November 5th, 2020
Supplier Portals in the Supply Chain
In today’s shipping world, visibility and collaboration is everything – when a shipment is expected from a supplier, it’s important to ensure the right carrier is moving the freight. Even more, it’s vital to mitigate shipping costs wherever possible, while also ensuring the shipment is arriving at its destination when it’s needed. One of the biggest challenges many 3PLs face when it comes to the Supply Chain is managing the inbound freight of their customers – it’s something we hear about quite often. As the need for enhanced collaboration between Shippers and suppliers continues to rise, more and more Shippers are asking their 3PLs and Brokers to provide them with technology to fill the gaps.
For a 3PL, the ability to provide a portal which can connect a Shipper to their various suppliers is something that can be a huge differentiator. While most 3PLs and Brokers provide turn-key logistics solutions, many of them struggle to fulfill needs pertaining to effective inbound freight management and visibility. This is primarily because many shipments coming from suppliers are routed and booked directly by the supplier using a method not provided by the 3PL or the Shipper (carrier websites, OTP, email, other 3PL websites). When this occurs, shipment data is fragmented and not readily available in any one place. In cases where the 3PL actually does do the booking, it only becomes possible after the shipper gathers order-related information from the supplier, before passing it on to the 3PL they are working with. This is essentially a game of “telephone” which creates too many opportunities for order entry errors and delays in processing time. To understand how a Supplier Portal can provide value, it’s important to first understand what a Supplier Portal does.
WHAT IS A SUPPLIER PORTAL?
At a glance, a Supplier Portal is a central access point for information and actions pertaining to a given supplier:
It should solve the time-consuming problem of managing inbound shipments after-the-fact. When they originate in the TMS, everything becomes simpler.
It will provide a self-service solution which will reduce the administrative burden on the 3PL and Shipper procurement teams, allowing them to focus on strategic processes and relationship building
It will help to streamline Shipper and supplier workflows
It will create a clear line of sight between 3PLs, Shippers, and their suppliers which allows for more constructive, targeted dialogue on an ongoing basis
Would your operations flow more smoothly if you had something like this in place? If so, we’re here to help. Logistically TMS – Logistics software for 3PL’s, Shippers, and Brokers – takes the hassle out of supplier collaboration with our seamless LTL Supplier Portal. We provide a simple, easy-to-use interface which enables suppliers to build their own shipments in a system that both the 3PL and the Shipper have direct access to. By enabling suppliers to build shipments this way, there is immediate visibility into all the shipment-related details needed to procure freight in an effective and efficient manner. In addition, this solution enables one’s suppliers to create shipments without having to worry about referencing a hard-copy routing guide – that can effectively reduce costs and transit times due to manual inefficiencies. Above all else, the Logistically TMS Supplier Portal creates visibility and transparency where currently there is none; and when a solution helps everyone involved in the process, all parties win.
To learn more about Logistically TMS and see how easy it can be to collaborate with your suppliers more effectively, please request a demo.