When we’re talking about the supply chain, data gets to wear the crown.
Data is critical to the success of any business. Operations at all levels of the supply chain use different data elements to make business decisions. Identifying a set of Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s), allowing you to evaluate the success of your processes will help you to react quickly and effectively when making decisions.
One example of a key data element often used in calculating KPI’s that is critical in the supply chain is the arrival date of goods. Knowing the date of arrival of your container or air freight shipment allows for more accurate estimation of the final date to your distribution center, allowing your business to coordinate and plan inventory needs. An inaccurate arrival date or delivery date can cause issues such as low inventory or not being able to fulfill orders in time, in turn, driving up costs. With such a heavy reliance on data in our industry, it is vital to ensure the accuracy of that data.
On-time delivery is one of the most common KPI’s in logistics. Gathering data about average transit times, reliability of transit times and fluctuations in transit across seasons can be enormously useful throughout your organization. The best use of a KPI is as a supply chain “radar”; picking up signals.
Regularly reviewing transit KPI’s, for example, specific lanes and modes of transportation will let you know if something needs your attention. KPI’s allow you to quickly review a few key indicators, while only focusing more time and energy if a signal indicates it’s time to dive into the details to fix a process.
Working with great partners that provide you with quality and accurate data is key to having success within your business operations. At the Janel Group, we offer extraordinary customer service accompanied with best-in-class technology solutions. We keep you informed on the status of your freight and provide all the data elements your business needs to be successful.
Whether through an integration with your in-house system, daily tracking alerts or one of our many customized solutions, you’ll get the data you need, when you need it.