A trade lane (or trade route) refers to a specific pathway along which goods are transported between two or more locations, typically across international borders. Trade lanes are established based on the flow of goods and the economic relationships between countries or regions. They encompass both maritime and air routes and play a crucial role in global supply chains by facilitating the movement of goods and fostering international trade.
Transit time refers to the duration it takes for goods or shipments to travel from their origin to their destination. It is a crucial metric in supply chain and logistics management, as it directly impacts delivery schedules, inventory levels, and customer satisfaction. Transit time encompasses the entire journey of a shipment, including transportation, handling, and processing at various checkpoints along the route.
Transloading refers to the process of transferring goods or cargo from one mode of transportation to another, typically from one type of truck or railcar to another, or from rail to truck and vice versa. This logistical practice is often employed to optimize transportation routes, reduce costs, and improve overall efficiency in supply chain operations.
A Transportation Management System (TMS) is a specialized software solution designed to streamline and optimize transportation and logistics operations within supply chains. It provides functionalities to effectively manage and control the movement of goods from origin to destination.
Transportation lead time refers to the duration it takes for goods to be transported from the point of origin to the final destination. It encompasses the time required for transportation activities, including loading, transit, and unloading, across various modes of transport such as road, rail, air, or sea.
A transshipment is the process of transferring goods from one transportation vehicle or vessel to another during their journey from origin to destination. It typically occurs at intermediary points along the supply chain route, where cargo is transferred between different modes of transportation, carriers or vessels.
Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit (TEU) is a standard unit of measurement used in the shipping industry to quantify the cargo-carrying capacity of container vessels. It represents the volume of a standard twenty-foot-long shipping container.
An Ultra Large Container Vessel (ULCV) is a massive container ship used on major trade routes, capable of carrying over 14,000 TEUs.
Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) is a supply chain management strategy where the supplier or vendor takes responsibility for managing the inventory levels of their products at the customer's or retailer's location. In this arrangement, the vendor monitors the inventory levels based on agreed-upon criteria such as sales data or inventory levels, and initiates replenishment as needed.
Verified Gross Mass (VGM) is a term used in the shipping industry to refer to the total weight of a packed container, including its contents and packaging materials. It is a crucial requirement mandated by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) under the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) convention to enhance safety in maritime transportation.
A floating structure with its own mode of propulsion designed for the transport of cargo and/or passengers. In the Industry Blueprint 1.0 "Vessel" is used synonymously with "Container vessel", hence a vessel with the primary function of transporting containers.
A vessel sharing agreement (VSA) is a cooperative arrangement between shipping companies that allows them to share space and resources on vessels for specific routes.
Vessel bunching refers to the situation where multiple vessels arrive at a port simultaneously or within a short period, leading to congestion and delays. This clustering of vessels can overwhelm port facilities, causing extended wait times for berthing, loading, and unloading operations.
A vessel call sign is a unique identifier assigned to a ship for radio communication purposes. It is used to distinguish the vessel from others in maritime communication systems, including VHF radios and satellite communications.
A vessel omission (sometimes called a port omission) occurs when a scheduled vessel does not call at a planned port during its voyage. This disruption means that the vessel skips the port entirely, which can impact the transportation and delivery schedules of goods.
In cargo shipping, vessel rotation is the planned sequence of port calls that a shipping vessel follows on its route to optimize cargo loading and unloading operations.
The timetable of departure and arrival times for each port call on the rotation of the vessel in question.
A journey by sea from one port or country to another one or, in case of a round trip, to the same port.
Warehouse utilization is a logistics metric that refers to the effective use of available warehouse space for storing goods and inventory.
Order for specific transportation work carried out by a third party provider on behalf of the issuing party.
Logistics yard management refers to the process of overseeing and controlling the movement of trucks, trailers, containers, and other vehicles within a yard or distribution center. This includes tasks such as scheduling, tracking, and coordinating the arrival, departure, and storage of these vehicles.
Building Connected Supply Chains
Building a connected supply chain goes hand in hand with supply chain digitalization. One of the great benefits of technology is that it can make data accessible to everyone who needs it. In doing so, you can empower the actors in your supply chain to work together more efficiently and effectively.
What is a connected supply chain?
Supply chains are connected by nature, comprising a network of suppliers, freight forwarders, carriers, customs brokers, hauliers and warehouses working together to move goods around the world. Despite this inherent interdependence, the term connected supply chain refers specifically to the seamless flow of data and information between these actors.
A connected supply chain ensures that real-time tracking updates, documents, and crucial operational insights move effortlessly between stakeholders. Rather than relying on disjointed communications and siloed data, a connected supply chain leverages technology to align all participants, fostering transparency and coordination at every step.
Benefits of connected supply chains
A connected supply chain extends visibility beyond the walls of your organization, enabling supply chain partners to monitor goods in real-time and get ahead of potential issues. Whether it’s a factory tracking inbound raw materials or a warehouse preparing to receive shipments, having accurate and timely data improves operational planning and decision-making.
By ensuring that every participant has access to the information they need—such as estimated times of arrival (ETAs), shipment status updates, and critical documentation—connected supply chains eliminate a lot of the admin that is typically required to communicate and respond to issues. This makes it easier for everyone to manage their respective responsibilities and act quickly on new information.
Barriers to supply chain connectivity
While the advantages are clear, building a fully connected supply chain is not without challenges.
Supply chains often involve a disparate set of actors, from small suppliers to multinational logistics providers. The sheer number of stakeholders, each using different systems and processes, can make achieving connectivity a daunting task.
This has caused the supply chain sector to lag behind others in the adoption of digital technologies with many businesses still relying on operationally intensive manual processes to manage the flow of goods.
How to improve supply chain connectivity
Despite the challenges, supply chain connectivity is very much an achievable goal.
Cloud-based visibility platforms (like ours) are increasingly releasing features that address the various challenges of supply chain collaboration and make adoption easier. Think of these tools as Google Docs for your supply chain, allowing multiple stakeholders to share updates, documents, and data in real-time. With a common interface accessible to all relevant supply chain stakeholders via their web browser, these tools don’t require complex integrations or IT support to get started.
It’s also important to remember that not everything needs to change at once. Start with areas that have obvious benefits for you and your partners such as setting up automated, shared freight tracking dashboards that eliminate unnecessary back and forth. Once the benefits start to be felt, it will be easier to convince partners of the value of related features. The result will be a positive evolution in the way you work with the other actors in your supply chain.
Key features of connected supply chain solutions
There's plenty of tech that can help accelerate your journey towards a more connected supply chain. Before starting your software search, it's a good practice to generate a list of problems so you can identify the solution best aligned to your needs.
If connectivity is a top priority, there are three essential features you should look out for:
Shareable dashboards
Data sharing is central to supply chain connectivity and you want a solution that provides easy and secure tools for collaborating with your partners without any complex set up or integration. Beacon, for example, lets you created Live Boards and invite third party collaborators who can access their dashboards by bookmarking a URL in their browser. You can adjust permissions to reflect the desired level of access and control you want to give collaborators.
Document management
Logistics document management can get unruly, fast. Storing and sharing documents directly alongside the latest order and shipment details means you'll never have to go hunting for documents in your inbox again and your shipments won't be delayed because of missing paperwork.
Workflow automation
The point of a connected supply chain is that it reduces the friction of working with all the actors in your supply chain. A good solution should replace a lot of the manual touch points you have with partners to manage the flow of goods. For example, you shouldn't have to use carrier tracking portals, update tracking spreadsheets, email inbound shipment information to warehouses or send a reminder to your supplier to confirm a cargo ready date.