How Six Customers Utilize Order Management to Navigate Disruptions

The importance of supply chain visibility and control is never more obvious than during an industry disruption. Prompt communication amongst stakeholders of at-risk orders, versus those that are moving as planned, is critical. Our Order Management solutions – while always valuable - prove to be especially useful during turbulent times.

The ability to rapidly consume and collate order data enables us to pinpoint orders at risk of delay. Companies can take control, make proactive decisions, and keep their supply chain functioning as smoothly as possible, regardless of circumstances. 

If companies require an even higher level of supply chain precision, Expeditors Carrier Allocation is a solution that goes beyond smoothing out bumps in the supply chain. Our cloud-based collaborative portal forecasts, plans, and connects carriers and forwarders weeks before shipping to determine the optimal flow of products before booking.

Simply put, this tool accepts your ocean volume forecast up to 14 weeks in advance, matches it with your chosen carriers’ sailing schedules, determines the most optimal sailing for each order due to ship, shares the forecasts with the carriers, and secures the space you need – weeks before any bookings are made.

Throughout the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, customers utilizing our Order Management solutions have had increased visibility compared to those who are not.

To help ease the volatility from this disruption, we are proactively pulling our customers’ orders facing potential delays, combining this information with local market updates provided by our global network, and sharing it with them in a customized dashboard view.

Below are how six of our current customers apply this powerful information in various ways:

1. A major global manufacturer operating at multiple sites uses the increased order visibility to identify contingency plans and avoid a plant shutdown due to critical parts not arriving. They chose to divert orders to airfreight and identified alternate sources to keep the factory lines running.
   
   
2. Utilizing OM data helps a large footprint retailer to avoid losing sales due to out of stock inventory. They share this report with their global sourcing team, who all utilize this data to prioritize orders moving out of China. They know which orders may be high risk for their business and proactively contact the suppliers.
   
   
3. A manufacturer of automotive parts and components uses their custom dashboard to filter by destination plants that are especially at risk with production parts to notify them of delays.
   
   
4. For a medium-sized on-line retailer Expeditors shares the data with our own Non-Vessel Operating services to forecast capacity needed in the upcoming weeks and to secure space for their products.
   
   
5. A Fortune 500 manufacturer uses their tailored dashboard to identify a weekly uplift volume needed for airfreight to keep their factory lines running, resulting in block-space agreements. The order view allows them to easily identify how much volume is required to meet their needs.
   
   
6. A major global retailer using Expeditors Carrier Allocation has even greater visibility and ability to adjust plans, especially during periods of disruption. They can easily match allocated orders to blank sailings in the portal and know exactly which orders to reassign to keep cargo moving. The company uses Expeditors Carrier Allocation when sourcing shifts and capacity tightens, in this case from China to other origins.

Before the COVID-19 outbreak, they successfully moved 20-30% above their space agreement until their ocean carrier unexpectedly began rejecting requests for volume above their agreement. Since Expeditors Carrier Allocation plans up to 14 weeks in advance, the company can secure an agreement with an alternate provider for the same rate as their awarded carrier.

Expeditors Order Management data and Expeditors Carrier Allocation allow companies to prepare for inevitable disruptions within supply chains. Ocean carriers also benefit by receiving a better view of planned volumes weeks in advance, helping them decide how to adapt.

Don’t fall flat during times of disruption. Use data to confidently make decisions and empower your supply chain to ensure your freight keeps moving during uncertain times. Reach out for more information or to talk to one of our logistics experts about a solution that is right for your supply chain.