Next-gen visibility aids in operations, sustainability

Transportation and logistics companies have been forced to cope with an onslaught of market instability, labor shortages and other pandemic-fueled disruptions over the past two years. In an effort to adapt to this changing landscape, many shippers, 3PLs and freight forwarders have embraced new technologies. 

Visibility tools are among the most in-demand solutions across the industry, for good reason. When organizations have real-time visibility into a shipment’s location and status, they are able to respond to concerns quickly, mitigate risks and ultimately protect their bottom lines. 

The need for streamlined supply chains has never been more pivotal, but many current technologies were not designed to cope with the level of uncertainty companies are facing in 2022. While visibility solutions are becoming increasingly popular, achieving end-to-end visibility can still prove challenging thanks to the industry’s continued reliance on legacy systems, data silos and the overall complexity of the supply chain.

“There is no shortage of supply chain and logistics data, but extracting value from a mountain of data remains a challenge,” said Dobrina Laleva, HERE Technologies product marketing manager. “More than ever, companies are forming partnerships that enable them to manage their data, optimize the end-to-end supply chain and pivot quickly to meet growing customer expectations.”

The current lack of visibility many companies face causes poor predictability of ETAs and day-to-day operations. Partnering with next-generation visibility providers like HERE can help organizations increase their visibility, deliver accurate ETAs and get ahead of the curve. 

With rich data sets and strong partnerships, companies can run thousands of simulations to optimize planning, as well as predict disruptions during execution, according to Laleva. By gaining these insights — and the ability to react to changing conditions in real time — companies can better manage operations, increasing efficiency and profitability. 

“Managing fleet operations is complex: Adapting to changing conditions in real time requires timely, reliable insight on your fleet’s operations, current status and plans. Making those plans in the first place requires detailed information about your vehicles and workforce and the jobs you need to complete,” Laleva said. “Staying ahead of consumer expectations takes flexibility, speed and informed decision-making. Doing all of this while managing rising prices and lowered profits might seem like an insurmountable challenge.” 

The hurdles are high. Fortunately, location intelligence can help companies streamline their businesses today, while preparing for tomorrow’s demands. The first step is visibility. 

Embracing location intelligence is not just about saving time and making money. Accurate, end-to-end visibility solutions also support companies in meeting other objectives, including popular sustainability goals.

For example, HERE recently announced a new commercial fleet analytics tool — CO2 Insights — that predicts the amount of carbon dioxide emissions per route, considering factors such as vehicle and fuel type, traffic conditions, and the road networks’ physical attributes, including topography, curvature, slope and elevation. Using this information, the tool recommends the commercial vehicle with the most appropriate engine — diesel, electric, biogas or hydrogen — to produce the least carbon dioxide for any given route. 

Ultimately, CO2 Insights is designed to help drive the industry toward carbon-neutral commercial fleets. With many companies making sustainability commitments over the past year, this tool is well positioned to support those goals.

HERE also brings many more advanced capabilities and solutions for T&L participants to leverage, such as asset and shipment tracking, warehouse and yard management, predictive ETA calculations, advanced tour planning capabilities, as well as a complete end-to-end last mile solution.
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