Strategic Inbound Optimisation
Inbound transportation management presents an interesting dilemma for many supply chains. It is one of the last components of the management of an efficient supply chain. As suppliers and partners bring the critical freight to an organisation, the lack of visibility to that freight can cause variability and risk that can impact the rest of the supply chain. The unfortunate reality for many companies is that they don’t have that required visibility to reduce or manage those variations; inbound has become a blind spot. Any blind spot will impede an organisation from reaching their objectives.
Although managing inbound might not seem like the initial focus for most organisations, it represents an area of improvement for many companies and partners. The data that can be provided, analysed, and acted upon will allow a level of intelligence and management for companies. For that to happen, companies need to open their minds and their eyes to the benefits of managing inbound.
“…the largest driver of costs is getting a handle on inbound costs, which also requires looking at outbound as well in order to get the entire optimisation picture. Having a visibility solution and automation capable of applying the control tower approach to manage this information flow in a timely highly collaborative manner with partners is a requirement for those that hope to complete this journey.” - Bob Heaney, Aberdeen Group
Aberdeen Group recently released the report, “Strategic Inbound Optimisation: Linking Costs and Events for Improved P&L” based on a user survey to evaluate the visibility levels to inbound/outbound transportation and the impact to supply chain profitability.
The report defines three major areas where shippers can increase their visibility:
- Segment supply chain data based on customer profile
- Tracking actual total landed costs as shipment progresses
- Online visibility into accrued supply chain costs
Eric Gower-Winter
Connect with Eric Gower-Winter
As the former CEO of Barloworld Logistics Africa, Eric boasts extensive leadership and management skills with over 22 years’ experience in the supply chain and logistics industry. Eric has been closely involved with the redesign and implementation of some of South Africa’s largest Supply Chain networks. Eric is passionate about the design, implementation and management of transportation management solutions. He believes that the industry still has some way to go before it can reach its full potential and that technology has a huge role to play in optimising transport networks.
