COMPLETE VISIBILITY & CONTROL TO LOGISTICS SERVICE PROVIDERS
Logistics, nowadays, has gone way beyond the movement of goods from point A to point B. It is now about the survival of the fittest. It is about who can ensure timely deliveries at the most optimal price point consistently. Logistics Service Providers (LSPs) around the world are working towards this & exploring the best possible ways to achieve efficiency and cost optimization.
One of India’s Leading LSPs started facing similar challenges to maintain its market position. They serve customers across industries like chemical, life sciences & healthcare, retail & consumer, industrial & manufacturing, and oil/gas/projects. This makes it even more difficult for them to get a comprehensive solution to their varied problems.
Challenges faced:
The overall management involved a very high level of complexity. So, they faced the following challenges on a day-to-day basis:
- There was no system to optimize loads & routes for vehicles going in the same regions for delivery
- OTIF targets not met. Also, a lot of manpower productivity is lost in following up with vendors or solving customer queries.
- They were getting complaints regarding the spoilage of temperature-sensitive products in transit
- With their fleet of vehicles scattered in Pan India, there was no centralized platform to see if all the vehicles were maintained as per the required service standards and customer checklists.
- Financial transactions in terms of vendor advances, driver advances, etc. were in disarray and manually driven. Also, there wasn’t any way to verify expense claims made by the driver
- The biggest worry of all – operational costs were increasing every quarter due to unidentified slippages.
Elixia’s approach to solving this gigantic problem:
The LSP approached Elixia after trying various solutions offered by multiple vendors to no avail. The team at Elixia adopted a consultative approach. They understood that there were many gaps at various stages after studying the complete operational process flow of the client
In order to solve these issues, Elixia defined the following as the top priorities for the client:
- One integrated, centralized platform to ensure better synergy & transparency between all stakeholders
- Capturing each & every data point in the system – right from trips to vendors to routes to maintenance to compliance, with a view to implementing Machine Learning to automate decision-making and reduce manual dependencies
- Overhaul the entire expense and revenue management system
Elixia’s Solution:
Elixia recommended its flagship product Logistics ERP to bridge all the identified gaps. This product is configured keeping the exact business requirements in mind. Elixia’s logistics ERP divides the complete process into 3 phases namely,
- Pre-transit – to get client bookings and allocate vendors (if need be)
- In-transit – to track and trace the consignment and maintain all fleet & trip-related expenses
- Post-transit – to capture PODs, close trips financially, optimize cashflows & give a complete overview of operational cost slippages
The consolidated outcome of the solution resulted in data-driven, analytical insights that helped the LSP gain complete control & visibility over its operations.
Final Outcome:
The client saw the following quantifiable benefits in the first 2 quarters after the successful implementation of the Logistics Control Tower.
- 14% reduction in overall costs
- 29% reduction in manpower utilization
- 16% increase in vehicle utilization
Apart from these, the LSP experienced an improved synergy between all the stakeholders. This resulted in a significant drop in customer complaints. Their customers were also an integral part of the improved process. And now, they have complete transparency of the entire process, right from placing the vehicle request until the financial settlement for each trip.
Conclusion:
Having complete visibility and control over your operations and finances is of utmost priority for all LSPs. Logistics ERP is therefore the perfect solution. In conclusion, it helps you deal with all complexities and reach unprecedented levels of efficiency, customer satisfaction, and cost savings.
