Organizations are searching for the best internal strategies as transportation shifts from a cost center into a viable area to drive customer experience. In a recent webinar hosted by DC Velocity and CSCMP, Target’s Director of Logistics, Joe Delussey, sat down with project44’s Senior Vice President, Jason Duboe, to discuss how the best transportation operations build loyal and happy customers. Here are the main points.
Digital Transformation Drives Effective Organizational Change
Technology is currently an agent of change in logistics. Duboe points to examples in other industries like Uber and Air BnB, “There are very powerful business model dynamics at play that have been made possible by technology, by speed, by agility, and perhaps most importantly, the culture of adapting quickly to change and taking advantage of shifting market opportunities.”
In the case of transportation and logistics, those market opportunities come in the form of customer experiences driven by advanced visibility and its ability to provide customers with valuable, real-time information.
Becoming a Shipper of Choice
The goal for shippers is to win business, and the supply chain is an effective battleground to become a shipper of choice. Right now, that battle is being won with data transparency and effectively building the communication layer between shipper, carrier, and ultimately, the end customer.
A large part of the picture is collaboration, and it starts with getting companies to agree that they need to proactively share information. Delussey says that there needs to be an, “Awakening on the part of the carrier and shipper. We have to be willing to be more transparent. We have to be willing to share this stuff more openly.”
Creating Value for the End Customer
Sometimes it’s more about what the customers don’t notice, “[Visibility] only impacts the transaction negatively when it does not happen.” Delussey says, “That’s what I’m thinking about as we engage in our relationships with our service providers. We have to get them there.” When a supply chain is operating efficiently and fulfilling its promises to the end consumer, nobody takes notice. It’s only when something doesn’t live up to expectations that a customer’s experiences change.
Advanced Visibility Enables a Predictable Supply Chain
The role of visibility has become extremely prominent. We need to automate processes using high-quality data, and share that data across systems. Delussey explains the roadblock to this, “We have a many to many problem. Every carrier I interface with I have to build an EDI program to map to.”
As Duboe points out, project44 utilizes a one-to-many connection. We already connect to a large and growing network of carriers across all modes and multiple geographies. A shipper connects with project44 then we handle future integrations and ensure data quality is up to our standards.
In short: Building happy and loyal customers relies on a frictionless, predictable experience. The best way to achieve that experience is through visibility, automation, and high-quality data. In order to achieve that level of data quality, organizations need to implement an advanced visibility platform.