The most significant aspect of the digital supply chain is automation. It saves shippers time, keeps them informed, and helps them collaborate. When they rely on automation, the potential for human error is eliminated.

Shippers that automate see their supply chain and internal operations efficiency improve exponentially. Their ability to make informed decisions increases as they gain access to previously hidden information they can now extrapolate into proactive decision-making.

The Role of Automation in the Digital Supply Chain

Automation is at the core of the digital supply chain, allowing shippers to see shipments in new ways, glean useful information, react quickly, and better serve customers. Shippers relying on automation have more time to improve operational efficiency due to spending less time on inefficient communications.

Supply chain digital processes are known and rapidly solved when they fall out of control with automation. Visibility extends across the supply chain for all transactions, informing shippers when things are not working properly and helping them devise new solutions.

Digital supply chain management has brought immediate attention to exceptions, simplified stakeholder communications, fostered knowledge of potential disruptions, opened intermodal transport, protected sensitive cargo, and lowered costs. It’s safe to say that every facet of the supply chain has been touched by automation.

As a supply chain digital transformation removes much of the human component, accuracy increases tremendously, as does the speed of transactions. Shippers no longer need to hire more people as their systems scale with company growth, continuing to provide the same accuracy and speed at any size.

Key Applications of Automation in the Digital Supply Chain

Supply chain digitization has applications across the entire supply chain, and no area will remain unaffected by it, but some key applications stand to gain tremendous improvement in short order.

Warehouse Automation

Warehouses are the key to distribution efficiency, inventory management, and customer satisfaction. It is from the warehouse that most products depart for the last mile of delivery.

Within warehouses, AI and IoT are taking over. AI manages inventory levels based on past demand, while IoT informs the AI of what inventory is on the shelves and where. The combination of the two keeps inventory close to “just in time” without resulting in stockouts. At the same time, employees can find and pull items efficiently to meet demanding customer delivery timelines.

Automation has changed the warehouse from a place of manual counts and hunting to a lean operation that keeps stock levels consistent and moves items to customers rapidly.

Transportation Automation

In transportation, automation is optimizing routes, coordinating trucks, and informing shippers and customers of delivery progress. The results are tremendously reduced transportation costs of both time and money and delivery timelines that delight demanding customers.

Before goods even reach the road or the rail, transportation automation enables container tracking, which brings the benefits of ensuring ETAs, confronting exceptions in real-time, and saving on expensive detention and demurrage fees.

Data Automation and Analytics

Just as automation makes milestones, exceptions, and events available in real time, it records that data for later analysis, allowing shippers to analyze their KPIs, see potential areas for improvement, rate carriers, and predict future trends.

In contrast to earlier methods that needed manual data collection, standardization, compilation, and analysis, an AI handles the entire process. The picture is comprehensive and offers actionable insights that shippers use to speed freight and control costs. They know where they’ve been and what they must do, moving ahead with enhanced decision-making and forecasting.

Implementing Automation Solutions in the Digital Supply Chain

Not all automation solutions are created equal, and implementation requires thought and strong partnerships with vendors. The shipper needs to know the scope of its capabilities and its limitations.

Assessing Automation Readiness

Before moving toward automation, a shipper must first assess the current state of the organization's technology infrastructure and operations. Identifying which systems need enhancement and which may become obsolete is crucial. Furthermore, the shipper should pinpoint the processes that will be phased out and develop a strategy to manage staffing adjustments both during and after the automation transition.

To truly benefit from automation, the shipper must analyze which areas will be most improved and prioritize a rollout to match. For instance, if collaboration has been genuinely lacking, a focus on improving stakeholder communications through automation should be high on the rollout list.

Selecting the Right Automation Tools

In the post-pandemic logistics marketplace, a surge of providers are attempting to profit from shippers' quick adoption of technology-enabled solutions. However, there's a risk that many of these providers may not survive in the long run, potentially leaving shippers with non-operational solutions. Therefore, shippers need to make careful selections when choosing automation tools.

Shippers must explore the market offerings for automation tools and assess them based on provider quality, the ability to scale with the operation, compatibility with existing systems, and ease of integration and deployment.

An automation provider is a partner that understands the shippers' challenges, not just a platform.

Overcoming Implementation Challenges

The introduction of automation solutions lays the foundation for all subsequent activities. It is essential to overcome typical challenges associated with such implementation, including the integration with existing systems, the deployment process, and its acceptance by users.

Implementing any new automation solution represents a disruptive sea change within an organization, especially in an existing culture that needs to adapt to changing responsibilities. A successful implementation requires a plan that accounts for culture and the progression of new capabilities.

To successfully adopt an automation solution and promote effective change management, it is vital to implement a strategy that rolls out new automation in a succession that matches the areas most in need of improvement. With such a succession, employees see the progress firsthand while transitioning into new focuses where they might make a more significant contribution. It is essential for company culture that employees know they are being relieved of the mundane to take on impactful duties and better serve the company’s customers.

Change management isn’t easy. The vision has to be shared, and buy-in is critical. When employees see the difference automation makes and how it helps them better serve customers, buy-in will increase.

Automation Transforms Shippers

From warehouse operations to transportation and analytics, automation is transforming the operations of shippers worldwide. They become more efficient, save money, take control of their supply chains, and deliver world-class customer service.

It is critical to assess readiness, choose the right tools and providers, and create a culture ready for change. As a shipper automates starting with the areas most in need of improvement, everyone sees the results, and positive changes compound upon themselves.

VIZION API provides a total automation solution for shippers ready to enter the digital supply chain. Shippers gain real-time visibility, data automation and analytics, collaboration tools, and event notifications.

VIZION API integrates easily with existing tech stacks making implementation simple and controllable, helping shippers achieve buy-in and realize new efficiencies almost immediately.

Book a demo today to see how leveraging automation enhances their efficiency and decision-making.