How often does your organization think about order fulfillment, routing, and optimization? Failures within inbound freight management will naturally lead to problems fulfilling orders and an inability to properly optimize outbound freight. The application of an advanced transportation management system, specifically a TMS that provides inbound freight capabilities, proves valuable to shippers who wish to perform fulfillment, routing, and freight optimization. Shippers and logistics service providers who want to increase profitability for their enterprises need to understand the challenges of managing inbound freight in a world that is frequently driven by e-commerce. Also important to consider is how optimization requires the application of data and a few best practices in order to maximize the value of using an advanced TMS for inbound freight.
Challenges in Managing Inbound Freight in an E-Commerce World
E-commerce is integral to the success of any business today. Retailers realize the value of fulfilling orders online, and in today’s world, omnichannel capabilities are crucial for achieving competitive advantage. Unfortunately, the growth of international shipping for e-commerce presents additional challenges for inbound freight management. According to Supply Chain Brain:
Meanwhile, Inbound Logistics also contributes to the discussion:
When you add in these market forces as mentioned above with various supply chain disruptions, such as what we’ve seen with the coronavirus pandemic, there is a lot of pressure on professionals to stay proactive and keep costs low around inbound freight. One way to tackle costs and remain proactive is to consider how inbound freight visibility centers around data and clear collaboration.
Inbound Freight Management Centers on Data and Supplier-Carrier Collaboration
How to Maximize Inbound Freight Value in a TMS
- Improve schedule reliability with centralized scheduling tools for carriers, suppliers, and shippers.
- Proactively recognize disruptions.
- Handle payment processing immediately and accurately.
- Leverage business intelligence and analytics to make data-driven decisions.
- Integrate your TMS with other supply chain systems such as a WMS or ERP.
- Encourage supply chain partners to deploy like, if not the same, TMS platforms.
- Allow robotics process automation (RPA) to self-optimize claims’ filing and resolution processes.