Beyond visibility: Building a supply chain that can act when conditions change

Many supply chain teams now have greater visibility into disruptions compared to a few years ago. They can detect issues sooner, monitor freight in real time, and recognize when a shipment is at risk. However, identifying a problem and solving it are two separate matters. When capacity tightens, a border crossing closes, or rates shift beyond normal, teams must still decide whether to switch carriers, change modes, reroute shipments, or wait.

Often, execution falls short due to fragmented systems, providers, and teams. Real agility isn't just about spotting change earlier—it's about responding swiftly to it.

At Uber Freight, the focus is on bridging this gap between visibility and action. By merging technology, transportation capacity, and operational expertise, Uber Freight enables customers to swiftly identify better options and implement them without having to redesign their transportation network for every change in conditions.

Visibility provides information about what's happening but does not necessarily indicate the next steps or simplify decision-making. Simply knowing that a shipment should switch to a different mode does not facilitate that change. Teams must still locate capacity, evaluate cost and service tradeoffs, adjust routing, and coordinate the transition.

For companies relying on unconnected technology, providers, and manual processes, each disruption adds complexity. If rerouting freight or switching carriers or modes necessitates finding a new provider and handling additional handoffs, real-time visibility alone provides only limited assistance. Businesses that can adapt to disruptions more effectively have prebuilt flexibility within their networks prior to needing it.

Establishing a supply chain capable of adapting requires anticipating disruptions and proactively designing a transportation network that offers multiple options, simplifying their execution when conditions change. To ascertain the level of flexibility present, organizations should consider questions such as: Can freight transition between carriers without initiating a new procurement process?

Are alternative modes already incorporated into the network? How many providers and handoffs are required to implement a change? Is there a strategy in place for addressing common disruptions, or does the team need to devise new approaches each time? If gaps are identified, businesses can concentrate on three areas: enhancing decision-making speed, incorporating more transportation choices, and streamlining the process for acting on adjusted plans.

Firstly, making quicker decisions is crucial. An agile network should leverage current data to identify superior options without relying solely on manual analysis and reactive decision-making. Intermodal transportation serves as an illustration. When truckload capacity diminishes and spot rates increase, shifting cargo to rail may prove advantageous.

However, this approach is only effective if rates, providers, and routing guidelines are already established. Attempting to establish these connections after a disruption occurs could result in missed opportunities as the freight becomes unsuitable for movement by the time it is prepared to travel. The key is connecting real-time data with genuine transportation alternatives.

When technology indicates that freight should follow a different path, teams should be able to comprehend the tradeoffs and act rapidly. Uber Freight facilitates this process through its Transportation Management System (TMS), Optimization Engine (OE), and Adaptive Carrier Optimization (ACO). These tools, integrated within the TMS planning module, utilize customer rules, rates, and shipment data to discover more cost-effective routing opportunities, such as consolidation and mode conversion.

ACO operates concurrently, consistently comparing contracted rates with the live market to uncover lanes priced above a customer's target. The benefits can be considerable. One food and beverage manufacturer achieved $1.2 million in savings within nine months by utilizing Uber Freight's optimization tools to transition 1,300 truckload shipments to intermodal.

Secondly, building additional transportation options enhances agility. Agility also demands diverse transportation choices. Relationships with carriers and modes must be in place prior to a disruption occurring so that freight can move smoothly without initiating weeks of sourcing bids and contract negotiations. Businesses can amplify flexibility by providing themselves with more alternatives before market conditions shift.

This could entail complementing annual contracts with access to additional carriers, modes, and real-time capacity. The objective is not to discard contracted freight but rather to prevent being constrained by a single option when circumstances change. Uber Freight's network encompasses truckload, less-than-truckload (LTL), intermodal, and various other modes, simplifying the process of integrating further carriers or transportation alternatives into a customer's network when required.

This becomes especially valuable when capacity becomes constrained. Securing capacity post-disruption entails competing with numerous other entities vying for the same resources, often at elevated costs. Given that Uber Freight manages one of North America's largest managed transportation and multimodal networks, businesses gain access to a broader spectrum of capacity and transportation options than they could typically obtain independently.

With these alternatives already linked to the network, customers possess greater flexibility to adapt while controlling costs and service levels.

Lastly, facilitating the execution of changes is essential. Identifying the appropriate option and accessing capacity are beneficial only if a business can actually implement the change. Complex operations like cross-border transportation present this challenge. A single shipment may involve multiple carriers, customs procedures, and border crossings.

When one aspect of this chain changes, teams must coordinate promptly across the remaining components. Recently, for instance, upstream flooding on the Rio Grande dislodged numerous buoys, which accumulated against Laredo's World Trade Bridge and prompted the city's authorities to implement measures to address the issue.