Logistics Planning: From Good to Great

Behind almost every superhero is an intelligent, resourceful support team. With advanced decision-support technology, the support team alerts their superheroes to crime happening nearby, guides them through the quickest route in the city, and encourages them even when the odds are stacked against them.

Now, what does this have to do with your logistics operations?

It’s simple. Your drivers are the superheroes and your planners are their support team.

Think about it. Your drivers are out on the streets battling traffic, roadworks, and weather to meet your SLAs. But who ensures that they get there on time to pick up and drop off shipments? Who ensures that your drivers make as few empty trips as possible?

Their support team, of course – a team made up of your logistics planners and the best decision-support technology.

While your planners don’t help save the world from evil villains, they have to manage daily disruptions in the form of vehicle breakdowns, port congestions, brutal weather conditions, and driver shortages. But the question is, are your drivers getting the most out of their support team? Do your planners have what they need to generate not just good, but great plans? Not yet.

The best support team in logistics planning

To get not just good, but great plans, you need to equip your logistics planners with the best decision-support technology – an intelligent planning and optimization software.

An intelligent planning and optimization software like Quintiq is designed to help your planners make better decisions, faster. It frees up your planners to focus on refining optimized plans by applying their years of experience in logistics planning.

Watch: Q&A with logistics optimization pro, Frank Tinschert

Imagine this: A shipment is due to be delivered and a rush order comes in. But your planners know that the shipment due today can be pushed till a day later because the customer has a good relationship with your company.

The best decision-support technology would give your planners insight based on due dates, volume, and drivers available. When combined with their experience and soft knowledge, this would enable them to achieve the ultimate goal: Maximize operational benefits and increase profitability.

What’s possible when you empower your planners?

By empowering their planners with the Quintiq planning and optimization software, some of the world’s leading logistics providers, including P&O Ferrymasters and DHL, have experienced these significant improvements:

• Increase in resource utilization by 12%
• Delivery performance up by 25%
• Costs reduced by 12%

You and I know that even the smallest percentage can mean millions in savings. Join the ranks of leading logistics providers by empowering your planners to do more for your bottom line and be the best support team for your drivers.

Source: eft.com