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Raw data isn’t enough anymore. Shippers and LSPs (logistics services providers) demand prescriptive insights — recommendations that drive proactive decision-making and tangible business outcomes. While a tempting thought, building an in-house visibility solution to achieve these insights often carries hidden costs, lengthy development cycles, and ongoing maintenance burdens.

There are numerous challenges to building your visibility system.

• Substantial Costs: Developing and maintaining a complex data analytics platform requires significant capital and specialized human resources.
• Tech Debt: Building a sophisticated system from the ground up diverts focus and delays the time-to-value of gaining actionable insights.
• Maintenance Woes: Keeping pace with evolving technology, data streams, and business requirements constantly strains in-house teams.

Fortunately, there’s a more efficient and effective alternative. Specialized third-party platforms have emerged as the key to unlocking prescriptive supply chain insights. These platforms offer a compelling advantage — speed, reliability, and access to the latest analytics without the headaches of internal development.

Key Considerations for “Buy” Over “Build”

The decision to acquire purpose-built supply chain insight solutions rather than pursuing in-house development is driven by several compelling factors.

• Speed of Implementation: Purchased solutions boast a significantly faster go-live process compared to the drawn-out development cycle of a custom system. This time-to-value advantage allows you to reap the benefits of actionable insights quickly.
• Expertise and Focus: Third-party solutions specialize in data-driven supply chain analytics. They bring years of sector-specific knowledge, best practices, and a laser focus on solving business challenges far beyond the typical capabilities of in-house teams.
• Scalability and Adaptability: Specialized solutions are engineered to handle growth, data volume fluctuations, and the supply chain’s ever-evolving complexities. Vendors are responsible for updating their systems to meet the market’s demands.
• Cost-Effectiveness: While upfront licensing costs may exist, a purchased solution’s total cost of ownership (TCO) is often significantly lower than building and maintaining an in-house system. Hidden expenses in in-house development include hardware, developer salaries, ongoing updates, and the overhead of managing a complex analytics environment.

Harnessing the Power of Purchased Supply Chain Insights

Making the most of purchased visibility solutions requires a strategic approach beyond simply choosing a platform. Here are some considerations.

• Integration: True insight generation depends on seamless integration with your existing systems — Transportation Management Systems (TMS), Warehouse Management Systems (WMS), and other core enterprise applications. Prioritize vendors offering robust APIs and support for standard data exchange formats, simplifying information flow.
• Data Quality and Standardization: The adage ‘garbage in, garbage out’ holds true with analytics. Explore third-party solutions that offer built-in data cleansing and normalization capabilities. This ensures the reliability of insights and the accuracy of decision-making.
• The “Pre-nup” Approach: Even when leveraging a third party’s power, retain control of your most valuable asset — your data. Consider developing a core data store (like a data lake or warehouse) that pulls from all connected systems. This safeguards access during vendor transitions and allows for future in-house analytics initiatives.
• Vendor Evaluation: Look beyond the flashy feature list. When evaluating RTTVP platforms, prioritize:

1. Vendor track record: Assess their experience in the industry and proven success with companies of your scale.
2. Commitment to Innovation: Choose partners aligned with your vision, constantly adapting their solutions to emerging needs.
3. Support and collaboration: Evaluate the level of support the vendor offers, ensuring a partnership approach to your success.

Real-World Examples

Target, a large retailer, attempted to build its own in-house inventory management system. This resulted in severe miscalculations, overstocking, understocking, and, ultimately major financial losses. The complexity of modern inventory management, especially for a company of Target’s scale, proved too significant for their internal development efforts.

The benefits of purchased visibility and analytics solutions extend far beyond theory. Target attempted to build its own in-house inventory management system. This resulted in severe miscalculations, overstocking, understocking, and, major financial losses. The complexity of modern inventory management, especially for a company of Target’s scale, proved too significant for their internal development efforts.

In the quest for prescriptive supply chain insights, purchasing specialized solutions offers clear advantages over the complex journey of in-house development. By leveraging third-party platforms, shippers and LSPs gain:

• Speed: Rapid deployment unlocks faster insights, translating to a significant time-to-value advantage.
• Expertise: Access to deep domain knowledge and cutting-edge analytics accelerates success.
• Cost-Efficiency: Proven solutions often offer a more favorable total cost of ownership than building from scratch.

Partnering with a specialized vendor is a strategic step towards a more efficient, proactive, and resilient supply chain. Take the time to actively explore the market, identify vendors whose capabilities align closely with your unique needs, and begin the journey to transforming your data into actionable insights. Unleash the value of supply chain visibility by contextualizing insights that unlock intelligent decision-making.