Challenges of Managing Logistics With Static Routing Optimization
Those shippers who rely on static route optimization processes will face increasing challenges as the movement of freight requires a proactive, strategic alignment of resources. Static route optimization involves little foresight and does not consider a vital piece of the supply chain puzzle: the influence of human error. Drivers may make mistakes, and even when everything goes according to plan, other drivers could lead to a disruption on a major thoroughfare and contribute to a disruption. Route optimization in the basic sense can improve delivery service, reduce miles, and save up to 30 percent on fleet-operating costs, reports Supply Chain Brain. Unfortunately, major challenges arise when the static, more manual approach to optimize routing fails to consider all aspects of the shipping equation, including:
- Miscommunications between dispatchers and drivers.
- Disjointed technology systems, which hamper shipment-level visibility.
- Attempting to create a route based on last-minute data and an inability to look beyond the needs of the short-term.
Dynamic Optimization Is Essential to Global Freight Management
How to Use Dynamic Rulesets and Optimization to Lower Freight Spend
- Utilize routing optimization with analytics to gain insights into operations.
- Connect assets with GPS-enabled and IoT-capable sensors to track and collect data in real-time.
- Avoid distractions and miscommunications by centralizing optimization of routes within a best-of-breed SaaS platform.
- Leverage a TMS with native omnimodal capabilities.
- Look for systems where machine learning is continuously working to offer quicker decisions for the shipper to manage routes at all times.
- Use artificial intelligence algorithms to make automatic actions and handle exceptions without requiring human intervention.
- Leverage an automated TMS that includes dynamic routing optimization and transportation modeling as a core function.
- Transform raw data into actionable insights through powerful visualization tools and business intelligence dashboards within a TMS.