Did you know that a majority of companies still lack basic supply chain visibility? Most companies are still flying blind when it comes to crucial insights around their supply chain business. Fortunately, visibility improvements — big and small — are easier to achieve than you may think.

We're answering some of the top questions supply chain professionals are asking when it comes to greater visibility.

More accurate ETAs are nice, but how can better visibility actually save me money?

There are three big ways better visibility can help you save money.

• Avoid fines: When assets are lost, cargo is damaged or a shipment is delayed, you get fined and those fines add up. Better visibility can help by monitoring shipment conditions, allowing you to maintain cargo quality and reduce the likelihood of damage. And with comprehensive road coverage and accurate rerouting capabilities based on truck-specific attributes, drivers can avoid traffic accidents, heavy congestion and extreme weather. Only with a more accurate overview of the entire operation can you optimize, respond and pivot in real-time, saving your company time and money.

• Optimize inventory: Misplaced items equal lost time and money which means lack of visibility and poor productivity could be costing you. Mapping your warehouse can help you better understand the location of your assets as well as streamline productivity by enabling indoor navigation for employees and forklifts. Better transparency on the road helps the warehouse manage upcoming arrivals, adjust slots and save space. When it comes to the yard, using location services to create highly customizable, private maps allows drivers to navigate in and out seamlessly, reducing gate congestion and optimizing slot efficiency.

• Reduce dwell times: With multi modal visibility, companies can identify the root cause of inefficiencies and act accordingly. Better visibility allows you to know how much freight is at which gate at any given time, decreasing idle times at warehouses and factories. It also ensures that each leg of the journey is prepared to receive the goods, increasing efficiency all around.

I only have basic visibility. What are the first practical steps towards more?

An accurate view of your supply chain is essential, no matter what your industry or organization's size. Customers are seeking more visibility over their shipments and their demands are only increasing. Partial visibility might have sufficed in the past, but being slow to adopt greater end-to-end transparency might get you left behind. What's the first practical step towards greater visibility? Conduct an analysis.

Can you identify blind spots or where inefficiencies are occurring within your supply chain? What are your customers' demands? Are you prepared for potential disruption?

If you already possess outdoor visibility, consider bringing that level of transparency indoors. Map your warehouses, factories and other indoor facilities to better understand the location of your assets and determine where they should be best placed to fit your employees' movements.

Can a platform approach help my company gain full visibility? If so, how do I select the right one?

Location data is crucial in the end-to-end supply chain process because it streamlines operations and connects and supplies context to disparate datasets.

One unified platform can reduce the application's development costs significantly and when choosing a platform, compatibility and integration with existing or legacy systems is vital. That's why a horizontal platform that connects different players in the ecosystem and ensures cross-industry collaboration is so important.

If you're a buyer, look for a platform that enables easy access to external data for users and allows maps, algorithms and services to be customized to specific business needs. Select a vendor that adheres to "privacy-by-design" principles and proves that their data and services can be trusted.

At the end of the day, it's not just about choosing a platform, but an experience. It should be a long-term relationship where the platform receives the latest updates and innovations so you can continue to meet the needs of your customers well into the future.

Rethink your supply chain

Become stronger and more resilient with increased efficiency and happier customers. Discover what you can accomplish with better supply chain transparency with HERE.

Want to continue the conversation or explore the solutions that help solve supply chain challenges? Learn more.