Container rail tracking plays an increasingly pivotal role for shippers amid supply chain turbulence, offering much-needed visibility. In the first half of 2023 alone, Resilnic recorded 8,197 supply chain disruptions across all industries from January to June, representing a 3% year-on-year increase.

Labor issues were one of the biggest supply chain disruptors. Strikes, layoffs, labor protests, and more were up 136% compared with the first half of 2022. With a new strike brewing on the U.S. East Coast and ongoing conflicts abroad, end-to-end visibility is more important than ever for navigating supply chain challenges.

Rail container tracking is a must for end-to-end visibility. However, while shippers understand the value of ocean container tracking, monitoring rail containers is often overlooked. This leaves massive blindspots.

In an exception-prone supply chain, a lack of visibility is costly. Rail container tracking operates on an exception-based model, providing timely alerts that help shippers proactively identify potential disruptions.

The Basics: The Role of Container Rail Tracking in a Globalized Supply Chain

The global supply chain relies on container rail tracking for many facets. Here are a few of the more prominent.

Optimizing Intermodal Transport

Container rail tracking monitors cargo movements on the ocean and the tracks. This optimizes intermodal transportation, particularly the handover of containers from vessels to rail carriages.

Enhancing Visibility and Transparency

Real-time container rail tracking gives stakeholders accurate and up-to-date information on shipment location and status. Shippers, logistics providers, and other key stakeholders can use this information to make informed decisions, reduce uncertainties, and deal with potential disruptions in the supply chain.

Data-Driven Decision-Making

Data is what makes real-time rail container tracking tick. Valuable data is gathered while shipments are in transit, which shippers can analyze for insights into transportation patterns, carrier performance, and more. Logistics strategies can be refined and adapted based on reliable data.

This is just scratching the surface of what rail container tracking can do. It plays its part in raising customer satisfaction levels, improving resource allocation, and mitigating risks and delays.

Three Essential Features of Container Rail Tracking

The container tracking software industry is set to hit $7.1 billion by 2030. The number of software solutions is rising rapidly. Shippers must develop criteria to help them choose the right rail container tracking solution. Here are three essential features software should have:

1. Seamless Integration

Rail container tracking software should easily integrate with your existing systems to help minimize costs and disruption. Vizion's advanced container rail tracking software boasts seamless integration capabilities across the seven domestic U.S. Class 1 railroads.

2. Automated Event Notifications

You can't do anything if you don't know about it. Automated notifications are a must when choosing rail container tracking software. Vizion API sends shippers timely notifications about port congestion, customs clearance updates, and other key shipping milestones. This helps to reduce delays and demurrage charges.

3. Gap-Free Container Tracking

To counteract supply chain disruptions, there can be no blind spots. Vizion API gives shippers gap-free container tracking, reducing the risk of lost containers and associated fees. This ensures uninterrupted visibility throughout the supply chain, empowering shippers to optimize logistics, prevent delays, and enhance overall operational efficiency.

Beyond the Port: The Role of Container Rail Tracking in End-to-End Visibility

Rail container tracking adds another layer to end-to-end supply chain visibility, especially the transition from sea to land and road to rail for last-mile delivery, which has proved to be huge blindspots for shippers in the past.

Beyond container tracking, monitoring technologies provide insights into container conditions, which supports cargo integrity management. This data can be used for root cause analysis, enhancing supply chain resilience.

Plus, rail container tracking helps to automate once-manual processes like checking cargo conditions. This can be done in real-time, rather than having to wait for containers to dock to be checked by port staff. Not only does this reduce damage and delays, it helps to cut costs.

Vizion API excels in facilitating the transition of containers from sea to land through automation. By leveraging advanced technologies, not only are supply chain operations streamlined, but the challenges associated with lost containers and fees are eliminated.

Ship with Certainty: Partner with Vizion

Vizion API's container rail tracking extends beyond the rails, creating a broader impact on end-to-end visibility in the supply chain. It contributes to a holistic understanding of the supply chain, enabling businesses to make informed decisions, reduce costs, and deliver a seamless experience from port to destination.

Book a demo with Vizion API today and make rail container tracking count for your business.