Real-time visibility in logistics is a complex and rapidly evolving market. The industry is continuing to develop and customer needs are constantly shifting - particularly amidst the ongoing disruption caused by COVID-19. Businesses are also having to move faster. They’re under more pressure than ever to drive efficiencies across their supply chain networks, build resilience and flexibility into their operations, and find ways to differentiate themselves from the competition. Meeting these requirements will be key to success in 2021 and beyond.
At Sixfold, we’re also constantly evolving to ensure that we’re able to meet the needs of our customers. It’s an ongoing journey and one we’re fully committed to. This year, our starting point was the feedback and suggestions for improvement we received from our customers, as well as from other companies that have evaluated various real time visibility solutions as part of the Gartner peer reviews. We have listened carefully to all the pain points in the real time visibility market and worked hard to remove the biggest technical and operational roadblocks. This way we can ensure that every customer benefits from the fastest implementation, the best project support and the fastest time-to-value.
Here are the three main areas that customers of the largest real-time visibility platforms were dissatisfied with, and our solutions:
Challenge #1: Long path to ROI, caused by a missing link to transport execution, slow project ramp-up, and a lack of guidance / consulting
Technical knowledge and market expertise are among our greatest strengths. However, we want to bring this knowledge even closer to our customers and leverage it even more effectively. Therefore, teaming up with Transporeon in a new structure, we have ensured that each project gets the attention and expertise it needs.
Solution: Each project is accompanied by an experienced RTV expert, who guides it in a data-driven manner
With a team of over 300 operational experts, we are stronger than ever. Through an 8-week program, your personal RTV-expert will set you up for success, plan the onboarding with you, start the rollout and training of your employees, and work with you on the right strategy for using RTV data in your daily business. The project success is guaranteed by data-driven analysis and automated reports on the performance of your project. Read and watch how our customers have reaped the benefits of real-time visibility in just two months #FollowMyProgress.
Challenge #2: Expectations regarding covered transport modes are not met
Whatever a vendor says or advertises, complex transports rarely work out-of-the-box and require various preconditions (availability of data, capability to process different types of data for different use cases etc). This is why we have worked deep within our product to accommodate as many use cases as possible, and as easily as possible.
Solution: Our rich standard interface offers the right solution for every use case
Whether it’s complex transport structures (tractor switches, LTL and groupage transports) or changing transport modes (rail, barge, ocean, etc.), we offer an easy-to-use API for every use case. Also, stay tuned as we will be posting more exciting information about our latest collaborations over the coming weeks.
Challenge #3: Carrier onboarding phase is slower than promised
Carrier onboarding always requires a strong commitment by the implementing party and consistent communication of the new requirements to its transport network. This remains the key to a fast onboarding process, independently of which RTV solution is implemented. We have taken many steps to make it easier for committed carriers, including more support materials and a bigger support team serving +26 languages, self-service free integration options, and the possibility to integrate all systems - including those from other vendors.
Solution: Subcarrier onboarding works with one click and offers carriers real added value
Easy and fast management of subcarriers provides carriers with visibility across their entire fleets, empowering them to manage ongoing transports and find the most suitable asset/subcarrier for an upcoming load. Tooling that helps with fleet management ensures the best possible data quality, e.g. monitoring data quality, adding/removing assets, etc.
On average 79% of all carriers are onboarded in less than 3 days and 71% of carriers are onboarded automatically (with no human support interaction). The simplicity and efficacy of our carrier onboarding has been proven by our customers, e.g. Kingspan was able to actively track 82% of the total carrier base in less than two weeks (no money back guarantee needed as our onboarding service is fully free of charge).
But this is just the beginning. Our pledge for 2021 is that we will always listen and act upon the feedback you provide in order to deliver a solution that truly meets your needs. So let's start a successful 2021 together and kick-start your real-time visibility strategy.