Track & trace is ubiquitous in logistics management. For the last 20 years, we’ve been looking to our computer screens to learn where our shipments are. But usually we don’t know if a shipment will be late until a carrier misses a scheduled pickup time. A day later, your goods are still sitting on the dock and you have no plan in place to avoid a late shipment or delivery.

RateLinx TracLinx Real-Time Visibility solution is much different. We are the next generation of track & trace.

Order Processing Data Transforms Track & Trace

Unlike other solutions, RateLinx Radar Track & Trace doesn’t rely on only carrier tracking information (GPS or EDI 214) to tell you if an inbound order (PO) or an outbound order (to your customer) is going to be on time. RateLinx integrates the entire lifecycle of an order from beginning to end with the carrier’s information to provide a more complete and accurate status. You don’t have to wait until a carrier picks up the freight a day late to know that the order will arrive late. RateLinx Radar Track & Trace adds the order processing data missing from other solutions. With information such as the planning date and tendering date, the track & trace data is actionable. You know that the freight should be expedited before it leaves the dock.

Prevent Late Shipments Inbound or Outbound

The reason our track & trace can add the order processing information, when others cannot, is simple. Track & trace is an integral part of Intelligent Invoice Management’s (IIM) 4-part standardized data set, along with the carrier invoice, shipment data and order data. The biggest benefit of this integration is the ability to add more information for greater visibility, and the predicting analytics of track and trace. The freight analytics make the data actionable which allows you to prevent the inbound or outbound order from being late. RateLinx analytics can predict that the shipment will be late before it leaves the dock and it will tell you what mode of transportation or service of transportation should be used to ensure that the shipment still arrives on time, whether inbound or outbound. RateLinx allows you to subscribe to alerts that tell you a change needs to happen to ensure the shipment is on time. Receiving these advanced alerts in real-time via text or email provides you with the time required to collaborate on a lower cost solution rather than reacting to the emergency.

Use Track & Trace to Diagnose Issues and Develop Strategies

With track & trace data combined with the freight invoice, shipment, and order data, you now have the complete context of why a particular carrier was chosen. This allows you to collaborate with your vendors to diagnose and pinpoint the point in the process that is causing the inbound variability that you are seeing, or you can collaborate with your own team to diagnose the issues regarding the outbound freight to your customers. The modeling of the data in IIM can be used to develop any new strategies, and IIM’s Dashboard Visibility Module can measure and monitor the successful implementation of those strategies.

We call this managing logistics in 3D. Greater visibility allows you the insights to diagnose problems effectively and then develop and deploy strategies to become a shipper of choice. We have some examples of how customers are using this additional data to prevent late shipments (both inbound and outbound). If you would like to learn how RateLinx Radar Track & Trace can help you, please contact us. We will listen and ask the right questions to get you on a better path.