Logistics and transport
Logistics and transport: digitalisation to deliver a continuous view of data flows

Globalisation of trade, regulations and steep competition have all been affecting the logistics sector for a long time. More recently, new factors have been driving a faster-paced transformation, such as e-commerce, environmental transition, intermodal transport provision, the ever-growing criticality of goods’ traceability, and so on.

In response to tougher competition, after many long years of optimisation, price can no longer be the sole differentiating factor in the logistics sector. Client businesses are increasingly looking for stringent service-level agreements, speedy delivery, the adoption of “green logistics” policies and value-added services. And they are doing so quite simply because their own end customers are themselves asking for a different customer experience.

Everything is therefore tending towards a cross-functional, open and integrated view of the logistics chain, which is no longer limited to separate packages for the TMS (Transport Management System), WMS (Warehouse management system), etc. and silos of data for each company. Control over your logistics chain is primarily a matter of control over information and maintaining the continuity of data traffic between all parties involved.

La transformation digitale du secteur logistique et transport

01THE PITFALLS

The challenges posed by changes
in logistics and transport and their digitalisation

Where is my cargo? How fast is the driver going ? Are all the KPIs looking good ? Are communications with my partners’ information systems working ? Can we see all the factual arguments during disputes with clients and subcontractors ? How are we informed immediately in the event of problems ?

The ability to answer these questions at any time lies at the heart of the logistics sector’s transformation.

Transformation de la logistique : ESB

Standardise internal interchanges between applications

Your software lies at the heart of your organisation, with ERP, WMS and TMS systems for transport service providers, plus e-commerce sites for distributors, but each such system only sees one facet of the data. To consolidate an overall picture of your logistics chain, these applications need to communicate with each other in real time.

This is the ESB (Enterprise Service Bus) aspect

Digitalisation du transport et SI

Structure communications with external information systems

Whether you are a distributor or a transport services provider, your information systems must have a two-way connection. You need an immediate picture of delivery status to be available at all times, to anticipate issues, inform end customers and so on.

This is also in the ESB aspect.

Transformation du transport et contrôle des process

Check and trace cross-functional processes

You have to be sure you are delivering the right goods to the right person at the right time, while following due procedures. Processes’ history data must be stored so service levels can be checked. This comprehensive supervision of processes makes it possible to pinpoint areas for improvement, and so helps in terms of operational excellence.

This is the BPM (Business Process Management) aspect

La numérisation de la logistique pour plus de Valeur ajoutée

Offer additional services

Your control over the logistics chain and all its inherent data is worth promoting!

By exposing certain selected facets of your information systems, you are offering additional services, transparency and visibility which your customers will view as positive.

This is the API Management aspect

02METHODS AND SOLUTIONS

What methods and solutions deliver the best response for digital transformation in logistics and transport?

Whether you are in a retailer’s logistics department or at a transport firm, models are changing and IT systems increasing in number. This applies to the core of logistics with WMS (Warehouse Management Systems), RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology, TMS (Transport Management Systems) and increased use of robotics, and the logistics chain overall (e-commerce sites, ERP, etc.)

Each of these systems plays a vital role, but covers only part of the logistics chain. You are faced with merciless processes and tight deadlines, and you need instant feedback on information flows and data processing so as to react immediately. You definitely have to be proactive.

EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) meets part of this challenge, but will encounter difficulties successfully interchanging with all applications. Similarly, focusing solely on connections between applications does not provide the complete answer, because processes and warnings within applications are also a component to be taken into account.

For each brick in your information system to perform its role fully, the solution must provide a comprehensive, shared picture of processes, information flows and data that incorporates all dimensions of data interchange.

The 23rd of December is not the time to realise that your ERP has stopped taking orders if you are a retailer, or that your TMS is no longer connected to your customers if you are a transport services provider.

03 THE BLUEWAY SOLUTION

The Blueway solution to support digital transformation of logistics

At Blueway, we offer support and guidance both to retailers’ logistics departments and to transport companies to meet the operational excellence and data interchange management challenges they are facing to:

Differentiate themselves by offering value-added services to customers,
Supervise data flows in the round, and help towards the continuous improvement of processes;
Meet current standards in logistics, such as EDIFACT (Electronic Data Interchange For Administration, Commerce and Transport) and Inovert (INternational OVERland Transport);
Re-engineer information systems, to support large volumes of complex data traffic.

Some of our customers
in the logistics and transport sector

In response to your unforgiving operational timescales and the challenges posed by traceability and proactivity, Blueway offers an integrated software platform that delivers a comprehensive suitably-scaled solution (including BPM, ESB et API Management) to structure data flows in the logistics sector.

This full-web platform will reconcile data from different applications running in a range of environments, provide data governance and manage your processes so as to provide a consolidated and continuous picture of your logistics data chain.

Available in PaaS and On-premise versions, our solution is full web and low code making for swift deployment. IT and business departments alike quickly become totally familiar with the system.

Serving your needs Serving your Information System