Even when everything seems to be going well, sometimes shipments just get misplaced. Carriers lose packages for various reasons, and the risk increases with the number of hub and vehicle transfers in the transportation network. In addition to using an AI-enabled TMS in their own operations, manufacturers and retailers should choose carriers with digital fleet management and TMS capabilities that support highly automated material handling. Look for transparent transportation networks that frequently scan shipments and report real-time status to ensure accuracy and accountability. More scans mean greater visibility for your company and your customers.
#10. Last-mile delivery failure
When customers are unavailable to receive shipments, the reattempted delivery is usually late. Asking customers to sort out delivery problems is common, but that forfeits an opportunity to provide on-time delivery and higher service levels — and build long-term loyalty. An advanced TMS helps shippers take ownership and control of the customer’s freight receipt, with proactive monitoring and notifications of deliveries.
Blue Yonder: Your One-Stop Source for Delay Mitigation
Many manufacturers and retailers have implemented digital processes for demand and supply planning, order management and other supply chain activities. But digital transportation management is often overlooked. This makes little sense, as the transportation function is a huge cost center — and it’s also where the rubber meets the road in terms of building strong customer and consumer relationships.
Today’s transportation process is too dynamic and complex to manage using manual analysis, spreadsheets and outdated TMS tools. Shippers have too much to lose to stick with the status quo — and allow these top 10 delay factors to impact their delivery performance.
Volatility and disruptions are here to stay, but manufacturers and retailers can proactively adopt advanced, AI-enabled transportation management systems to mitigate their impacts.
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Getting shipments from the production facility or warehouse to the retail store or the consumer’s doorstep is a lot more complicated than it used to be.
Today’s supply chains span thousands of miles, cross continents and oceans, rely on multiple modes of transportation, and involve many supplier tiers. Geopolitical tensions, rising fuel costs, driver shortages, blocked shipping lanes and frequent supply chain disruptions make it tough to achieve reliable on-time delivery amid this complexity. And let’s not forget demand volatility, which makes the right product/ right place/right time a moving target.
As manufacturers and retailers rush to get their products delivered to stores, consumers’ homes and offices, third-party drop points, micro-fulfillment centers and other destinations, shipping delays are inevitable in this complex landscape. But they’re also costly — causing damage to sales numbers, retailer and consumer relationships, and the brand reputation.
There is good news, though. Advanced digital software, enabled by artificial intelligence (AI) — like the Blue Yonder Transportation Management solution — are purpose-built to address the top causes of shipping delays. Customers in every industry are using Blue Yonder’s capabilities, infused with AI, to mitigate delay-causing events before they impact delivery performance.
So what are the top reasons for shipping delays? In its work with thousands of customers, Blue Yonder has identified the top 10 causes:
#1. Physical roadblocks
From highway traffic to blocked shipping lanes in the Red Sea, physical roadblocks are one of the most common reasons for delayed shipments. While these kinds of events are hard to predict and impossible to eliminate, modern transportation management system (TMS) solutions can help. By recognizing new route conditions in near real time, TMS software can reroute shipments dynamically, balancing cost and service goals to arrive at the best possible outcome, usually in mere seconds. Manufacturers and retailers should ensure that their internal teams and third-party transportation providers are capitalizing on advanced digital solutions to mitigate the impact of roadblocks.
#2. Ineffective transportation planning
Not only do outdated TMS solutions lack the capability to dynamically manage physical disruptions — they’re also unable to create a truly cost-effective, service-oriented transportation plan in the first place. Outdated solutions don’t consider enough possibilities and parameters across the complex global supply chain. And they can’t identify and mitigate all the risk factors along the way. Legacy planning solutions leave shipments vulnerable to surprises that result in late deliveries. The reality is that ocean, rail, air and road transportation networks are full of potential obstacles. Only advanced TMS solutions, enhanced by AI, can effectively model, anticipate and prevent disruptions, enabling seamless navigation of the complexities in modern logistics.
#3. Problems with shipping documentation
With nearshoring, cross-border shipping and international logistics heating up, documentation problems are a growing source of delays. Every shipment requires complete, accurate documentation that meets exacting specifications. If there’s a single incorrect digit in the street address, or one misspelled name, shipments can be stopped cold. What can shippers do? Leverage a multi-modal TMS process that’s built to manage and automate all documentation, including forms, labels and data required by carriers, customers, government agencies and customs officials.
#4. A lack of real-time visibility
Another advantage of an advanced TMS? It gathers data from across the supply chain, as well as external sources, to identify potential delay-causing events at the earliest opportunity. The earlier an exception is detected, the more options a company has available to ensure shipments stay on track. The TMS should have near-real-time data ingestion capabilities and integrate seamlessly with third-party visibility platforms.
#5. Extreme weather
With natural disasters and extreme weather events increasing in frequency and severity, shippers need to be prepared in advance for these short-lived, unpredictable and very localized delivery disruptions. The TMS should have the capability to ingest weather data from an external source, identify potential threats, quantify delivery risks, and quickly execute a mitigation strategy like choosing an alternate route, mode or equipment type.
#6. Equipment failure
There’s no way to completely eliminate the chance that brakes, tires, electrical systems, trailer couplings and engines will fail on the way to a delivery. Manufacturers and retailers can minimize their risk, however, by incorporating carriers’ vehicle maintenance and safety records into their freight procurement decisions. U.S.-based freight carriers have CSA (compliance, safety and accountability) scores that can be used as a decision factor, in addition to cost. Shippers who rely on cost alone may be unknowingly choosing outdated, failure-prone equipment to transport their critical shipments.
#7. Driver shortages and restrictions
The U.S. has a well-recognized driver shortage — and drivers are also subject to hours-of-service (HOS) restrictions that limit their time at the wheel each day. Traffic and other physical obstacles mean that the clock is ticking on a shipment, even when it’s not moving. A modern TMS will apply these HOS rules, and other driver availability factors, as inputs when assigning shipments. And, of course, the TMS acts to increase driver productivity by avoiding traffic, inclement weather and other roadblocks upfront.
#8. Insufficient carrier capacity
Securing carrier capacity can be challenging, especially during peak transportation seasons. The right TMS will have the forward-looking visibility to accurately forecast market demand and carrier capacity. It will also integrate seamlessly with digital freight markets, digital bidding platforms and brokerage partners. Advanced digital TMS solutions give shippers greater speed, agility and flexibility in finding cost-effective capacity.
