Picture this: a customer service representative (CSR) gets a frantic call from a customer asking about parts. In this scenario, the customer is waiting for the supplier to deliver critical parts for a product which is scheduled on the line in a few hours. The customer service department's initial step is to check the order status where the item will be identified as being delivered, en route for delivery, awaiting customs etc.

Usually, tracing the shipment to a particular order is more complicated than just opening up the order status screen. If a product is en route, the CSR should be able to connect the item with the delivery truck and provide an estimated time of arrival (ETA) at the customer's location. At times, it's very crucial for customers to have this information in order to figure out if they should reschedule a production line or just wait for the product. But the hurdle in answering this question is figuring out how far a truck driver is from the delivery location and if the inventory can be located in-transit with a third-party logistics provider (3PL).

More and more companies are trying to realign their supply chain due to competitive pressures, by identifying new areas for revenue and improving overall customer service by providing on-time delivery of products with fewer errors in shipments and fewer damaged goods. Usually an organization's supply chain creates the rhythm for the whole organization. Wouldn't it be great to see inside a truck at any given time during the transportation process to figure out which finished goods are being delivered and which items the organization will be receiving?

Having the ability to identify, change, and monitor shipments from origin to destination gives an organization reliability, flexibility, and transparency within the entire supply chain. With the use of in-transit visibility (ITV) capabilities an organization will be able to meet the challenges of rapidly increasing fuel prices and changes in regulatory requirements, and provide customers with premium services without increasing the total cost of operations.

To further explore ITV, it's beneficial to understand the origin of the concepts. The ITV concept originated from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) in the early 1990s. It was mainly used by the DoD to achieve better visibility to track goods within the supply chain in war zones. Now, the ITV concept is being adopted by many transportation companies to provide extended visibility for their customers and used for an organization's internal operations.

A technical report written by Asvin Goel on In-Transit Visibility provides a complete overview, defines the concept, and answers the following questions: How is ITV achieved? What value does ITV create for the organization's supply chain? How is value created by ITV's implementation to the overall performance of the organizations supply chain measured? In the next two sections, our main focus will be on the overall concept of ITV. We will examine how an organization's transportation operation benefits from ITV and how it can be integrated with software solutions.
Visibility is the ability to obtain information or data easily and accurately. Within a supply chain, visibility plays a vital role. There are three levels of visibility within an organization (collectively, usually called total asset visibility): in-stock, in-process, and in-transit. In-stock and in-process visibility are within the organization's walls. ITV refers to the ability to track items or goods moving within the supply chain logistics or at a 3PL provider location. ITV applications have the ability to manage products receiving value-added services such as custom packaging and re-packaging either through internal operations or by 3PL providers. ITV tools are commonly used in the transportation industry to bring efficiency and profitability into the transportation of goods. ITV applications have the ability to understand and track the status and location of inventory and shipments from their original destinations to delivery destination, which provides accurate visibility into the supply chain, thus eliminating fuel consumption, waste of time, and resources.

ITV can create value based on the capabilities of each contributor within the transportation network. ITV can provide real-time updates on assets which are in transit. This capability can be used by manufacturing and planning teams to run short-term forecasts, identify transportation bottle necks, and provide proof of delivery and compliance to customers in real time. It will also make the organization capable of invoicing or allocating shipments in transit to customer-specific orders. ITV will help an organization's customer service department provide an ETA to customer inquires as well as raise any alerts for late deliveries or road blocks caused by customs, traffic, etc.

With ITV, organizations can eliminate any risks and optimize tasks for truck drivers. By rerouting or expediting shipments, a delayed shipment can be resolved in real time because a dispatcher will be able to communicate with the truck driver.

Picture this: a customer service representative (CSR) gets a frantic call from a customer asking about parts. In this scenario, the customer is waiting for the supplier to deliver critical parts for a product which is scheduled on the line in a few hours. The customer service department's initial step is to check the order status where the item will be identified as being delivered, en route for delivery, awaiting customs etc.

Usually, tracing the shipment to a particular order is more complicated than just opening up the order status screen. If a product is en route, the CSR should be able to connect the item with the delivery truck and provide an estimated time of arrival (ETA) at the customer's location. At times, it's very crucial for customers to have this information in order to figure out if they should reschedule a production line or just wait for the product. But the hurdle in answering this question is figuring out how far a truck driver is from the delivery location and if the inventory can be located in-transit with a third-party logistics provider (3PL).

More and more companies are trying to realign their supply chain due to competitive pressures, by identifying new areas for revenue and improving overall customer service by providing on-time delivery of products with fewer errors in shipments and fewer damaged goods. Usually an organization's supply chain creates the rhythm for the whole organization. Wouldn't it be great to see inside a truck at any given time during the transportation process to figure out which finished goods are being delivered and which items the organization will be receiving?

Having the ability to identify, change, and monitor shipments from origin to destination gives an organization reliability, flexibility, and transparency within the entire supply chain. With the use of in-transit visibility (ITV) capabilities an organization will be able to meet the challenges of rapidly increasing fuel prices and changes in regulatory requirements, and provide customers with premium services without increasing the total cost of operations.

To further explore ITV, it's beneficial to understand the origin of the concepts. The ITV concept originated from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) in the early 1990s. It was mainly used by the DoD to achieve better visibility to track goods within the supply chain in war zones. Now, the ITV concept is being adopted by many transportation companies to provide extended visibility for their customers and used for an organization's internal operations.

A technical report written by Asvin Goel on In-Transit Visibility provides a complete overview, defines the concept, and answers the following questions: How is ITV achieved? What value does ITV create for the organization's supply chain? How is value created by ITV's implementation to the overall performance of the organizations supply chain measured? In the next two sections, our main focus will be on the overall concept of ITV. We will examine how an organization's transportation operation benefits from ITV and how it can be integrated with software solutions.
Visibility is the ability to obtain information or data easily and accurately. Within a supply chain, visibility plays a vital role. There are three levels of visibility within an organization (collectively, usually called total asset visibility): in-stock, in-process, and in-transit. In-stock and in-process visibility are within the organization's walls. ITV refers to the ability to track items or goods moving within the supply chain logistics or at a 3PL provider location. ITV applications have the ability to manage products receiving value-added services such as custom packaging and re-packaging either through internal operations or by 3PL providers. ITV tools are commonly used in the transportation industry to bring efficiency and profitability into the transportation of goods. ITV applications have the ability to understand and track the status and location of inventory and shipments from their original destinations to delivery destination, which provides accurate visibility into the supply chain, thus eliminating fuel consumption, waste of time, and resources.

ITV can create value based on the capabilities of each contributor within the transportation network. ITV can provide real-time updates on assets which are in transit. This capability can be used by manufacturing and planning teams to run short-term forecasts, identify transportation bottle necks, and provide proof of delivery and compliance to customers in real time. It will also make the organization capable of invoicing or allocating shipments in transit to customer-specific orders. ITV will help an organization's customer service department provide an ETA to customer inquires as well as raise any alerts for late deliveries or road blocks caused by customs, traffic, etc.

With ITV, organizations can eliminate any risks and optimize tasks for truck drivers. By rerouting or expediting shipments, a delayed shipment can be resolved in real time because a dispatcher will be able to communicate with the truck driver.

Let’s look at a concrete example to see how a TMS can help organizations optimize their entire value chain. Because the manufacturing environment is now global, this example will involve China, Canada, and Spain as parts of a manufacturer’s complete value chain. Consider the following scenario:

A manufacturer of cellular telephones has one DC in China, another DC in Vancouver, two manufacturing plants in China, one retail location in Vancouver, and another retail outlet in Spain. Thus, this manufacturer’s supply chain is highly complex for many of its suppliers and distributors to navigate. Figure 1 depicts the process, or flow, for moving product throughout this supply chain.

Figure 1. A value chain model.

Because products must be moved across many countries and via several transportation systems, three scenarios are possible:

1. The manufacturer will send the cell phones directly from the DC in China to the retail location in Spain. In this case, planes and trucks (air and ground methods) will be the chosen modes of transportation.
2. The manufacturer will have the cell phones moved through the DC in China to Canada (either by ocean or air), transported to the DC in Vancouver, and on to the retail location.
3. The cell phones are moved from China to the DC in Canada, but they are sent back to the China DC because of product defects. In this case, the DC in China sends the cell phones back to the manufacturer in China, which either repairs the defects or sends the phones back through its supply chain.

All three of these scenarios involve heavy TMS functionality. The scheduling and routing, cubing for the cell phone boxes, consolidation for cross-docking in different loading zones, dealing with geographic setups, and scheduling all types of transportation modes are critical to this process. If one of the DCs or manufacturing plants does not deliver its products on time, the TMS will adjust the scheduling or find an alternative route.

Because TMS solutions can optimize the loads put onto different vehicles or other modes of transportation, managers in this example can determine how much the fuel to deliver product to the different DCs will cost, and they can know when product is to be delivered and the optimal amount of goods to deliver to the appropriate location. The TMS incorporates the appropriate information into the routing optimization tool. This gives individuals within the supply chain the best information on how to save money and time by knowing what products to send and how to send them. This knowledge saves a company money on fuel and time, and ultimately increases the manufacturer’s bottom line.

Let’s look at a concrete example to see how a TMS can help organizations optimize their entire value chain. Because the manufacturing environment is now global, this example will involve China, Canada, and Spain as parts of a manufacturer’s complete value chain. Consider the following scenario:

A manufacturer of cellular telephones has one DC in China, another DC in Vancouver, two manufacturing plants in China, one retail location in Vancouver, and another retail outlet in Spain. Thus, this manufacturer’s supply chain is highly complex for many of its suppliers and distributors to navigate. Figure 1 depicts the process, or flow, for moving product throughout this supply chain.

Figure 1. A value chain model.

Because products must be moved across many countries and via several transportation systems, three scenarios are possible:

1. The manufacturer will send the cell phones directly from the DC in China to the retail location in Spain. In this case, planes and trucks (air and ground methods) will be the chosen modes of transportation.
2. The manufacturer will have the cell phones moved through the DC in China to Canada (either by ocean or air), transported to the DC in Vancouver, and on to the retail location.
3. The cell phones are moved from China to the DC in Canada, but they are sent back to the China DC because of product defects. In this case, the DC in China sends the cell phones back to the manufacturer in China, which either repairs the defects or sends the phones back through its supply chain.

All three of these scenarios involve heavy TMS functionality. The scheduling and routing, cubing for the cell phone boxes, consolidation for cross-docking in different loading zones, dealing with geographic setups, and scheduling all types of transportation modes are critical to this process. If one of the DCs or manufacturing plants does not deliver its products on time, the TMS will adjust the scheduling or find an alternative route.

Because TMS solutions can optimize the loads put onto different vehicles or other modes of transportation, managers in this example can determine how much the fuel to deliver product to the different DCs will cost, and they can know when product is to be delivered and the optimal amount of goods to deliver to the appropriate location. The TMS incorporates the appropriate information into the routing optimization tool. This gives individuals within the supply chain the best information on how to save money and time by knowing what products to send and how to send them. This knowledge saves a company money on fuel and time, and ultimately increases the manufacturer’s bottom line.

Given the growing need to move products inland and the increase in fuel prices, TMS software is a vital tool for today’s logistics industry, and the need for this enterprise application will only increase in the next five years.

As manufacturers’ supply chains continue to expand, developing networks and using different modes of transportation (truck, rail, air, and boat) can be quite a challenge. Networks and the use of these transportation modes need to be optimized. Otherwise, the following basic questions will be exceedingly difficult to answer, leading to serious visibility problems for the manufacturer:

* Where are the goods now?
* When and where are the goods to be shipped?
* What mode(s) of transport should be used to ship the goods?

So, what exactly is a TMS?

A TMS is designed to manage the different modes of transportation used to move products, whether finished or semi-finished. Transportation modes consist of ground, air, rail, and sea transport. A TMS determines the optimal path to transport products based on distance, location, and route.

The Anatomy of a TMS

A TMS’s basic functionality is comprised of the following:

Lane set-up: This has to do with multimode types of transportation. If moving a certain product requires three types of transportation methods (for example, rail, truck, then rail again), the system will be able to schedule all three of these means of transport.

Geographic set-up: This will link geographic locations together, as well as set up the service levels between different parties along the logistics chain.

Carrier and contract details: Whether the company using a TMS solution is outsourcing some of its transportation needs or managing transportation methods itself, the system will research the best rate of each carrier (transportation or logistics company), and select the carrier with the best price. Sometimes however, if a carrier has received three strikes against it (for example) for not delivering product on time, the system will not consider it an option, even if it offers the best price; the TMS solution will select another carrier that will fit the needs of the client, even if it’s more pricey to deliver. As well, sometimes the carrier with the best price is not in the appropriate range of location; thus, the TMS will not select it.

Given the growing need to move products inland and the increase in fuel prices, TMS software is a vital tool for today’s logistics industry, and the need for this enterprise application will only increase in the next five years.

As manufacturers’ supply chains continue to expand, developing networks and using different modes of transportation (truck, rail, air, and boat) can be quite a challenge. Networks and the use of these transportation modes need to be optimized. Otherwise, the following basic questions will be exceedingly difficult to answer, leading to serious visibility problems for the manufacturer:

* Where are the goods now?
* When and where are the goods to be shipped?
* What mode(s) of transport should be used to ship the goods?

So, what exactly is a TMS?

A TMS is designed to manage the different modes of transportation used to move products, whether finished or semi-finished. Transportation modes consist of ground, air, rail, and sea transport. A TMS determines the optimal path to transport products based on distance, location, and route.

The Anatomy of a TMS

A TMS’s basic functionality is comprised of the following:

Lane set-up: This has to do with multimode types of transportation. If moving a certain product requires three types of transportation methods (for example, rail, truck, then rail again), the system will be able to schedule all three of these means of transport.

Geographic set-up: This will link geographic locations together, as well as set up the service levels between different parties along the logistics chain.

Carrier and contract details: Whether the company using a TMS solution is outsourcing some of its transportation needs or managing transportation methods itself, the system will research the best rate of each carrier (transportation or logistics company), and select the carrier with the best price. Sometimes however, if a carrier has received three strikes against it (for example) for not delivering product on time, the system will not consider it an option, even if it offers the best price; the TMS solution will select another carrier that will fit the needs of the client, even if it’s more pricey to deliver. As well, sometimes the carrier with the best price is not in the appropriate range of location; thus, the TMS will not select it.