Retailers that want to compete in a highly competitive e-commerce landscape should deploy control towers to keep control of their logistics flows. That is what ABN Amro advises.
Retail can profit from control towers
A control tower takes control and coordination of logistic ticks on the basis of data. That data comes from retailers and their supply chain partners. Especially in online retail, a lot can be gained by using control towers, ABN Amro believes. "In internet sales, logistics is one of the critical success factors. The rise of e-commerce is forcing retailers to look at logistics differently. The highest possible availability of products, at the right time and place, and then also at the lowest possible cost requires an efficient and effective supply chain."
Fewer trips and better stock control
When all chain partners exchange information on inventory management, transport planning, warehouse management and person planning, among other things, retailers are better able to bundle loads to reduce the number of trips. "Through data analysis, they are able to better plan future routes and predict potential bottlenecks in time. Also, using a control tower can lead to better stock control by using forecast scenarios."
Agreement system for data sharing
The bank acknowledges that far from everyone is eager to share information. Therefore, agreements must be made around privacy and ownership of data. "There are now initiatives such as iShare. iSHARE is an agreement system for identification, authentication and authorisation to promote information sharing within the logistics sector."
