Real-time insight in the supply chain is key. Many processes in the organization depend on the actual delivery of the goods. Having insight in the flow on arrival and potential deviations is the first requirement for being in control. Managing the planning in different spreadsheets is holding organizations back from taking the next step in being in control on the supply chain.
For one of our clients we developed the control tower for their maritime supply chain, including the quay planning and the monitoring of the vessels. In interactive quay-planning and scheduling tools both sea vessels and barges are planned and the cargo operation is scheduled. The quay planning of the sea-port terminal and the hinterland terminal are linked and with this link we created end-to-end visibility of the supply chain. Potential conflicts can be directly detected in case of changes in either one of the locations or in case of delays on the trip.
The planning of the terminal / quay operations is the starting point of being able to not only monitor of the vessels carrying cargo, but also to monitor the entire supply chain. The vessels are tracked and traced and an overview of the status vessels is displayed on the dashboard. Additionally the status of the terminal / quay operations is visible. Operations has an overview of the whole process and it also gives the insight in the current status and the adherence to the plans, both of the vessels and the quay operations. Active monitoring will identify and signal changes and the users will be informed.
Through this end-to-end visibility our client is able to directly identify new opportunities and potential conflicts.
Benefits of the control tower are:
- reduction of cost – less manual re-entry of data (cost)
- reduction of (human) error – higher quality of process
- ability to pro-actively adapt – timely insight in changes
