Poor communication can lead to difficulties in all walks of life, and it can cause issues along the supply chain. With so many moving parts in the transportation process, it’s easy for things to break down along the way if stakeholders aren’t properly communicating with each other. That’s why collaboration between all parties is so important. Strong communication leads to a supply chain that runs efficiently, leading to increased trust, the exchange of ideas, better decision-making, and in the end, less money wasted and better customer service for everyone.
Thanks to automation and real-time tracking, clear communication can be a reality. Information can be instantly shared, leading to better decision-making and innovation, more robust products and service, and improved customer relations. This article explains five ways to improve supply chain communication and how Turvo’s collaborative transportation management system ensures everyone is on the same page, making the process run seamlessly while improving supply chain communication for your business.
Challenges of Supply Chain Communication
The transportation process needs all involved parties to do their job for it to function properly, and just one slip-up by someone can lead to problems that affect everyone down the line. Collaboration is a must to overcome potential danger areas that can wreck the supply chain and possibly ruin a business. Here are some of the most significant supply chain challenges:- Inefficiency: The whole supply chain suffers from inefficiency when there isn’t proper communication. A lack of collaboration can mean delays, which lead to lost sales, higher costs, and unsatisfactory customer service. Too much time is spent on tasks that should run more efficiently.
- Lack of visibility: A lack of visibility can doom a company. When the parties aren’t all on the same page, errors are bound to happen. If real-time results aren’t an option, then data can’t be shared with each team. It will be more difficult to track orders, shipments, and inventory if constant monitoring isn’t possible.
- Increased risk: An absence of communication can result in huge risks and is one of the biggest supply chain pain points. If stakeholders aren’t talking to each other and sharing data, problems can’t be fixed in a proper manner or timeframe. Deadlines will be missed, and reputations may be ruined. Relationships with customers could be forever damaged.
- Poor quality: It’s almost impossible not to suffer a decline in quality if all parties aren’t in sync and sharing data. Misunderstandings and delays will occur, leading to inaccurate data and products and services that fall short of meeting industry standards.
- Loss of trust: A scarcity of communication often leads to trust issues, as the stakeholders no longer have faith in each other. They may want to avoid working with those teams again in the future. Without collaboration, the stakeholders won’t know what to expect from each other and won’t be sure if the information being shared is even accurate. Instead of focusing on innovation, they’ll waste time and resources trying to solve problems due to substandard communication.
Ways to Improve Supply Chain Communication
Turvo’s collaborative transportation management system can help your business overcome those challenges, leading to fewer mistakes, more trust, and superior customer service. Various mobile apps allow effortless contact between stakeholders to help them stay connected. Improved supply chain communication is a must for organizations to remain competitive, and is possible by doing the following:- Utilize a collaborative transportation management system: Turvo’s collaborative transportation management system (CTM) provides real-time visibility throughout the shipping process, leading to improved efficiency and cost savings. You can connect with all your supply chain partners and find solutions in real time, building stronger relationships. Customers can instantly view your shipments directly, and receive notifications and alerts if any issues arise. The collaboration and end-to-end tracking will guarantee deliveries are made on time.
- Leverage automation and data analytics: Real-time tracking and monitoring provide constant visibility that shares data with everyone along the way. All parties can study the data to establish the proper plan. The quickly-processed data means everyone will know exactly how to deal with customer orders, invoices, and shipments. The analytics allows for issues to be identified to make better decisions. Forecasting tools allow for improved accuracy along the supply chain, while problem areas can be instantly identified.
- Establish clear communication channels and processes: Sharing information leads to one way of doing things that everyone can implement and follow. There won’t be several people doing things their own way, to the detriment of others. Each party can now use the same terminology and standard protocols. Improved supply chain communication encourages open dialogue between partners to discuss the proper system for sending and receiving orders, documents and invoices.
- Implement real-time tracking and visibility: Communication will be more accessible with all stakeholders aware of the exact status of the shipment thanks to the visibility that comes with a product like Turvo’s collaborative transportation management system. When everyone is on the same page, communication can’t help but reach new heights. All communication will be on one platform across the entire transportation network. Supply chain issues and disruptions can be quickly found and fixed. The companies that remain competitive will be the ones that can anticipate and adjust, and the visibility and collaboration allow that.
- Utilize cloud-based solutions: Cloud-based programs and apps mean everyone can monitor and track the shipments and quickly be alerted if there are problems. The data can be shared and stored easily, reducing the chances of misinformation. The most current data possible will be accessible to everyone in the network anytime they want in a convenient format.
Improve Supply Chain Communication With Turvo
A lack of communication can bog your business down and ruin future chances of success. Collaboration and communication are needed to keep up with the rapidly-changing world. With technology like Turvo’s collaborative TMS, data analytics, real-time tracking, and cloud-based solutions, your supply chain will run efficiently, leading to a new level of success and making the whole process run as intended with up-to-date information always available. Turvo is the place to fix your communication worries, so visit its website today to learn about its services. Its integrated, scalable network provides a collaborative environment that connects everyone at all times and improves supply chain communication.
