Agillence

Shipment Visibility in XDock Networks Shipment visibility has become vital to support variable production, enabling dynamic adjustments, reducing costs, improving collaboration, and ensuring efficient operations by aligning shipments with fluctuating schedules in real-time. Visibility is relatively straightforward for truckload shipments, with options like trailer-level tracking and carrier location reporting. By integrating location data with mapping tools like Google Maps & PC*Miler —factoring in traffic and weather—shippers can achieve acceptable ETAs, provided driver service hours are accounted for. However, visibility challenges multiply in multi-XDock networks. Each XDock is often operated by different service providers using separate WMS systems. While they can track shipments entering and leaving their facilities, the processes within the XDock network frequently remain a black box for shippers. This lack of transparency complicates shipment-level visibility and hampers real-time decision-making. Eight years back, one of our customers, a leading Tier-1 supplier in North America, faced a similar challenge. Their operations span 5 XDocks, managing over 1,000 suppliers and 50+ plants to serve 9 OEM customers. Imagine dealing with so many OEMs, changing production schedules daily. They sponsored us to develop an XDock management solution within ALMS, an automotive parts logistics-specific TMS (https://lnkd.in/dMpmYiAT) The XDock management functionality within ALMS empowered our Tier-1 customer to achieve complete visibility into shipments within the four walls of their XDocks and across the XDock network, from the pickup at the supplier to delivery at the plant. It also provided reliable ETAs by factoring in connection schedules and processing times at the XDocks. The results were transformative: 1?? Premium shipments were reduced, and plant inventory levels lowered, thanks to improved confidence in ETAs provided by the system. 2?? Shipment visibility facilitated better planning and enhanced coordination among logistics teams. 3?? Responsiveness to production changes increased, ensuring smoother and more efficient operations. 4?? Logistics planners gained actionable insights through improved plan-versus-actual analysis, supported by operational data like trailer images captured at the XDock. 5?? Flexibility to select XDock service providers without worrying about lengthy system integrations. Is your team tackling similar shipment visibility challenges? Agilence #automotivelogistics #leanlogistics #alms #gartersc #RealTimeVisibility #crossdocking #leagile

I am excited to share that ALLO now offers the ability to create an optimal number of mixed pallets for suppliers while simultaneously optimizing orders (shipments) and routing—all while ensuring an even flow (heijunka). This marks a new pinnacle in inbound logistics optimization! ?? Mixed pallets significantly enhance variable production networks by improving supply chain efficiency and flexibility. Here’s how they contribute: Adaptability and Flexibility: Mixed pallets can contain various products or components required for a variable production plan. This allows suppliers and manufacturers to swiftly adjust to fluctuating demand by ensuring that all necessary items are delivered together, supporting rapid production shifts. Reduced Inventory Holding: Instead of maintaining large quantities of individual products, a mixed pallet approach enables just-in-time (JIT) delivery of exact components. This minimizes the need for excess inventory, aligning with the goal of dynamic production that adjusts to market needs. Improved Space Utilization: Mixed pallets enhance storage and transport efficiency by consolidating various items into a single shipment. This optimizes warehouse space and reduces the number of shipments required to maintain production flow. Streamlined Operations: By facilitating smoother inbound logistics and material handling, mixed pallets ensure that all items needed for variable production are delivered together. This reduces sorting time and helps manage incoming stock efficiently, speeding up the production process. Enhanced Coordination and Reduced Lead Times: Organizing products on mixed pallets allows manufacturers to align supply deliveries with flexible production schedules, reducing lead times and improving responsiveness to changing demand. On the downside, mixed pallets can introduce logistical complexity. If not properly managed, this may result in inefficiencies such as increased labor, sorting challenges, and potential errors. Effective management of packaging data becomes essential, serving as the basis for informed transportation decisions. Overall, mixed pallets are a major piece of the puzzle in supporting a variable production plan. They enhance material flow, align with production requirements, and facilitate timely adjustments to demand. Previous post on ALLO & packaging efficiency. https://lnkd.in/ei2Pi8iY Agillence #automotivelogistics #leanlogistics #allo #alms #SupplyChainInnovation #InboundOptimization

Reflections on a Holistic Approach for Lean & Agile Logistics The challenges brought by COVID-19 and the global chip shortage have stretched the vehicle manufacturing supply chain to the breaking point. With customer preferences fluctuating among EVs, hybrids, and ICE vehicles, navigating uncertainty has become a standard practice rather than an outlier. OEMs and Tier suppliers are developing systems that adapt to this new, unpredictable environment. Through collaboration with a major Tier 1 supplier serving 9 OEMs, 1000+ suppliers, and operating over 50 multi-tier plants across North America and a major Japanese OEM, we gained valuable insights into managing this uncertainty and enhancing flexibility in inbound logistics. Agillence #automotivelogistics #leanlogistics #leagile #allo #alms

Celebrating Our Achievement: SOC 2 Compliance We’re thrilled to share that Agillence has achieved SOC 2 compliance, a key milestone in our journey toward ensuring data security and regulatory compliance. A huge thank you to Essert Inc. for their invaluable guidance, as well as to Insight Assurance for their rigorous evaluation and validation of our compliance efforts. We’re also grateful to our IT partners and dedicated employees, whose hard work made this achievement possible. #soc2 #datasecurity #itsecurity

Excited to announce that I’ll be attending my third automotive logistics conference this year (24 - 26 September 2024 | The Henry Hotel, Dearborn, MI), following the Europe and Finished Vehicle Logistics events. It’s been a fantastic experience connecting with experts from various regions and sectors within the automotive logistics industry. If you’re attending and would like to discuss our innovative optimization solutions for both inbound and finished vehicle logistics networks, feel free to reach out. Let’s connect! #ALSCGlobal #Agillence #automotivelogistics

Selecting the Right Network Design Tool for Automotive Inbound: Key Considerations As esteemed logistics professionals in the automotive industry, your expertise is vital in choosing the right network design tool for inbound operations. With many generic tools available, finding one tailored to your industry's unique needs can be challenging. Instead of getting swayed by features, technical jargon, marketing materials, webinars, and conferences that may not be relevant to Automotive Inbound, consider these key questions to guide your selection process: Was this tool purpose-built specifically for the automotive industry? Can it model automotive-specific data, such as docks and detailed packaging? Can it consider the entire North American or European inbound network in one model? Can it model my current network as it is before finding cost-saving opportunities? Is the solution implementable and acceptable by carriers, suppliers, plants, and logistics teams? How can I identify ten kaizen opportunities monthly without scrambling the whole network? Could you transfer the solution to TMS with minimal manual adjustments? Can it help decide on the leanness of the network? Can it account for inventory costs and constraints? Can it optimize shipments and route frequencies? Can it design a multi-tier supplier inbound network? Can it assist in making packaging decisions? Can it help design a multi-tier cross-dock network? By focusing on these critical aspects, you can make sure that the tool you select will meet the specific demands of your automotive inbound logistics operations. My earlier post on our optimization tools: https://lnkd.in/eT_rk6YR #automotivelogistics #digitalstrategies #SupplyChain #networkdesign

Most companies using standard TMS systems, route planning, and PFEP data reside in that green box. It is manual, error-prone, and scattered, which are some characteristics of maintaining that data in greenbox. Even with advancements like AI/ML and real-time visibility, that green box can be the Achilles' heel in the logistics IT framework, obstructing the path to achieving a single source of truth. Further thoughts on this https://lnkd.in/gxHP8js7 Agree or disagree; feedback in comments, please. #alms #pfep #leanlogistics #tms #logistics #automotivelogistics #gartersc #realtimevisibility

Third conference in May! After Gartner Supply Chain/Xpo in Orlando and the Nissan Supply Chain Conference in Nashville, this week I'm in Huntington Beach, CA, along with my colleague Ed Smith for the Automotive Finished Vehicle Logistics conference. As I mentioned in an earlier post, after 20 years on the inbound side, we've started focusing on finished vehicle logistics network design and have seen success with our optimization. I hope this conference offers a chance to learn more about this business area and connect with other FVL professionals. https://lnkd.in/eDHbUNJA #FVLNA #agillence #automotivelogistics #finishedvehiclelogustics

I'm excited to attend this conference for the first time along with my colleague Ed Smith. I look forward to connecting with experts in the field, further learning about the complexities of FVL networks, and exploring enhancements to our Agillence Lean Logistics Optimizer (https://lnkd.in/emjFnTb ) to better assist OEMs in making their strategic and tactical network decisions. Please see my recent post on Agillence's first success in Finished Vehicle Logistics. https://lnkd.in/eCGeDBPT #FVLNA?#autoindustry?#logistics?#networking #automotivelogistics #agillence #allo

Friday Math Fun: Finding the Optimal Route: A Needle in a Haystack In the vast and intricate realm of logistics, finding the optimal route for freight from suppliers to plants can be likened to a search for a needle in a haystack. Consider an automotive network of 1000 suppliers and the potential to choose up to 8 suppliers in a route, whether directly or through one to four cross docks to two plants; the number of possibilities is mind-boggling. We're talking about a staggering decillion options (1 x 10^33). And that's not all-imagine the complexity that arises when additional business constraints are introduced. Please see the attached picture of how I arrived at the decillion calculation! Navigating these countless permutations requires sophisticated solutions and innovative thinking to ensure cost-efficient and practical routes in a reasonable time within reasonable computing resources. #agillence #automotivelogistics #leanlogistics #gartnersc