ensure proper supply accountability. 

You can also gain global logistics visibility into your supply chain’s movement, inventory reliability, and storage of goods to get timely and accurate supply information. By implementing strategic processes that leverage modern systems and reliable technology, it’s getting increasingly easier to gain rapid, real-time insights on your logistics.   

Read on as we go into a more in-depth look at the benefits of gaining overall visibility into your company’s supply chain.  

Supply chain logistics visibility: A quick overview

From a 30,000-foot perspective, supply chain visibility (SCV) is the discipline of tracking each component, the sub-assemblies, and final products as they move from the supplier to manufacturer and finally to the consumer. 

SCV encompasses internal operational borders and spans complex partner networks. It can also apply to specific aspects of your own logistics efforts. Data logger tags, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, sensors and other supply chain management technology facilitate visibility into your logistics.

These technologies let you track and measure the metrics around the volume, statuses, locations and conditions of the items you ship and store. With the proper SCV setup in place, you can collect data seamlessly, run analytics on said data, and generate relevant insights. You can then use the insights to adjust your current logistics processes and, over time, optimize how they impact the way your business operates.  

Advantages of supply chain logistics visibility

The benefits of having transparent and efficient end-to-end supply chain logistics include the following.  

1. Simplified processes

Modern logistics can be complex because of the many moving parts and parties involved. Having overall visibility equips you with the data and insights you need to reduce this complexity, allowing you to manage all the critical aspects of your logistics efficiently. 

The more visibility you have, the better you can manage the complex transportation and traffic patterns, import and export operations, shipping and receiving, inventory management, warehousing, production planning, and more.  

2. Efficient logistics flow and quality monitoring

Overall visibility into the logistical processes within your supply chain can help you monitor your supply flow with improved precision. You’ll know your critical supplies’ exact location and status in real time, whether they are in transit, in a warehouse, or with customers.. 

From a quality assurance perspective, supply chain logistics visibility can help you: 

• Ensure the required temperature ranges for products such as pharmaceuticals and food are maintained within carriers for safe transport. You’ll get real-time alerts to help keep the items in safe and good condition during transit. Real-time temperature and environment monitoring allow you to take corrective action promptly to ensure product quality, reliability, and safety. 

• Track shipments every step of the way, including how long your supplies stay on your receiving dock. Most systems include integrated sensor-based data feeds to give you insights into transfers and major milestones via location tracking at specific time intervals.   

• Manage logistical issues and gaps efficiently by tracking discrepancies and transportation sources, creating resolution goals, assigning actions, and gauging the impact of logistics deviation on your business. 

3. Boost efficiency and cost control

Your supply chain logistics make up a huge chunk of your operating budget and resources. Assessing gaps and addressing issues is crucial to increasing cost-efficiency and profitability. 

Having transparent end-to-end logistics can help you do this. A comprehensive view allows you to detect areas with improvement potential across the network. You’ll gain deeper insights and be better equipped to know what the problems are, how to fix them, and adjust accordingly. You can cut your operational costs while ensuring seamless operations for better profitability. 

You can also monitor and analyze crucial metrics and operational issues based on service level agreements (SLAs). Doing so helps you manage your key performance indicators (KPIs) and get relevant insights to improve your logistics and related processes continuously. 

4. Better decision making 

Comprehensive visibility allows you to gather and present the conditions and locations of your supplies and whether or not your supply chain logistics are working as they should. With overall visibility, you can understand disruptions where and when they occur. You’ll also know beforehand if your supplies and orders will potentially fall behind schedule. 

As such, you can make faster, more informed decisions to take appropriate and prompt actions to remediate issues and keep everything under control. Leverage AI-based supply chain analytics software that can “learn” from your business operations, predict future disruptions, and recommend plans to help you optimize your logistics and processes.  

Visibility into your logistics can give you the information you need to make timely decisions and use demand forecasts to manage your inventory, transport, storage, and suppliers better. You can also minimize and manage potential risks that can significantly impact your operations and, in turn, your bottom line. 

5. Improved customer experience

Gaining better visibility into your logistics across the supply chain gives you an overall view of all your supply statuses in transit. Having this transparency gives you the information and insights necessary to manage critical aspects in your logistics to prevent potential service delivery and order fulfillment delays. 

Essentially, having visibility can ensure your supplies get to the right people at the intended time, leading to efficient and satisfactory customer experiences. Overall visibility and transparency through data logging and condition monitoring can also help you spot and prevent errors and the resulting losses during storing and transport. 

Optimize your supply chain logistics visibility

To ensure end-to-end transparency and efficient supply management, you’ll need overall visibility into your supply chain logistics. 

Plus, achieving seamless and profitable business operations is tied heavily to your ability to fulfill orders successfully, which becomes complex and almost impossible to manage effectively without transparency in your logistics. 

Gain better visibility into your logistical processes to better adapt to shifting customer demands and market dynamics. It can also help you comply with regulatory requirements, boost operational efficiency, improve the customer experience, and ultimately increase your profits.