needs. So for example, they can build in
events and alerts based on inventory levels.
The other thing they are doing, because the
course. There are plenty of tech-savvy players that use visi-
bility tools themselves. For example, some 3PLs are using
the software to track inventory across multiple facilities as
well as to provide that information to customers.
Monitoring rolling stock
Visibility also continues to improve for
goods in transit, as carriers and software
providers introduce tools that offer detailed
views of what’s in the truck or container.
Chris Timmer, senior vice president of busi-
ness development and marketing for
LeanLogistics, a provider of Web-based trans-
portation management software, reports that a
number of his company’s clients “are working to
develop technologies that provide visibility between
the transportation nodes and their facilities.”
He cites the grocery chain Meijer, Ace Hardware, and
consumer packaged goods giant Unilever as examples of
companies that are managing their inbound transportation
to plants and DCs and connecting that to their inventory
management. “They are getting visibility and the assur-
ance that goods will be there when they’re supposed to
be there,” he says. “That allows inventory to be reduced.”
In Ace Hardware’s case, the result has been double-digit
inventory reductions. Before it began using a transportation management system (TMS), the company was forced
to use the longest possible lead times in planning to avoid
out of stocks, according to a case study posted on
LeanLogistics’ Web site. It also had limited visibility into
supplier performance against requirements. That all
changed once it began using the TMS, Timmer reports. “Ace
gained better visibility into the status of orders and shipments, which improved lead time performance and predictability, and allowed it to tighten safety stock,” he says.
The company was able to reduce inventory by 15 percent
and increase turns by 25 percent even as sales grew by 6 percent, according to the case study.
