What is Order Visibility & Order Centricity in Logistics?

From tracking our favorite pizza delivery to eagerly awaiting the arrival of an online purchase, the modern world thrives on the seamless flow of orders in our daily lives. In the complex realm of logistics, order visibility is not just a luxury. Order visibility is a necessity for businesses to meet growing consumer demands and optimize their supply chain processes.

This blog defines order visibility and order centricity, examines their significance in logistics, and explains how MercuryGate TMS empowers shippers and logistics service providers to meet customer expectations in every stage of the shipment lifecycle.

What is Order Visibility?

Order visibility is the automated process of tracking goods and activities through their entire lifecycle, from work-in-process before shipment to the final destination. It encompasses all modes of transportation, including ocean, air, truck, rail, and parcel, and supports logistics service providers across various system platforms, regardless of their sophistication.

Connecting your trading partners to a unified, up-to-date source of information creates a data-sharing network that enhances order visibility across facilities, transportation providers, trading partners, suppliers, and logistics service providers. This network of visibility enables organizations to proactively detect and resolve problems in support of a consistent and predictable flow of goods across the supply chain.

What is Order Centricity?

Order centricity refers to the ability to process orders into transportation moves with ease while maintaining visibility of order details throughout the entire lifecycle, from order release to final delivery. This concept is integral to efficient logistics operations management and serves as the foundation for seamless order visibility.
In the context of MercuryGate TMS, order centricity brings orders to the forefront by introducing a whole new interface for viewing orders and order line items. The system streamlines the process of releasing orders for shipping, ensuring a common and efficient approach to managing transportation activities. By focusing on visibility throughout the transportation lifecycle, order centricity enables businesses to monitor and manage their orders effectively, ultimately enhancing their supply chain performance.

Who Uses Order Centricity?

Various stakeholders within the logistics and supply chain ecosystem use the order centricity function to optimize operations and enhance order visibility. Let’s examine how two key players in the supply chain use order centricity to support their roles:

Supplier

Suppliers are responsible for scheduling shipments to buyers based on requested shipping dates and product availability. Once the product is available for shipping, the supplier generates a request for routing that is sent to the buyer. This request includes details like actual shipping units and weights. By leveraging order centricity, suppliers streamline their processes and ensure timely communication with buyers, ultimately improving overall efficiency and customer satisfaction.

Purchasing

Purchasing professionals play a crucial role in ensuring supplier compliance and tracking the timely release of orders. Purchasing responds to internal requests about the status of a particular order or order line item. With the help of order centricity, purchasing teams monitor order details and progress more effectively. As a result, they can address any concerns or issues promptly and maintain a smooth flow of goods within the supply chain.

What is the Value Of Order Centricity?

The value of order centricity lies in three key areas: visibility, efficiency, and financial benefits.
By integrating the ezVision load board, MercuryGate TMS brings orders into a structured format with grid views and underlying detail screens that are fast and intuitive. This enhanced visibility enables transportation planners and purchasing professionals to quickly determine which load an order is moving on and assess the shipment status. Furthermore, the new shipping cart feature provides a streamlined way to view order lines, allowing suppliers to release orders and order line items more efficiently. The intuitive interface also reduces training costs for suppliers and other parties, while ensuring proper routing for order releases to minimize transportation expenses.
For both suppliers and purchasing professionals, order centricity simplifies order management by introducing a new load board grid and an order line items grid. These features enable quick assessment of the order and item status, as well as the ability to perform actions on one or many orders at once. This approach allows suppliers to efficiently allocate available products. Purchasing teams make more informed decisions. Ultimately, supply chain management is more streamlined and effective.

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Elevate Order Visibility and Centricity with MercuryGate TMS

MercuryGate TMS revolutionizes supply chain management by enhancing order visibility through order centricity functionality. By streamlining processes for suppliers and purchasing professionals, this powerful tool empowers businesses to make more informed decisions and optimize their operations, from order planning through final delivery.

Ready to see Order Centricity in action? Watch the Velocity webinar for use case presentations.

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Bradley McPhail
Product Manager
MercuryGate International, Inc.
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