Connected logistics and supply chain is the leading efficiency enabler within the current Covid-19 pandemic related transportation ‘adaptation’. It’s critical to track everything from order creation to the final delivery to the consignee. We can see this need stand paramount across manufacturing, FMCG, pharmaceuticals, retail, e-commerce, chemicals, cement, oil and gas, coal and metal bulk loads, etc.
In this blog, you will see the Fretron way to ensure complete supply chain visibility, accountability and reliability with our robust Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled connected logistics platform.
Fretron’s complete transportation management system (TMS) helps plan, create, manage, track and optimize every order, load, shipment, and delivery. It helps integrate multiple enterprise software into a single interface. It also helps securely on-board shippers, carriers, LSPs, vendor partners, and consignees onto a single platform for seamless business process automation.
Fretron’s complete TMS adds another strong ‘power-up’ for its clients. The ‘Control Tower’ – a centralized and all-process (single) platform with the abilities to create, track and control all orders and shipment.
Read More: 4 pillars of a complete transportation management system
Let’s all follow the journey of an order from creation to delivery and see how this works.
Fretron’s has an astute process for order creation. However, for connected logistics, you can look at the order tracking process. Each order is marked with a unique tracking code.
Fretron then enables optimized load-building with a proper loading schedule and connected fleet management. The system optimizes all loads for high (fleet) capacity utilization (as per volume or weight). The handlers and loaders scan each order and unit into the system (with a location and timestamp).
Read More: Top order planning mantras to boost your logistics management
In-yard detention is a major bottleneck for most of the shippers, logistics service providers (LSPs), carriers, freight forwarders, vendor partners, etc.
In India, in-yard loading and unloading detention holds trucks and drivers for 3-6 hours on an average. This detention increases inter-city turnaround times by 100-130% (as major cities have freight movement restrictions during certain times of the day).
In the US, a report by the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) indicated that 27.4% of the drivers were detained in yards for 6 or more hours. The detention is harder on smaller carriers as they tend to absorb excess delay costs to stay competitive. Loading and unloading detention is a unique disruptor in the industry as a whole, globally.
Fretron’s connected logistics ‘tech-solves’ this detention with total in-yard fleet movement visibility and control.
Each truck has a GPS device that sends its exact location even within the yard. Fretron’s control tower syncs this location analytics with the loading schedule. The drivers have Fretron’s smartphone apps.
The system intimates the right truck to align with the loading at the right time. It gives complete visibility of not just each in-yard truck but also the exact estimated time of arrival (ETA) of all in-coming trucks.
This gives the handlers and managers complete load-building and scheduling control to reduce this detention time.
Read More: How the only complete TMS would 10x your logistics efficiency
Fretron’s connected logistics ensures that the trucks in the yard have minimal detention and leave the yard on time. A shipment that leaves on time has, in an ideal world, the highest probability of reaching its destination on time.
Delayed dispatch may lead to speeding and eventual delayed arrival at the destination. This would further congest the destination and result in more detention.
The US Department of Transportation (DOT) Office of Inspector General Report (OIG) published a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) report in January 2018:
“We estimated that a 15-minute increase in average dwell time – the total time spent by a truck at a facility (yard) – increases the average expected crash rate by 6.2 per cent.”
Fretron’s connected logistics enables geospatial optimization like Geofencing for improved yard and dispatch management. The authorities have total visibility of where the trucks are when it should leave the yard. The system syncs the loading schedule with the ideal dispatch schedule for the optimized supply chain management.
Our real-time shipment movement visibility is well established and talked about.
Read More: End-to-end freight movement visibility | The Catalyst
The system tracks every single movement of the shipment in real-time. Fretron’s end-to-end freight visibility and control tower help answer these questions.
The full-visibility control tower answers all these questions and more.
All information is centralized and accounted for in the system. This includes all necessary documents and papers. The system syncs all necessary documentation with the order, the route, the truck and the driver. This cuts down any stoppage or downtime along the road.
The system sends all alerts covering each anomaly like a delay or a deviation to the right person (authorized to resolve them) instantly. This ‘agility’ and ‘responsiveness’ brings in dynamism in logistics management. The client can take immediate action and handle the situation on-point.
Fretron’s IoT-enabled GPS devices track all shipments and trucks: no-errors, no-blind spot, no-noise. It’s all-clean and fault-less tracking data. The system instantly processes all this tracking information into actionable insights for the client.
At the destination, the handlers out-scan every unit back into the system. The TMS engine matches the order tracking ids from in-scans (at the source yard/hub) to the out-scan at the destination. It highlights all discrepancies (like missing items, damaged goods, etc.) right then.
The Electronic Proof of Delivery (EPOD) reflects all these details. The consignee digitally signs the EPOD (as the details are in agreement for both parties). The system syncs the EPOD instantly with the central system. The unloading and delivery validation is, hence, optimized and automated.
The other layer of difficulty that most supply chain stakeholders face is delayed billing and settlements. Fretron’s connected logistics, across the order journey, plugs in every relevant information required for speed claim handling and audit.
Read More: How AI-powered billing and settlements can boost your transportation management
Right from the order creation stage to the final delivery handover, the system identifies and (time and location) stamps all relevant details. The client can trace all exceptions, service level agreement (SLA) violations (relating to penalties) and discrepancies to its origin. This fast tracks the audit and, subsequently, the settlements.
The platform also simplifies and automates purchase order creation, invoicing, billing and settlements in a single screen. This brings all stakeholders on the same ‘page’ (pun unintended). It also integrates seamlessly with all account payable systems to streamline secure information flow.
You have already seen different applications (or enablement) of connected logistics. Here’s the ‘hygiene’ benefit of this IoT-enabled platform. Fretron’s complete TMS helps track the condition of each vehicle, the timelines of all its permits, and the necessary documents relating to the drivers.
The client can easily track every important maintenance requirement of each vehicle. Such automated fleet management analytics helps cut down potential breakdowns and subsequent delays (even loss of business).
To wrap it up, Fretron understands the importance of a robust infrastructure. This is what gives it the edge when it comes to reliability, availability, and manageability.
References:
We are Fretron, India’s 1st cloud-based, collaborative Transport Management System, which connects Shippers, Logistic Service Providers, and Fleet Owners to enable a simpler, efficient & responsive logistics network.
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Email: sales@fretron.com
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