Reducing Inbound Lead Time

THE STORY

When a global jet engine manufacturer needed to reduce the transit time of their inbound components, they called Logistics Plus (LP) to establish a 4PL control tower. Within 3 weeks, LP was embedded in the supplier network (100+ manufacturers), capturing visibility to all shipment requests, routing with the correct carriers and freight forwarders, controlling service levels and costs, and tracking with normalized milestones. The solution combined a team of subject matter experts with a custom-built technology solution that enabled business analytics and strategic decision-making with a single pane of glass interface. Within 3 months, the program reduced inbound transit time by over 50% (from an average of 14 days to 6).

THE HIGHLIGHTS

• A leading global aviation manufacturer approached Logistics Plus with a problem. Network velocity was too slow (10+ days more than SLA), routing selection was unreliable, transit delays were opaque, and lack of visibility created distrust among players.
• Logistics Plus would first map out the global supply chain and individual processes for each supplier context.
• The client has U.S. factories that rely upon fifty T2 suppliers and 30 T1 suppliers. All freight moves as small pack or air express. The client pays for transportation costs so they can select service levels (previously, this was handled by suppliers).
• Logistics Plus then established a 4PL global supply chain control tower to coordinate routings between suppliers and freight forwarders.
• Shipment milestones were mapped and normalized across all carriers.
• Lastly, Logistics Plus created enhanced business intelligence (BI) analytics to measure and monitor performance and facilitate actionable corrective actions.
• Average transit time across the network was reduced from 14 to 6 days, shipment reliability improved, and communication was enhanced across all players.