Control Tower: Simplifying Supply Chain Logistics

The logistics industry spans the globe and the process is quite complex, making it difficult to track the status of the shipments. Previously, the customer would only know the two milestones, the departure and the arrival of the shipment, what happens to the consignment during the transit was unknown. There was no transparency or control, creating a complete vacuum for the customer and showing the inefficiency of freight forwarders. Such challenges fractured the supply chain. To overcome it, new technologies and strategies were incorporated that will not become irrelevant in the competitive market with time. “Control Tower” is one such technology that has become increasingly prevalent in the supply chain to monitor and track deliveries in real-time, providing milestones information as it happens and much more to make the process simpler and efficient from Purchase Order to Last Mile Delivery.

What does a Control Tower do?

A Control Tower is a Central Hub in the supply chain which comprises of required technology and processes to capture transportation data and provide complete visibility in real-time to customers to make short-term and futuristic decisions for the business. The control tower data also helps in monitoring performance and controlling cost.

Why do logistics companies need a supply chain tower?

Complete visibility: A Control Tower allows end-to-end visibility and transparency to the supply chain process. The traditional method does not offer much information and does not provide any gain to the business process.
Real-time tracking: One can easily track the cargo or shipment through their smart device and have easy communication with the drivers to know the visibility and to manage orders easily.
Omni-channel access: Control tower access is not limited to only one device, but can be login into any device and get the information.
Data analytics: Decision-making for any business depends on the data that has been captured from the control tower. The data collected is utilized to inspect, cleanse and transform it into useful information that can be used for decision making.
Notifications and real-time alerts: On-time notifications on each milestone let know the customers where the shipment is and they can make necessary arrangements for the next steps.
Attention to core business: With logistics or freight forwarders handling the logistics process, it becomes easy for the customer to concentrate on their core business. The experts can analyse the requirements and focus on what they do best, that is, getting the consignment delivered to you on time and highest standard of quality.
Real-time alerts, end-to-end visibility and control are what Control towers provide to its customers. Apart from that, it helps in decision-making by providing comprehensive information on orders, shipments, and inventory across all nodes.
20Cube Logistics has set up its control tower and due to this it experiences: 

•  Complete visibility
• 90% reduction in stock-outs
•  75% decrease in expedition costs
• 100% enhancement in on-time shipments