A recent report in Inbound Logistics titled, “Logistics IT Perspectives” provides a great deal of information as to what Logistics IT Solution Providers deliver based on their client’s needs. It also gives us a view of what must be on the minds of Supply Chain and Logistics executives when it comes to seeking IT solutions for their businesses. The Logistics Management report is based on their most recent Annual Survey of the Top 100 Logistics IT Providers.
Here are some of the key points from this survey we would like to expand upon.
When it comes to Supply Chain Solutions offered by these Logistics IT providers, here are the top 5 categories the respondents reported their solutions were aimed at.
- Process Improvement – 61%
- EDI – 60%
- Order Management – 59%
- Modeling, Forecasting, Predictive Analytics – 55%
- Supply Chain Control Tower – 48%
Regarding the above survey results we are sure we will see a significant rise in the number of IT offerings available for Supply Chain Control Tower solutions as we move ahead in 2022 and beyond. Supply Chain Control Towers are becoming more and more vital for ALL Supply Chains. These solutions are not just for the big guys any longer. Every small and medium sized business MUST have an eye on their entire supply chain and have the ability to make changes on the dime, when and if necessary. Just ask any Supply Chain Executive that has the battle scars from the past two years of Covid-19.
On the Logistics side of the survey, here are the top 5 Logistics IT Solutions these top 100 companies offer.
It’s not surprising that Optimization leads the IT solutions for the logistics industry. Over the past two years, every shipper has been slammed with huge increases in shipping and related costs, and there is no end in sight either. Optimizing logistics processes is never a one and done process. It must be a continual process for all logistics executives. Over the past several years, supply chain and logistics has risen in if not popularity within the corporation, but certainly in terms of visibility, again for all business. Therefore it is incumbent on all logistics executives to focus on optimizations.
Conquering optimizations within operations as well as cost control issues is always a challenge for corporate logistics departments. The main reason is that these department usually do not have access to any competitive pricing information to benchmark their costs against “Best in Class” rates, accessorial fees, fuel and other surcharges, as well as contractual terms and conditions.
An area we often encounter, (which is really hard to believe this day in age), is the fact that many companies cannot immediately put their fingers on their total costs of logistics services. Many companies do not have a central repository of logistics cost information. The numbers are often buried in several different silos within company accounting records, under the direction of different corporate departments and therefore getting a handle on the total costs of logistics is not only difficult, but often times impossible.
So, if you can’t see the big picture of where the company’s financial pain might be when it comes to logistics expenses, how can you possibly attempt to control those costs? Yeah, you’re right, you can’t! Yet companies continually fail in their attempt to wrap their arms around ALL of their supply chain and logistics costs. It’s the definition of insanity for sure, doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Where here and we can help companies achieve total visibility into their supply chain and logistics costs. It’s all in the data! Companies just need to seek help from experts who can assemble all of the data, interpret that data and provide real solutions for logistics expense reductions to help achieve their desired results. We’re here to help, so please reach out.
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