Supply chain management can be a challenge for any business, but real-time tracking is a solution that can improve efficiency. It also assists with inventory management and helps improve customer satisfaction. Learn how in this guide to supply chain real-time tracking.

What Is Real-Time Tracking in Supply Chain Management?

Real-time tracking in supply chain monitoring allows parties to see the location of an item in transit at any point in time. The supply chain includes raw materials used in manufacturing as well as finished goods on their way to warehouses, fulfillment centers, retailers and customers.

Some real-time shipment tracking allows users to see item locations at certain intervals or when its location is updated. At the consumer level, when shoppers order an item from many major eCommerce retailers, for instance, they can track their packages and see every time it leaves a carrier facility or is out for delivery.

Basic real-time logistics tracking on a larger scale is similar. However, technology today allows for more granular real-time data, and the best supply chain tracking can actually identify the location of an item at virtually any moment in time. The advantages of this are discussed below.

How Does Real-Time Tracking Work?

There are a number of different technologies available, including track and trace, that can be utilized individually and in combination to enable real-time logistics tracking. These include:

  • GPS (Global Positioning System)

  • IoT (Internet of Things)

  • Barcode labeling

  • RFID (radio-frequency identification)

  • Blockchain

The item in question is scanned or given a tracking device at the outset. Typically, tracking solutions for supply chain management use cloud-based software or apps to enter a tracking number. This then sharesthe shipment or parcel’s current location (based on the initial scanning or device used) and information about its recent past locations.

What Are the Key Benefits of Real-Time Tracking?

Real-time tracking offers multiple advantages in supply chain processes. Some of the key benefits are:

  • Enhanced supply chain visibility

  • Improved efficiency across the chain

  • Better inventory management

  • Increased customer satisfaction

  • The ability to reduce costs

The next few sections address these pluses in more detail.

How Does Real-Time Tracking Enhance Supply Chain Visibility?

When users can see where a shipment is at any particular time (end-to-end chain visibility), it gives them knowledge they wouldn’t have otherwise. For instance, they can see if shipments are consistently hung up at a certain port or on an over-the-road route. This can help with proactive decision-making by revealing transits to avoid it in the future.

Another  benefit of supply chain visibility is that interventions can be made if a shipment gets stuck or is about to hit an emergency situation. If the next leg of the journey is through bad weather, a closed ship canal or an area of political turmoil, alternative plans can be made.

What Impact Does Real-Time Tracking Have on Efficiency?

Better supply chain visibility is ideal for improving supply chain efficiency. As mentioned above, delays can be reduced and route planning can be optimized.

Overall supply chain operations can be streamlined, much in the way it’s possible to tighten up an assembly line in a factory. Because each step is visible, trouble spots can be smoothed out, whether that’s initial loading or last-mile delivery. This both saves money (efficiency) and boosts customer satisfaction (responsiveness — more on that below).

Businesses can measure supply chain efficiency to make more data-driven decisions. It’s important to tconsider the balance between internal cost savings and end client happiness. Some of the metrics commonly used in quantifying supply chain efficiency include:

  • Perfect order index — the percentage of shipments delivered on time, with no problems or damage

  • On-time deliveries (aka service rate) — the rate at which shipments reach their destinations within the agreed-upon timeframe

  • Inventory turnover ratio — how often a business sells its stock within a given period

  • Order accuracy — the percentage of orders without errors, such as wrong delivery address

How Can Real-Time Tracking Improve Inventory Management?

Efficient supply processes through real-time logistics tracking also have the potential to improve inventory management. It’s helpful to think of this as an upstream-downstream scenario, where making improvements in one area benefits others later.

If a business knows through real-time tracking that a shipment is running late or ahead of schedule, it can adjust inventory levels accordingly to meet customer demand. It can avoid out-of-stock situations by increasing production or moving products from a different fulfillment location.

This also benefits order accuracy. Customers won’t purchase items that are or will soon be out of stock. When a slow item is available, they can change their shipping addresses to reflect being in a different location, if necessary, 

What Role Does Real-Time Tracking Play in Customer Satisfaction?

Supply chain efficiency and the benefits listed above all contribute to customer satisfaction through order accuracy, on-time delivery and proper updates about shipping times.

Demand forecast reports combined with tracking data can also be generated to ensure customer happiness remains at desirable levels. For example, if a business routinely sees an increase in demand for vacation ecommerce products at the start of every summer, but they also know that shipping times lengthen during this period due to the hurricane season in the East, they can increase production and sell products on their website earlier. That would allow for a time buffer in order to ensure customers get their merchandise when they need it.

How SEKO Logistics Implements Real-Time Tracking Solutions

SEKO Logistics offers real-time tracking technology for our clients who use our white glove services around the globe. As experts in logistics, freight forwarding, warehousing, fulfillment and transportation, we understand how to use real-time tracking solutions to help you meet customer demands while also improving operational efficiency.

In addition to our SEKO Live app, our Track My Shipment feature puts you in control at all times. You can make data-driven decisions confident that you have accurate information at any point in time.

Ready to see how our real-time tracking and other services can transform your business? Get in touch today for a consultation with our team.