With the unprecedented power of the omni-channel consumer driving behavior in the global marketplace, companies "” regardless of where they sit in the supply chain "” must not only find new ways to achieve efficiencies and operational control, but also to accomplish these objectives with the agility necessary to competitively serve today's end consumer.
A better approach: end-to-end planning from initial point of origin to final destination
Today's retailers and manufacturers can infuse value into their transportation and logistics networks by adopting an end-to-end intercontinental planning process. Enhancing both upstream and overall visibility, this process delivers end-to-end transportation lane control extending from true initial global point of origin to ultimate final destination. While outsourcing certain execution segments such as trade compliance or freight forwarding might still make business sense, end-to-end planning ownership provides companies with the critical ability to adjust execution across their networks based on changes in their supply chains. Consolidation and port routing decisions can be made on a network-wide basis instead of a single transaction at a time. And with visibility into ultimate freight destinations, companies can dynamically take into account factors such as the bookings process, port congestion and capacity balancing "” and then enact routing changes as needed. Rather than the common practice of setting a predefined itinerary or fixed path each and every time between origin and destination, companies can now re-plan as dynamics change in the network.
