Visibility in the supply chain and insight into the carbon footprint of transport are both hot topics. As noted in Descartes’ 8th Annual Transportation Management Benchmark Survey, ‘Environmental Regulations’ was selected as the second most impactful area over the next 5 years, and ‘Visibility’ was selected as the top capability to deliver the greatest value. Still, not many companies are benefiting from combining these two elements. Even fewer companies are able to show a shared insight over all freight modalities in the supply chain; however, there are tools that enable this, and they create huge value.
How Can Mandatory Reporting Create Value?
Reporting on transport related carbon emissions is mandatory in Europe and is expanding in the US, while at the same time the demand for freight visibility continues to increase. Fortunately, one solution can cover both topics: providing the Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emissions per load/shipment, while also offering valuable insight into real-time data on the location of goods and updating estimated times of arrival (ETAs) for the freight. This will ensure that you comply with regulations, prevent you from being fined, and improve your transportation and supply chain operations.
Additionally, sharing real-time ETA data with your customers is an increasingly required service, improves your customer relationships, and can improve your standing as a supplier of choice.
How Can Real-Time Shipment Visibility and Performance Analytics Transform Your Logistics Operations?
Wouldn’t it be great if you could have a real-time view on all your shipments, across all transport modalities and trip legs, including ETAs and CO2 emissions? Add to that, creating reports on carrier/forwarder performance on key performance indicators (KPIs) like “On-Time Deliveries”.
Those data and insights can be a huge advantage when you conduct quarterly business reviews or negotiate a new contract with a carrier/forwarder. The ETA data can also be shared with your customers and other internal or external supply chain partners so they know exactly when a shipment will arrive and can have everything in place to receive the goods (e.g. plan labor, free dock doors, streamline manufacturing, etc.).
In the case of sea/ocean transport, having accurate ETAs helps you make a smooth connection to the subsequent road or rail transport and avoid costly demurrage fees. Analyzing freight alternatives across different categories (cost, CO2, service) allows you to better plan future shipments and pick the right transport mode, such as ocean/shortsea and road transport or just road transport, to meet your business goals.
How Does Combining CO2 Reporting with Real-Time Visibility Provide a Competitive Advantage?
It is not that difficult to realize this combination. For example, one shipper in the healthcare industry (in Road, Parcel, Air and Ocean freight modalities) adopted a CO2 emission reporting and visibility solution for half a million shipments per year across several countries, implementing it in just four weeks. Companies that have implemented a solution that is able to provide mandatory CO2 and real-time visibility data are more closely managing and optimizing their logistics performance.
On top of that, they are perceived by their customers as a provider of premium service. The obligation to collect data on transport emissions should not be seen as a challenge, but as an opportunity to differentiate them from the competition. Shippers that strive to be sustainable or ‘green’ can use this as an advantage and be more successful. Furthermore, the more sustainable choice regarding transportation is often also the lower cost choice.
We hope you found this article insightful and that it helps you get an idea of how you can benefit from combining carbon footprint reporting and real-time visibility. At Descartes we are passionate about logistics and support our global customers with our modern, complete, and world leading software solutions, so if you have any feedback or questions about this topic please let us know via the button below.
Author: John Vonk
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