Global supply chains tie the planet together, providing goods to consumers, jobs to workers and dividends to shareholders.
A single item can touch multiple countries before landing in the hands of the consumer — but this global trip isn’t for sightseeing.
Leading companies find that a diversified sourcing base and long-distance manufacturing partners can help cut production costs and improve margins.
Yet no matter how much money can be saved by sourcing globally, escalating logistics expenses have a cumulative effect on the total landed cost, especially when multiplied across thousands of shipments. Fluctuating logistics costs and carrier capacity highs and lows that vary by mode and region are putting pressure on beneficial cargo owners (BCOs) and third-party logistics (3PL) providers as they strive to keep the flow of goods moving smoothly.
The amplified demand for higher customer service levels and the need for greater in-transit visibility are creating additional stress for already strained supply chains. But organizations are struggling with enormous complexities due to disparate, disconnected supply chain processes as they make, move and sell goods and services.
Today’s realities bring greater obstacles and higher levels of complexity than ever when moving goods internationally. End-to-end visibility and control have long been key challenges to making better business decisions. While the supply chain itself is inherently connected, the processes are inherently siloed. All of this due to disparate data sources and disconnected processes and systems across vast supply chain networks.