Supply Chain Visibility Software: What It Is and 4 Compelling Reasons You Need It

If your business has a supply chain, you need supply chain visibility software. Here’s why.
supply chain visibility software

If your business has a supply chain, you need supply chain visibility software. Here’s why.

What Is Supply Chain Visibility Software?

First things first: what is supply chain visibility software?

It’s basically a technology solution that optimizes the logistics of a supply chain. It uses real-time tracking, via GPS or ELD devices, to monitor shipments throughout the delivery process.

Each link in the supply chain can access real-time data to gain more accurate reports than ever before. Everyone involved in the process knows exactly when shipments in transit will arrive at each stop of the journey.

Supply chain visibility software can also include features like predictive estimated times of arrival, appointment scheduling, risk monitoring, and multi-dimensional historical reporting and analytics.

Why Do You Need Supply Chain Visibility Software?

It should already be apparent just how much supply chain visibility software can enhance your supply chain. But let’s dig deeper into why you need it.

1. Reduce Costs

Overall, without a lack of visibility, you can experience internal and external inefficiencies at every step of the delivery process, from the warehouse to inbound and outbound transportation operations.

In turn, that can lead to an increase in costs. It can also result in customer dissatisfaction.

On the other hand, when you utilize the features of supply chain visibility software, you can actually reduce operating costs. You can more accurately plan schedules, minimize dwell time, and cut detention costs.

In turn, with greater efficiency and smooth operations, your end customers will get their packages delivered on time and be happy.

2. Automate Tracking Tasks

This may be obvious, but it’s worth pointing out. When you use supply chain visibility software, you automate tracking tasks, thereby eliminating the need for time-consuming manual tracking tasks and ensuring every shipment is visible at every point of its journey.

Of course, tracking also means you can provide real-time status updates to your customers, which goes a long way to creating happy customers.

With some supply chain visibility software, you can even share live-tracking dashboards that have encrypted URLs with your VIP customers.

3. Improve On-time Delivery

You should have already realized that by using supply chain visibility software, you can improve on-time deliveries.

Giving your customers arrival times that they can rely on is crucial to maintaining customer satisfaction.

Delivering on time not only enhances your company’s reputation. It also enables you to maintain efficient operational supply chains and, in turn, reduce dwell time and save money.

With the best supply chain visibility software, you can also proactively manage on-time exceptions, such as using alerts for bad weather conditions and traffic standstills.

4. Increase Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty

We’ve already touched upon how customers can benefit from supply chains that utilize supply chain visibility software, but it’s worth mentioning just how important this benefit is. 

With access to real-time updates about the status of their orders and an efficient system that ensures their packages arrive on time, customers will be happy.

That means they will use your company again and recommend you to their friends, family, or colleagues.

Customers are at the heart of any business. When you embrace supply chain visibility software, you can increase customer retention, attract more new customers, and build a reputable and trustworthy brand. And by doing that, you can stay a step ahead of your competitors.

Summing Up

If you’re still not convinced that you need supply chain visibility software, you need to consider the above points again.

To recap, the software can help you to:

  • Reduce costs.
  • Automate tracking tasks.
  • Improve on-time delivery.
  • Increase customer satisfaction and loyalty.

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