Companies with large logistics networks have been turning to technology to optimize their operations. Some of the largest have either implemented or are in the process of implementing an intelligent planning platform that puts them in control of their logistics network and gives them a clear advantage.

Here are three deceptively simple questions that their planners will be able answer – quickly and accurately – every single time.

Three questions that reveal your competitiveness

How would your planners tackle the challenge of routing a shipment that’s half a trailer load?

When each decision can have hundreds of unintended consequences, how sure are you that these decisions are actually advancing your business goals?

Question 1: Should you use a direct transport or rely on linehauls? If you use linehauls how many hubs should you route the shipment through?

There’s no easy answer to this one. Sometimes it’s more cost-efficient to consolidate shipments and transport them directly. On other occasions, routing it through network lines may produce better results.

Unless planners receive immediate feedback on how a decision will affect network-wide KPIs, they have no way of knowing which option will minimize costs while still adhering to service levels.

Question 2: How will any delay affect the rest of your shipments?

Let’s say a planner has decided that it’s more cost effective to use a linehaul.

Unfortunately, the half-trailer load can only arrive at the relevant hub two hours after the linehaul is scheduled to leave.

Should the linehaul wait for the shipment? And if it does, how will this affect the other shipments on that linehaul?

Question 3: Where are the opportunities for trailer swaps?

Suppose the planner manages to consolidate the shipment with another one, and chooses a direct transport. This leads to another problem: The proposed trip is so long that the driver won’t be able to return home on the same day.

New questions now need to be answered.

Are there opportunities for a trailer swap? If there are, how far are the swapped deliveries from the driver’s home base?

How many empty miles will be incurred after making the deliveries? Is there another load the driver can pick up on the way back to the depot?

What the competition looks like

Your planners are under enormous pressure to arrive at decisions quickly. The cumulative cost of these hurriedly thought through decisions can be enormous. Regularly losing, say, 20% of your capacity or adding 2% more in empty miles can mean the difference between profit and loss, being able to compete and being outclassed by the competition.

But what if you had an intelligent planning system that’s constantly looking ahead to ensure that your drivers, trucks and trailers are strategically placed to handle forecasted and confirmed loads?

What if the same system could calculate all the millions of consequences of planning decisions, and compare them (bearing in mind all relevant circumstances, confirmed bookings and forecasted bookings) to arrive at an optimal solution?

And what if that system were constantly optimizing decisions – both before and on the day of operations – to ensure that every decision advanced your business goals?

What if your competitor had such a system and you didn’t?

A company with this kind of intelligence, wouldn’t just be more efficient. It would soon develop a formidable reputation for being able to keep delivery promises and adhere to narrow time windows.

Logistics has never been a level playing field. As more players implement intelligent planning platforms, the field will be tilted even further.

How ready are you for the new competitive landscape that’s just around the corner?

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Why intelligent logistics is a game changer