The past year has demonstrated an extraordinary surge in businesses adopting real-time transportation visibility platforms (RTTVPs) to optimize their operations and implement effective real-time logistics solutions.
This guide offers a definitive understanding of real-time transportation visibility software and technology, detailing its implementation and advantages for your organization. We will also explore compelling success stories from leading global companies and identify crucial factors to consider when evaluating real-time visibility platforms.
Let’s begin!
Understanding Real-Time Visibility in Transportation
Real-time visibility, in the context of transportation, refers to the capability to precisely monitor and trace assets—including their location and status—throughout the entire supply chain, live and instantaneously. This encompasses various dynamic factors that can disrupt supply chain efficiency, such as unforeseen delays, traffic bottlenecks, congestion points, and even weather conditions. By accounting for these variables, real-time visibility provides businesses with exceptionally accurate Estimated Times of Arrival (ETAs) and a clear window into their ongoing logistical operations. Leveraging real-time visibility empowers businesses to significantly refine their supply chain processes, leading to reduced operational costs and enhanced overall performance.
Alt: Real-time transportation visibility platform interface displaying truck and trailer tracking data, essential for modern supply chain management.
What are Real-Time Transportation Visibility Platforms?
Real-time transportation visibility platforms are specialized software solutions designed to furnish both companies and consumers with up-to-the-minute updates regarding the precise location and current status of their ordered goods. This information is predominantly sourced from integrated GPS and telematics hardware affixed to the transportation unit—be it a truck, trailer, or shipping container. Tracking becomes active the moment a shipment departs from the manufacturing site or warehouse facility, ensuring end-to-end monitoring from origin to destination.
The Critical Importance of Real-Time Visibility
In today’s environment characterized by escalating customer expectations, providing both individual consumers and businesses with clear insight into the status of their deliveries is paramount for fostering customer satisfaction and strengthening brand loyalty. The strategic collection of real-time transportation visibility data enables companies to deliver not just the tangible products customers have purchased, but also the invaluable, intangible benefits of an enhanced customer experience and greater peace of mind.
Furthermore, access to precise, dependable data concerning the location of incoming shipments allows companies—spanning retailers to manufacturers—to respond promptly and decisively to unforeseen disruptions. This proactive approach contrasts sharply with reactive strategies based on guesswork, enabling informed decision-making and minimizing potential negative impacts on operations.
Alt: Comprehensive supply chain visibility dashboard showcasing real-time data analytics for informed logistics decision-making, crucial for efficient operations.
Key Benefits of Implementing Real-Time Transportation Visibility Platforms
Beyond the previously mentioned improvements in customer experience, investing in real-time transportation visibility software unlocks a wide array of benefits and Return on Investment (ROI) opportunities for businesses across all sectors and scales.
Particularly in the context of global disruptions such as pandemics, the value of end-to-end, real-time visibility becomes even more pronounced. Users of these platforms have consistently demonstrated the ability to realize immediate and significant benefits from their tools across numerous use cases. Five prominent examples of these use cases include:
- Real-Time Access to Accurate Data: Gain immediate insights into shipment location, status, and ETAs, enabling proactive issue resolution.
- Precise Detection of Stops and Delays: Identify actual stops and breaks in transit, allowing for better route optimization and delay management.
- Monitoring of Border Wait Times: Access data on country border crossing wait times to anticipate and mitigate potential delays in international shipping.
- Carrier Activity and Capacity Insights: Gain visibility into carrier performance and capacity, facilitating better carrier selection and negotiation.
- Enhanced Collaboration Between Shippers: Improve communication and collaboration among shippers, carriers, and other stakeholders for streamlined operations.
Real-World Success Stories in Real-Time Transportation Visibility
Although real-time visibility technology is still evolving, numerous success stories highlight how companies and individuals are effectively leveraging comprehensive data to achieve substantial improvements throughout their operations.
One of the most immediate returns on investment in transportation visibility software is often seen in the reduction and reallocation of labor costs. By automating tasks that previously required extensive manual effort, companies can free up personnel to focus on higher-value activities that drive business growth and innovation.
Pixelle, a leading North American company in the paper and packaging industry, experienced a significant decrease in track-and-trace inquiries after implementing a real-time visibility solution. Within a year of adopting the new technology, Pixelle’s management observed an almost 50% reduction in emails from load planners, carriers, and customer service teams attempting to locate specific shipments.
Alt: Pixelle company logo representing a success story in reducing track-and-trace calls by implementing real-time transportation visibility solutions.
Schreiber Foods, a recipient of FourKites’ Golden Kite Awards, utilized real-time transportation visibility to enhance their existing process for validating carrier detention time requests. In 2020, Schreiber successfully reduced unsubstantiated detention requests by leveraging their FourKites RTTVP. By cross-referencing carrier detention claims with real-time visibility data, Schreiber saved on unnecessary fees and decreased the overall volume of detention requests by 15%.
Kraft-Heinz, another Golden Kite Award recipient, effectively used their investment in real-time visibility not only to improve their financial performance but also to support community needs. For over three years, they have refined their transportation management processes using real-time transportation data. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Kraft-Heinz employed the FourKites platform to support Feeding America, optimizing their food delivery process to reach those most in need, even amidst unprecedented demand surges.
These examples represent just a fraction of the success and innovation being driven by real-time transportation visibility. Numerous other FourKites customers—including some of the world’s largest shippers—have successfully leveraged real-time transportation visibility software to achieve remarkable results, including:
- Annual reduction of detention costs by $10 million.
- Decrease in transportation-related customer service calls by 65%.
- Savings of $300K-$500K per month on fines and penalties.
By embracing real-time transportation visibility, businesses can unlock significant operational efficiencies, enhance customer satisfaction, and gain a competitive edge in today’s dynamic marketplace.
