How is a Digital Control Tower Changing the Game for Supply Chain Activities?

Witness the Transformation Before and After Implementing the Control Tower Solution!

Can you imagine how complicated it is to manage the movement of goods across different countries? In the past, and still today, the process can be highly manual and involves a lot of paperwork, phone calls, and email updates between different supply chain parties. This makes it difficult to track shipments in real-time and identify any potential delays or issues. Now, the industry is experiencing a revolution with a push toward digitalization and innovative solutions. The aim is to move away from the burdensome amounts of paperwork and embrace comprehensive online solutions. At MOOV, our digital control tower acts as the central hub of coordination for all supply chain parties. It’s an online platform where communication and collaboration can take place, creating a single source of truth and transparency.

An example of a household appliances retailer supply chain

Company Widgets Inc. sources household appliances from Asia to sell in their online shopping base in Europe. The goods are sourced from three main suppliers, each of which uses five different factories to produce the items. After production, the goods are consolidated at a third-party warehouse to optimize the space used inside each container. A local forwarder helps them to arrange trucking transport and ocean freight to the final destination in Europe. Customs agents and destination trucking providers are involved to get the goods to the destination warehouse where they will distribute their online orders. In this setup, there are at least 20 different parties involved.

What are some of the problems that Widgets Inc. faces?

• A lack of real-time data on the status of inventory, orders, and shipments. This lack of visibility can lead to delays, stockouts, and lost sales opportunities. For example, a factory forgot to inform of a production delay. Someone eventually spotted this shipment and realized the goods were urgently needed for a big promotion, so Widgets Inc. had to choose more expensive faster freight options as a last-minute solution.
• Manual processes and paper-based documentation increase the risk of mistakes
• A lack of central data leads to gut-feeling decision-making. Widget Inc. can’t easily identify what the root causes of their problems are.

Let’s see what Widget Inc’s supply chain would look like with the support of a MOOV digital control tower.

• All 20+ parties can perform their shipment-related tasks online in one platform, providing real-time data. The latest status of each shipment is easily found and tracking information is kept updated.
• Next, management by exception. Remember that late shipment that had to be expedited because no one knew the production was delayed? A digital control tower is meant to help you identify these exceptions earlier, so you can take faster action.
• Saving costs. The digital control tower can also reduce logistics costs through optimized routings and shipment planning. By knowing where goods are and when they should be at the next destination, inventory costs can also be reduced.