 Warehouse Wireless Instability & Handheld

Disconnections
Poor ware house coverage considering wireless, not stable network and
disconnection of normal handheld take it to the highest point of list. Majority of
companies experienced this problem.
Major causes
o Not very well-planned warehouses and their implementation.
o Often selecting wrong solution of wire less
o Not fully equipped or lack in equipment
 Issues related to scanning and printing
Mostly logistic companies need to do print and scan very fast. At the same time
not doing it perfectly may cause huge lag in productivity and problem in supply
chain. Majorly printing and scanning issues acquires due to problem in
connectivity, alignment issues in printer, not having knowledge to select printer
for particular network, incompatibility of driver and document which are
scanned taking too long time.
Major causes
o Lack of complete planning
o Not standardised scanner or printers
o Using decentralized management for printers
 Warehouse management system problem &
transportation management system
These two systems majorly play very critical role in supply chain business.
Decision makers most often not take this in consideration while making
decision particularly when they select right WMS/TMS solution for their
respective company.
Major causes
o Not stable system
o Software updates are not proper
o Quality of database system is poor
  Problem related to IT infrastructure
Core of business is IT which connects people and data where sharing of
important information and processing happens, includes email, ladding bill,
sales information, and more. Many often time this core part of business get
underestimated which give result in whole system prom and this problem in
system give less productivity and dissatisfaction among customers.
Common infrastructure issues:
o slow speed of network
o disconnection of network
o degradation in server performance
o degradation network performance
o security violation
o incredible software
o incredible equipment
Major causes
o Badly design and poor implementation causes network problem, fail
server, desktop problem
o Hardware and software solutions are not standardized.
o Less security in technology systems as well as in operatons
o Recently businesses are running ton cost cutting motto which result in
increase cost as there is need to install solution again to get things right
on track again.
 Shortage of technology management
In this area we often see a lot of deficiencies originating. There is still misbelief
amongst decision makers that without managing technology can be
implemented but it is not true particularly in the case When you want to run
everything very smoothly.
Common characteristics
o Downtimes which are unscheduled force business to stop at any time. We
can call it that technology is managing whole company not company
managing their technology.
o Shortage in monitoring system to find problems before they occur.
o Deficiency of maintenance which is proactive. To maintain system up to
date, with new security.
challenges
 recordkeeping is major challenge as there is chance of not updated stock and consumption
records.
 Not standard quality of reports or late and incomplete reports
 While making decision not considering data.

Processing Enormous Amounts of Information

Logistics managers have to deal with a lot of figures and data on a daily basis, besides coordinating
smooth discharge of operations. The scope of their work includes ensuring the safety of the fleet and
staff, fleet loading, cross-checking route maps, sanctioning fuel bills and so on. When done manually,
this can be a time-consuming and tedious task that can take your focus off from attention to details.
Investing in an automated solution or application for data entries, fuel bills, loading and unloading
ledgers can go a long way in streamlining operations by allowing logistics managers the luxury of
time to look at the finer nuances of operations

Manpower Management

Manpower is the trickiest of management responsibilities. You must maintain a humane approach
toward the employees while keeping the best interest of your organization in mind. That can be a
complicated equation in any managerial setup, but especially so in case of logistics management, as
the drivers and staff are often placed in different geographic locations to maintain swift supply chain
velocity. Decentralization of responsibilities, by appointing logistics managers in key locations, with
appropriate work-order management solutions can help in more efficient management. For
instance, work order software like ReachOut, helps logistics managers manage team utilization, team
schedules, show proof of work, generate quotes and invoices and do much more. Managers can
easily keep everyone on the same page and notify the staffs immediately about changes or provide
them with live info they need.

Compliance with Regulations

Transportation rules, regulations and security norms can vary from city to city, state to state, and
quite obviously, from country to country. If you are a business catering to a global clientele, keeping
up with these varying rules and regulations and familiarizing your staff with these, can pose a grave
challenge. Collaborating with an efficient audit software can help eliminate these pains and improve
your compliance, audit results and lead to quality investigations, thereby saving you from the
trouble of getting on the wrong side of the law.

With the landscape of business operations continually changing, there is a shift in the ensuing
challenges as well. Staying abreast with these changes and taking preemptive measure to ward off
these challenges, is a sign of sound logistics management. However, solving logistic issues is not an
impossible mission.
Focusing on 3 major factors- Data, Process and Technology, can solve the biggest challenges of
logistics.

1.) Equipment Malfunction or Breakdown

This is probably the biggest reason why most optimized cold chains break down. Some of the things
that could trip up a temperature-controlled supply chain operation include:

Power Outages Whether it’s a blackout or simply someone forgetting to plug the refrigerator in,
powered cooling systems can break down, especially when they’re on trucks or other modes of
transport without access to uninterrupted power and redundant backups.

Coolant/Insulation Failure Temperature-controlled containers with passive cooling typically rely on a

coolant that is part of the packaging to keep shipments cold, which are tightly sealed and heavily
insulated. The packaging isn’t infallible though, bad handling or wear and tear could damage the
container and render the insulation and coolant moot, leaving your cargo exposed.

Poor Circulation Temperature-controlled environments that rely on active cooling usually need
proper circulation for best effect. Blocked vents or hotspots in temperature-controlled zones are a
big problem in cold chains, and by the time anyone spots them it’s typically too late to reverse the
damage.

Insufficient Reserves/Redundancy Breakdowns happen, as do delays. Cold chains can accommodate

these eventualities to a reasonable degree, but anything beyond that leaves stranded. Reasons why
cold chains fail include:

o Lack of fuel —active cold chains depend on powered cooling solutions.

o Lack of coolant — passive cold chains depend on things like dry ice or other materials to
keep shipments cool.

o Hard to find spare parts — especially relevant in long-haul shipments that use specialized
or customized active cooling solutions.

o Limited back-up energy/coolant source —while redundancy is important, so is cost-

efficiency.

2.) Lack of Uniform Standards or Infrastructure

Technology, infrastructure and cold chain standards differ across the world, making it more difficult
for individuals running global operations to guarantee end-to-end integrity. Issues could include a
lack of adequate cooling options, temperature-controlled warehouses and non-uniform cooling
standards across intermediate storage facilities.

3.) Distribution/Delivery Cold Chain Risk

Unlike fixed temperature controlled warehouses, mobile cold storages (in transport) have many
more variables to consider besides the amplified risk of equipment breakdowns, packaging failures
or the inability to save shipments that are stranded due to breakdowns in remote locations.

4.) Human Error

Negligent staff, insufficient training, non-compliance with established protocols and inefficient use of
equipment are some of the typical reasons cold chains fail. Some of the most common “human
error” horror stories involve:

Bad handling —damaged containers due to haphazard handling.

Bad practices —leaving the refrigerator door open during last-mile deliveries.

Bad paperwork —leading to unnecessary delays or detention.

5.) Theft/Pilferage

Whether it’s regular pilferage or the occasional hijack of a full truckload, cargo theft is an endemic
problem in supply chains across the world. As a growing number of temperature-sensitive products
hit the road, cold chains are now high-value targets for cargo thieve

How Can You Reduce Your Cold Chain Risk

Cold chain interruptions are inevitable, despite your most diligent deterrents. Ensuring 100 percent
cold chain reliability is possible, but also expensive, while it’s difficult to balance the growing cost of
cold chain risk management with the relentless need to reduce costs, supply chain professionals
today have an advantage their predecessors didn’t — the Internet of Things. IoT combined low-cost
connected sensors for real-time shipment monitoring can help cold chain management.

The right, end-to-end IoT cold chain monitoring solution will afford shipping managers and quality
control personnel alike the trifecta of what they need to ensure maximum cold chain reliability:

1.) Sense Data in Real-time

Knowing instantly about a temperature spike and which of your parcels are potentially affected is
valuable information.

If your IoT gateway device has a GPS and the right set of sensors, you will be able to know where the
temperature anomaly is happening and what possibly triggered it.

2.) Make Sense of Data

Besides risk reduction and better throughput, another bonus to continual monitoring is aggregated
data. Sufficient logistics data, when properly analyzed, can be a treasure trove of predictive and real-
time actionable insight.

You can use past performance and variables like the window of delivery, route congestion, possible
deviations, fuel consumption and remaining coolant to continually suggest more efficient routes.
Iterative improvements over time have a greater positive impact than sweeping procedural changes
fraught with risk.

3.) Act on Insights Through Timely Intervention

If your shipment gets delayed, your coolant runs low or your refrigeration malfunctions, for example,
real-time monitoring would give you a heads-up early enough to take effective action, dispatching a
recovery or refit team to resolve the issue.

The cost of intervention is often lower than the cost of overcompensating on cold chain risk
mitigation tactics like heavier insulated packaging, powered cold chain solutions or maintaining
redundant safety stock, allowing you to run a leaner AND more reliable cold chain.
If you’re running a global logistics operation, it’s also a good idea to request help outsourcing your
monitoring, real-time risk mitigation and other critical tasks to a response center that’s closer to the
action. Outsourced logistics control towers are catching on, especially with logistics operations that
need to handle large operations around the world.