What retailers want from their inbound supply chain is simple. They want the greatest product availability with the lowest inventory. Or put another way, they want the right goods at the right and shortest time possible with the correct labeling and supporting electronic documentation to allow those goods to seamlessly flow through their distribution network to their stores or customers. However a number of factors conspire against a retailer’s vision of a high velocity, high precision supply chain: suppliers, third-party logistics services providers (3PLs) and transportation providers with varying levels of capability and performance, disconnected processes and technologies across the supply chain and poor synchronization of all of the commercial, logistics and customs documents from purchase order to warehouse receipt. Traditional solutions have been enterprise focused, addressed only pieces of the retail inbound problem and in some cases produced competing and supply chain slowing results.
To meet retailer’s inbound supply chain needs, Descartes created Logistics Flow Control, a comprehensive multi-party solution that spans the entire purchase order to warehouse receipt process that collaboratively brings together all of the parties – retailer, suppliers, 3PLs, transportation services providers, and brokers to simultaneously manage commercial, logistics and customs inbound processes. As part of Descartes’ cloud-based Logistics Technology Platform, Logistics Flow Control can be implemented in a modular fashion and leverages Descartes Global Logistics Network to get results faster. With Logistics Flow Control, retailers gain greater command of their supply chain, improving product availability, while reducing inventory, logistics and compliance costs.