Five Resolutions to Simplify Your Logistics Ecosystem

A new year begins with new promises and newer visions. Some of us would be still celebrating, some would be struggling to associate with the art of writing a new year in the date section, and some others would be fixating on upholding their new year resolutions. Like it or not, it is time to reassess your previous 365 days and try to figure what worked and what didn’t. If you are an entrepreneur, this is more important for you, as you reassess the goals of your company.

We would be focusing our thoughts on the logistics ecosystem of companies. We spoke to quite a few entrepreneurs and based on their inputs, made a list of five major resolutions to simplify the logistics of any company.

Tracking

Tracking has become the calling card for all major companies in the previous year. Some companies managed to get ahead of the curve, others barely managed to catch up. Whichever category you fall in, this is the time to boost the tracking potential of your company to the next level.Here are some major pointers that top entrepreneurs incorporated in their new year plans.

Most entrepreneurs pledged to upgrade their route planning software this year. They felt the need to optimize their shipping tracking software too, to better align with the needs of different industries.

Software for transport company which is dedicated to integrate various supply chain avenues into a standard logistics solutions module, is the need of the hour.

Real-time analytics in a route planning software is considered as a given amongst all logistics management software companies.

Planning

Planning has always been the corner stone of development across generations. There is no alternative for proper planning. The same logic holds for your transportation management software. Your logistics solutions must incorporate a proper route planning software. This planning would ensure that all your deliveries follow the most optimized route which would result in savings. You could save up to 20% on resource costs in terms of fuel and time. You should make a proper set-up of real-time data analytics a priority for your shipping tracking software. Here is the wish list of some supply chain managers this year.

Logistics management software that helps managers plan their resources optimally.

Route planning software that gives live updates and alerts about traffic congestion.

Transport management software which helps managers plan vehicle capacities to bring down overall trips made.

Visibility

Total supply chain visibility is the dream theme for almost all the entrepreneurs across different industries. You would agree that accountability and regulation is an important factor associated with secure deliveries. A logistics management software works toward ensuring greater control for the managers over daily ‘logistics solutions’ scenarios. There is still some way to go to achieve total visibility. Here are some product wishes that all Chief Supply Chain Officers would factor in their resolutions.

Route planning software that integrates electronic proof of delivery (EPOD). EPOD would automatically validate each delivery within the software and then readjust the destination location to the next delivery.

Real-time reports about the status of each delivery by using a single route planning software.

Shipping tracking software that would offer live tracking of the vehicle through different checkpoints over a long-haul journey.

Scaling

You could utilize a range of logistics solutions for your company, but it would not count for much if you won’t be able to scale them. Every entrepreneur we spoke to made scalability the biggest testing point of any route planning software. Here are their basic demands from a logistics software.

Route planning software should have elastic capacities that can be used to deal with any uncertainty.

Shipping tracking software services should be equally optimal across all distribution hubs.

Route planning software should be able to dynamically set routes for all the delivery personnel rushing through the city.

Data analytics of any logistics management software should be consistently credible with a growing base of deliveries.

Automation

If you attended a new year party thrown by supply chain managers, you would not be able to avoid the topic of automation. Automation remains to be a fantasy for them, which, in fact, is very close to reality. We spoke to quite a few of industry veterans, across domains, and they all felt that the sooner automation is achieved, the better it is for the entire company. Here are some basic things that they expected from the fresh new year.

Route planning software that uses predictive analysis to schedule deliveries to its regular customers. This pointer, we found, was highly anticipated by most e-commerce giants.

Shipping tracking software that could integrate cruise control, as an auto-driver option in vehicles on long journeys. This, the managers tell us, would not overtake driving duties, but just assist the driver.

Transportation management software that maintains the quality of shipments across long journeys. An example of this would be, shipment of products that have a shelf life. The software could regulate the temperature within the vehicle to ensure extended freshness.

As you might have guessed it, these inputs collaborated through an informal meet-and-greet of various industry leaders on New Year’s Eve. As the night went on, there were many more resolutions and action ideas thrown around, some of which lost coherence later in the night. We collected the clear ideas from them that could help you make your own resolutions for the year. Feel free to suggest your versions of logistics resolutions.