Three Benefits of a Transportation Control Tower

It’s no secret that today’s marketplaces have new challenges to navigate. More than ever, your transportation network should be designed to withstand volatility in operating conditions and reduce risk.

An experienced network of transportation control towers is a solution that can stabilize the transportation components of your supply chain throughout market changes and can help your business operate efficiently during challenging times.

Transportation Control Tower: Mission-Critical Oversight

With a transportation control tower solution, your business can effectively minimize delays and maximize the impact of performance data. Here’s how the control tower works.

A control tower network provides mission-critical oversight of carriers, vendors, freight audits and payments, claims, charge-back notifications and other processes. The network is managed by transportation experts who are trained in operations, analytics, procurement and customer service.

The function of the control tower is to design the optimal routes for your supply chain, determine the most efficient carriers and ensure that they perform at a high level. Lean-based analysis is applied to your shipping patterns to help identify areas for improvement and cost-saving opportunities.

The main strength of a transportation control tower is that it combines world-class transportation technology and seasoned professionals trained to have a mindset of continuous improvement. Instead of a software as a service (SaaS) solution, which is simply access to technology, the transportation control tower model gives you a one-stop-shop transportation network. Not only do you get the technology to run the solution—you also get the expert talent, along with a vetted carrier pool to cover your logistics requirements.

Here are three key ways to benefit from a control tower solution for your transportation network:

01

Expert Talent and Carriers Ready to Assist

One of the most valuable parts of a control tower is the team of logistics experts at the helm. Lean-trained talent in the control tower includes the functional areas of account management, carrier/supplier management, freight planning, track and trace of loads and business intelligence. And, in the current carrier shortage, control towers have access to a vetted pool of reliable shipping capacity, with strong carrier relationships and the ability to scale up within an established carrier network. These aspects allow you to get the best combination of service and price.
02

Robust Technology with Real-Time Visibility

A control tower’s technology serves as a central point of contact that allows you to have visibility from order to delivery, acting as a unifier across various supply chain systems. The technology solution for a control tower must provide an optimized transportation and logistics environment that generates real-time business intelligence and streamlined process execution. Control towers also typically have ISO-certified processes that maintain high performance and minimize risk.

Increasingly, transportation procurement is being automated using predictive analytics and data trends, further streamlining processes for the shipper and carrier. An established technology team at the control tower level can quickly assign IT experts to special projects or issue resolution. Implementation matters, too — with an established control tower provider, the technology can be implemented seamlessly, easily integrated with your business and supply chain management systems.
03

Business Intelligence for Performance and Savings

With a control tower solution, you get a comprehensive suite of business management tools that turn “big data” into actionable information. This helps management drive improvements in performance. The control tower team can also provide scoring and custom reporting against key performance indicators (KPIs) or goals for your transportation network, such as timeliness, reliability, quality of service and cost savings.

Additionally, a control tower typically provides web-based portals for shippers, carriers and vendors, with robust self-service dashboard tools. It’s an ideal platform of technology and talent that supports long-lasting improvements to the network.

For many companies with recurring freight transportation needs, a control tower can unlock the door to a powerful transportation network. It provides low-risk, high-agility and consistently reliable solutions that withstand challenging market conditions. Connect with RXO today to build your ideal control tower network- we look forward to tailoring the solutions to your business.