Outbound transportation is getting a lot of attention these days as companies strive to hit or beat promised ship dates. It makes sense to pay attention to this area because it provides a direct connection to valued customers. The inbound side, however, often doesn’t get quite so much attention, but according to Adrian Gonzalez, director of ARC Advisory Group’s Logistics Executive Council, it should.

For many companies, managing and controlling the flow of inbound materials has remained elusive. They have neither the processes nor the information systems to actively control how a supplier makes shipments to them.

In this session, Gonzalez shared the results of his recent report on managing inbound shipments, On-Demand TMS: Transforming the Inbound Process. He detailed the inbound-shipment flow, outlined the challenges involved in traditional management methods, explored the “Ready-to-Ship” process, and addressed the value and benefits of using technology to better manage inbound transportation.

“These are timely and important topics for companies, most of which are dealing with rising rates and capacity issues. They’re looking to balance rising costs with increasingly demanding customer-service requirements,” said Gonzalez. Ignoring inbound transportation can also lead to increases in safety stock, lost revenue, high overhead costs, and diminished customer satisfaction, he added.

During the session, Pete Stiles of LeanLogistics gave attendees an inside look at ACE Hardware, which implemented the vendor’s transportation management system in 14 distribution centers (DCs) and more than 400 supplier locations in a quest to increase control and visibility of inbound orders.

Key benefits that ACE has reported include: gaining the ability to manage a greater percentage of inbound freight; obtaining the best rates and ensuring preferred-carrier selection; reducing its freight spend by 6 to 8 percent while improving service; reducing inventory and stock outages; and gaining proactive information about potential problems.