What is supply chain visibility? It’s much more than knowing the location of a shipment. Supply chain visibility involves leveraging the latest track-and-trace technologies and software platforms to gain 100% transparency into dozens of activities that take place from end-to-end. 

With all the hype around the need for real-time data and end-to-end supply chain visibility in today’s competitive landscape, has the value of culture and people taken a back seat in logistics? Tive CEO Founder and CEO Krenar Komoni and experts from Walmart Canada, Cardinal Health and Penske Logistics will tackle that subject and more in an upcoming roundtable discussion. The latest in the Reuters Events Supply Chain Webinar series, titled Driving Business Value with Humanized Supply Chain Visibility, is scheduled for Noon EDT on August 31, 2021. You can REGISTER HERE.

Of all the transportation activities that take place in a domestic or global supply chain, temperature-controlled shipping is undoubtedly one of the most important. Potentially life-saving pharmaceuticals, food and perishable products, and many other types of shipments require strict adherence to an acceptable temperature range, whether mandated by the manufacturer or federal authorities. Tracking technology helps provide the real-time data, visibility, and alerts needed to mitigate risk and ensure safety and compliance at every point in the journey.

Numerous technology providers allow users to track specific facets of shipment data. Though there is an inherent risk with low-visibility supply chain operations, about half of companies still report that their supply chain visibility relies on siloed or outdated internal data that affects their ability to identify and address problems and disruptions.

Pharmaceutical supply chains underscore the importance of temperature-controlled shipping and the need for real-time end-to-end visibility. Temperature deviations of even a single degree or two beyond the acceptable range during transit could mean hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses with a single shipment — and millions over the course of a year.  With stakes this high, pharma shipments must arrive on time and in full. Making that happen takes a highly synchronized collaboration among all partners in a supply chain. Logistics service providers, shippers, and carriers in all modes of transportation need real-time status updates and alerts to proactively mitigate potential disruptions. As a leading provider of state-of-the-art shipment trackers,software, and services Tive makes it easy to align all stakeholders in pharmaceutical supply chains to eliminate preventable delays and damage.

On time and in full (OTIF). It is arguably the most important metric in any supply chain. An OTIF delivery is the ultimate goal of any shipper, carrier, logistics provider and retailer. End customers, too. Products must arrive on time and in full. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? But there is a lot that goes into achieving OTIF, which is also known as “Perfect Order Proficiency.” Our latest white paper, How to Improve OTIF: 15 Tips for On-Time and In-Full Delivery, offers a closer look at this all-important supply chain metric and the role real-time visibility plays in achieving it on a consistent basis.

Of all the benefits supply chain visibility affords, greater control is undoubtedly one of the most important. VPs of logistics, transportation directors, and warehouse managers often feel they are operating in the dark once a package leaves a warehouse. With many unseen, moving pieces in supply chains, professionals need to know shipments are proceeding with an adequate degree of precision. Thanks to the integration of world-class trackers with state-of-the-art software, stakeholders at any level of the supply chain always experience a real-time single view of truth into shipment status.

When it comes to running an efficient global supply chain, hope is not a strategy and ignorance is not a defense. Hoping shipments arrive on time, in full and unscathed is simply not enough. Nor is answering “I don’t know” when an angry shipper or customer asks for a status update on an already-late delivery. Thanks to real-time supply chain tracking, no one is left in the dark anymore. Now, exceptions can be addressed and communicated to stakeholders as they happen. And there is never a doubt as to the location and condition of an in-transit shipment. This provides peace of mind that is often elusive in a world where chaos reigns. The next disruption is always right around the corner.  

When the green flag drops to start Sunday’s NASCAR Series race in New Hampshire, location tracking company Tive and real-time visibility insight provider project44 will be well represented. The Open Visibility Network (OVN) partners are making their NASCAR series debut as sponsors of No. 15 car driven by James Davison, who will start from the 19^th row.