HERE survey focuses on the challenges of digital supply chain adoption

Building an end-to-end digital supply chain is a tremendous feat. From re-imagining processes to sourcing and adopting new technology, the shift to digital supply chains is a unique journey. To establish a benchmark that highlights how far the industry has come, HERE Technologies commissioned an in-depth look at the adoption of digital supply chain technology. The survey's findings are based on feedback from more than 300 supply chain and fleet management leaders around the world.  

By and large supply chain leaders understand the value of data, analytics and predictive technology. The respondents recognize the power of data analytics to drive a competitive advantage (63%), cut costs (69%) and integrate data across disparate systems (70%). 

However, recognizing value and re-imagining a process or embracing change are two very different activities. The main issues holding companies back are connected to the internal resources needed to support a digital supply chain. Depending on the organization, this could be infrastructure and expertise, digital standards, a clearly defined vision, or simply knowing where to start.

The first step for those struggling to progress their journey is understanding where they can start saving costs with minimal investment. Removing manual and time-consuming processes through workflow automation can be a quick win for many organizations. 

“As the industry embraces process automation and digital transformation to drive down costs and to deliver operational efficiencies, we need new ways of working,” says Graham Wallace, Director of T&L Product Marketing at HERE. “Building roadmaps and equipping the industry with the digital tools needed to prosper calls for a close working relationship with data providers and partners.”

Wherever you are in your digitization journey, location technology enables the flexibility needed to solve daily disruptions and shift from tedious, manual processes to automated workflows and predictive analytics. The technology allows fleet owners and managers to improve driver efficiency, reduce costs and fuel consumption, and control a greater portion of their operations.

To highlight the tangible impact of location technology, HERE developed an interactive map that illustrates the real-world impact of truck routing calculations from the Port of Long Beach to three major warehousing districts in southern California.

Factors such as time of day (rush hour or off-peak), vehicle size (large vehicle or standard delivery van) and type of load all impact the optimal suggested route, as well as duration, distance, CO2 emissions and associated cost.

When it comes to scaling up, users can see a slight difference when comparing factors for a single trip. However, that impact increases exponentially when it's multiplied over the course of a year, for hundreds of trips and multiple routes.

On a technical level, location technology creates a unifying layer of data that cuts across functional silos. It enables enhanced visibility, optimized workflows, quicker decision making and more responsiveness.

In the visualization, the HERE Truck Routing and Traffic Analytics API are used to determine all route calculations. The map leverages HERE's capability to customize vehicle and load configurations and determine truck-safe routes, while integrating traffic information and first-party data.

No fleet or supply chain can jump instantly from manual processes to a fully digital organization. But there are stepping stones along the way that can increase efficiency, accuracy and cost savings. 

To see how logistics leaders are using location technology to build better software and predictive supply chains, visit here.com/logistics. To see the visualization in full screen, click here.