How accurate is your supply chain visibility data?

These days, your supply chain visibility is only as good as the shipment data you receive. If that data isn’t being processed in real-time or is routed through a third-party data aggregator, you might not see shipment bottlenecks until it’s too late to react.  

In its most recent market analysis of transportation and execution visibility systems, ARC Advisory Group analysts found that many supply chain visibility technology providers need to partner with data aggregators for the insight needed to give their customers shipment visibility. Not Blume Global. Blume can offer pinpoint lead times and ETAs because it connects directly to carriers; no third parties here. Blume augments these direct connections with indirect connections (AIS data for ocean voyages, etc.), comparing the two data streams to provide the most accurate information. Competitors in the marketplace cannot provide that level of connectivity and visibility precision. 

Are direct connections to carriers important?  

Blume Global provides the digital operating platform for some of the world's largest freight forwarders, and these forwarders demand granular visibility and accurate ETAs across all modes. What does that mean for shippers? Well, these partnerships have enabled Blume to directly connect to carriers in over 130 countries. Direct connection to carriers enables Blume to provide near real-time updates to status, schedules, routes, cancelations, rolled shipments, and missed cutoffs.  

These direct connections aren’t new, either. Blume's ecosystem has an existing and organically growing network of over 10,000 logistics providers worldwide curated over the past 26+ years. The company has been processing and feeding its machine-learning algorithms for years, giving even the newest customers the benefit of valuable historical data concerning routes, shipments, and carrier performance. Blume enables customers to combine real-time visibility information and decades of historical data for supply chain prediction, forecasting, and optimization. 

Are all supply chain data feeds created equal? 

Don’t all supply chain technology providers access this same data? Not exactly. When the data is accessible, Blume’s competitors must develop integrations to access this same data, extending deployment time and creating delays in real-time data access. Blume’s data also comes with industry-leading customer support from an experienced group of consultants who have spent decades in the logistics arena – and an R&D team determined to find new solutions to help shippers improve their supply chains. Shippers, no matter how large, need to be wary of digital-first solutions that are not maintained with an eye toward innovation and suffer from a lack of updates and poor customer support.        

Combining supply chain data from multiple sources together into a single solution is the best possible outcome when dealing with the predictability of shipment lead times. Historically, systems have seen lead times as an immovable number of days; shipments are, in reality, variable due to seasonality, and natural and political events. Once variable lead times are taken into account and predictability is established, shippers can develop more accurate plans and create realistic customer expectations.    

Blume Global takes a modern, holistic approach to supply chain execution, continually updating and improving capabilities so customers receive all the benefits that come from an R&D-driven organization. Click here to see Blume Global’s execution and visibility solutions in action.