Inbound Logistics | May 2022

GOODQUESTION Readers Weigh In

What’s the biggest supply chain silo?

Transportation Void The biggest supply chain silo is transportation. Providing transportation visibility across the supply chain including to customers, suppliers, and logistics partners opens up the silo. –Chris Jones EVP, Industry and Services, Descartes By far, with the impact on shipping from COVID issues, transportation is the biggest silo to overcome. With the 3G networks that so many electronic logs are configured for being decommissioned, until carriers are able to upgrade we could suffer a micro-shortage of capacity. It all depends on how agile the carriers are at upgrading to 4G. This is a silo that can only be toppled by proactive carrier engagement. –Brian C. Gaffney Supply Chain Specialist, Natural Fiber Welding Mature supply chains have developed sales and operations planning departments, but transportation isn’t typically involved . Given variables like capacity volatility, unpredictable lead times, and product shortages, breaking down that silo could help shippers conserve resources and strategically plan for capacity needs. –Aaron Galer SVP, Strategic Partners, Arrive Logistics

The origin and destination offices for importers’ supply

chains are not simply adjacent silos, they are

orbiting planets. Bring both sides together on a central supply chain management platform so they can work together in real time on the same shipment file. –Bryn Heimbeck President, Trade Tech

THE LACK OF A PLATFORM that integrates data and provides visibility to volume, dwell, railcar availability and train bunching, and truck capacity and driver shortages. –Tom Martucci Chief Technology Officer, Consolidated Intermodal Technologies DATA. From suppliers not sharing data with producers to manufacturers not knowing when to ramp up or down staffing, the lack of good data or lack of access to it can hurt everything from productivity to shipping. –Carl Schweihs

SALES AND OPERATIONS TEAMS are often disconnected. Lacking a unified view of the customer leads to a weak, inconsistent customer experience— and lost sales. Customer relationship management software helps put everyone on the same page. –Mark Buman Chief Revenue Officer, Magaya INEFFECTIVE PACKAGING MANAGEMENT causes shortages, loss, expedited freight, and an overall poor performing supply chain. To break this silo, companies must look at their supply chain holistically and

THE DISCONNECT BETWEEN STRATEGIC PLANNING and day-to- day tactical supply chain optimization. The functional areas that contribute to both ends should collaborate to make deliberate trade-offs to remain aligned overall with the big-picture strategy. Give enough latitude to respond to daily business needs—but without jettisoning strategic progress.

–Troy Prothero SVP, Product Management, Supply Chain Solutions Symphony RetailAI

President and COO PeopleManagement, a TrueBlue company

10 Inbound Logistics • May 2022

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