Illegible paper records. Disconnected software applications. Multiple spreadsheets by multiple parties. Email exchanges back and forth. (Did you CC everyone that needs to be on the email?) These are just a few communication headaches that supply chain logistics professionals are all too familiar with.
Today’s supply chains need to be supported by a better approach to communication that will alleviate headaches and foster collaboration to ensure that products can efficiently flow from one location to the next. Efficiency won’t happen with the old ways of communicating, though.
Companies need to consider a supply chain collaboration platform that can help them streamline processes, increase visibility, and use real-time data to support decision-making.
We believe we have a solution that fits your need in our CloudLogix supply chain platform. Let’s take a look at the advantages of using this type of platform.
Why Use a Supply Chain Collaboration Platform like CloudLogix?
A modern supply chain collaboration platform uses the latest technology to serve as a central hub to connect and streamline your supply chain. Everything is centralized in one location so each user can view critical information that pertains to their particular role.
Instead of waiting for email responses or thumbing through multiple spreadsheets or applications to figure out the status of an order, you can view everything on-demand. Plus, you can communicate with stakeholders in a single location to verify the information and save these exchanges for current and future reference.
Take a closer look at the advantages of using this type of platform.
1. Order Management
Goodbye spreadsheets! Using a collaborative platform, you can view the status of all orders in one location.
Need to bring in data from other locations such as your ERP or another platform? That’s easy through simple integrations. Need to provide your vendors with a place to update information about orders? You can give them a portal to make updates and provide you with the latest information.
Plus, a platform like CloudLogix allows you to set up custom shipping rules. You can verify whether users followed the rules or went rogue, then initiate follow-ups to prevent repeat occurrences. Instead of waiting until well after the fact to find out that shippers did not follow your preset rules for each order, you can quickly address the issue. This effort will help keep costs down and increase the likelihood that shipments will be on time.
2. Carrier Visibility
Oops. Did your team miss the latest rate hike from your preferred carrier? It’s easy to overlook critical cost information when information is disconnected and not all in one place. But, when carrier information is centralized in one view, then your team can make the right decision about which carrier to select for each shipment.
In a platform such as CloudLogix, you can set up a Carrier Dashboard view to provide you with quick access to the latest rates from each carrier. Your team can then rate shop and schedule pickups in the same view. Plus, you can communicate with other team members about why a certain carrier was selected and the shipment’s status.
Similar to Order Management, you can also set up custom rules for carrier selections. Is time or cost more important? Or does it depend on a particular customer? You can set rules that guide your team on how to make snap decisions and then communicate the decision.
Once a shipment has been selected, you can produce shipping documents, print labels, and generate other documents as needed to expedite the process of getting a shipment out the door.
3. Invoice Management
Some customers and shipments have complex invoice requirements. Should you invoice before the shipment has been delivered? Or, is your company policy to wait until receiving notification that the shipment has been received? Regardless of your approach, your company can use the invoicing functionality in a collaborative platform to communicate with internal and external parties about the status of an invoice.
There are so many useful ways to keep track of invoices in this type of platform to support carrier relationships, optimize Accounts Payable (A/P), and ensure that you are audit-ready.
- Generate remit documents for your carriers.
- Resolve invoice or carrier disputes inside the platform.
- Manage the payment for each invoice.
- Create logs and records so that each user can easily view the status of an invoice.
- Set up custom audit rules to prepare for the audit.
- Communicate with accounting to feed data into their A/R aging report.
4. Real-time Reporting
Customers, users, vendors, and other individuals need access to a variety of reports. No longer do you need to scramble to figure out which report to generate when you receive an email at 4:55 p.m. requesting information about a recent shipment.
Instead, you can use a platform to generate reports in real-time to satisfy each stakeholder’s request. A few clicks can produce the appropriate report on bids, order status, approvals, shipment status by time period, invoices, outstanding orders, demand planning forecasts, and more!
5. Configurable Settings & Custom Roles
Don’t want everyone in your company to have access to every piece of information? Need to place restrictions around certain sensitive customer information? Use a collaborative platform to configure the settings according to your needs and introduce custom roles for each user.
Then, each user can access specific data that they need in their role. For example, Accounting doesn’t need access to information about which carrier your team selected for a specific shipment – that would be wasted communication. They simply need to know the approval status of the freight invoice and when they can initiate payment.
6. Robust Search
Ah, search. This can often turn into a 20-minute exercise in futility trying to track down critical shipping information. Is the latest status update in an email, spreadsheet, or a piece of software? Where is the single source of truth?
With a collaborative platform, you and other users can search for the exact data needed in one location. You can perform various searches, set up role-based access controls to restrict searching for certain data, and always find the most accurate and up-to-date information because you are pulling information from a centralized location.
7. Secure Information Exchange
Security is critical in today’s modern supply chains. Instead of your IT team trying to manage security for multiple pieces of software, you can migrate to one platform that has built-in security.
At CloudLogix, we take security very seriously. Managed security is included in our web-based cloud platform to ensure that your critical supply chain data is continuously protected.
Using our platform, you can invite third parties to communicate in the platform, safely share information both internally and externally, and generate reports without the risk of compromising valuable business information.
It’s Time for a Modern Supply Chain Platform
We invite you to learn more about our supply chain collaboration platform. We have published videos on our YouTube channel that unpack some of the key advantages of using this platform.
Plus, our team is available to schedule demos to show you how the platform works. We’ll explain the features and functionality you can expect to utilize in the platform. And, if you don’t need some features, that’s not a problem!
At CloudLogix, you get what you need, not what you don’t. That’s why we offer custom pricing options to ensure that you receive the most value for your specific supply chain needs.
Get in touch with us today to request a demo or talk more about our platform. We look forward to helping modernize your supply chain through collaborative communication.
