Why Visibility Isn’t Enough for International Logistics
“Visibility” has long been the buzzword for supply chain and logistics technology—promising to illuminate the movement of goods and materials across the globe. Over the last several years, new supply chain visibility software has given many companies an ability to track their products more accurately, anticipate delays, and manage inventory levels better than ever before. However, visibility alone is akin to a captain who can see the storm ahead but cannot steer the ship to safety.
Logistics teams need more than just sight; they need the tools to navigate and act. This is where platforms like Gnosis Freight's Container Lifecycle Management® platform come into play, offering a blend of visibility plus, more importantly, execution tools to take action.
.png)
The Value of Visibility
Supply chain visibility, real-time visibility, and various other forms of the phrase can mean different things to different people, but in the realm of international logistics they are about knowing where a company’s shipments (goods and inventory) are at any given time to help with understanding inventory levels, and being aware of potential delays or disruptions the supply chain. This information is critical, and allows companies to make informed decisions, operate more efficiently, and provide a better customer experience.
Knowing a container is delayed is helpful, but it doesn't solve the problem or help get goods to their destination any faster. That’s where execution tools come into play.
The Power of Execution
Supply chain execution tools are the natural complement to visibility. They are how logistics teams can take the information provided by their visibility data and use it to manage the supply chain proactively. Execution can include everything from adjusting transportation modes, rerouting shipments, and managing inventory levels to collaborating with partners, automating workflows, and executing contracts. It's the difference between knowing a problem exists and having the capability to fix it.
For companies who use traditional visibility tools, to take action they often must decide to either switch back and forth between their visibility platform and an execution platform like a TMS, or they must invest in costly and time-consuming integrations to get their visibility data into an execution platform, and vice versa.
Or worse, they transfer the visibility data into excel spreadsheets and email them out to their vendor/partner network to execute on the data.
Visibility Plus Execution
As technology continues to evolve in the supply chain and logistics world, Gnosis Freight's Container Lifecycle Management® (CLM) platform represents the combination of visibility and execution into a single platform.
It goes beyond the traditional track-and-trace functionality of traditional visibility platforms and data providers.
The CLM platform provides, but is not limited to, complete, accurate, and low latency container tracking data covering every milestone from booking until the container is returned empty to the terminal, and the execution tools to take action and help manage every process throughout the container’s lifecycle.
Processes such as scheduling drayage, sending delivery orders, auditing freight invoices, managing purchase orders and much more.
Many of the CLM platform’s execution tools are logistics in nature, which focus on managing exceptions, but it extends beyond traditional logistics tasks.
A better way to think of container lifecycle management, is a more general orientation towards what a traditional Inbound Logistics Manager (or the equivalent of that role within an organization) does in their day-to-day activities, which extends beyond just managing freight.
This role also provides information and guidance to many other business units outside of logistics or supply chain. The CLM platform extends to these activities and allows logistics teams to collaborate more effectively with internal partners such as the finance department, at Distribution Centers, and more.
Its integrated nature means that the need for integrating with other systems is minimal. Data flows seamlessly from Gnosis’ proprietary container tracking data model into the CLM platform as containers move through the different stages of the container lifecycle triggering notifications, automations, and other process improvements.
For example, a delay at the port can automatically trigger a notification to the logistics team, the customer service team, or directly to a customer to proactively inform the customer of changes to delivery schedules.
Or, as containers are discharged at the terminal, and made available for pickup, they can be allocated to drayage providers automatically, optimizing for efficiency and to reduce drayage costs across the board.
Another example, as freight invoices are received, they can automatically be audited against contracts and container milestone data, flagging any invoices with discrepancies for further review.
These are just a few examples of execution tools used by Gnosis Freight customers every day to save time, reduce costs, and improve supply chain efficiency.
Where to Go from Here
Visibility in logistics is becoming more essential, particularly as disruptions and stress to global supply chains doesn’t seem to be slowing down, but it is merely the starting point. To truly leverage the wealth of data available, logistics teams need the capability to execute—to turn insights into action.
Because ultimately, people want to use data, not look at data.
Gnosis Freight's Container Lifecycle Management platform provides the comprehensive data and tools necessary for logistics teams to not just observe and analyze data, but to execute and manage their supply chains more effectively.
Schedule a demo today and discover a smarter way to track and manage your containers.
