Logistics Specialists & Data collecting:  Are we detectives, or storytellers?

More than once in my career I have had a client or coworker come and ask me to help them clarify information about a shipment that happened a long time ago. In those moments, I have felt like I’m doing detective work, because no matter how standardized procedures are, and how well-rounded computer systems are designed for a business, often a lot of data that happens on specific events is not well recorded.

In logistics, it’s very common to have eventualities happen to certain shipments. And eventualities don’t necessarily mean problems but instead are a reflection of the impact of the human factor and social events on the progress of a given shipment. More often than naught, these eventualities can help us learn how to strengthen the logistics network and how to refine the logistics channel itself.

By observing the eventualities and gathering important information for each shipment, I believe we become in a certain degree like storytellers, because these eventualities will give the shipment a unique story that the logistic specialist will know the details for, and will most likely have to share and tell these detailed story several times over because the shipment will carry this impact until the end of the purchasing process within the chain.

It is important to keep record of each shipment’s unique story in a way that is easy to understand for everyone who looks into the shipment in a report, in a system record, etc. which for us in Allyn is simplified using the In-Transit comments section, so we can add eventualities to each shipment or shipment portion.

What kind of eventualities? Eventualities can be as simple as a weather condition that is impacting the delivery of the goods; it can be a new regulatory process, a new tariff, it could be the government shutdown that is impacting permit releases, or an error in the export documents that is keeping the goods detained at the border; it could be a system malfunctioning that is holding back the process or even harsh events like mechanical breakdowns or road accidents that keep the goods from reaching their destination; a serial number that changed; a batch of goods that have to be repackaged…or many more.

It is important to find a space to keep a record of these events that are unique to each shipment. Some companies I have seen that keep an open “Comments” section in their systems for adding notes pertaining to the shipment’s story. But I have also seen a lot of companies that only keep the record of an eventuality in an email chain.

This might not be the best idea because email records may get lost or deleted, people may switch jobs and their accounts become closed altogether, losing years of stories of shipments.

My tip to you is to find a section in your system, a section in your report where you can add the story, so that when the next detective needs to come along, the task of tracing the story back in time is faster, cleaner, and easier.

Go beyond collecting the general data such as client, origin, destination, mode of transport, trailer number, BOL #, packing list, pick up number, entry number, etc. to also adding what the eventuality was and if there is any follow up information on itself as well. For example, think of a road accident: if your trailer is involved in one, you might want to keep record of where the accident happened, when it happened, the hauling companies involved, if they are willing to share the insurance report with you, etc. because it is safe to deduce that the client might want to file a claim to the carrier for the damage to the goods, or the delay, or any consequences derived from this.

Instead of going back & forth through the endless amount of emails talking about the same topic and sharing pieces of information, it is a good idea to write the completed story somewhere in your tracking reports; it’s even better if you can add all the necessary attachments somewhere in your system, or even creating a folder where all the information can be compiled for follow up.

And trust me, the next detective will be very grateful to find the full story in minutes, other than taking hours fetching the pieces to create it.

Contributor: JoDee Lupacchino

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About Allyn International

Allyn International is dedicated to providing high quality, customer centric services and solutions for the global marketplace. Allyn's core products include transportation management, logistics sourcing, freight forwarding, supply chain consulting, tax management and global trade compliance. Allyn clients range from small local businesses to Fortune 500 firms. Allyn conducts business in more than 20 languages and has extensive experience in both developed and emerging markets. Highly trained experts are positioned throughout North and South America, Europe and Asia. Allyn’s regional headquarters are strategically located in Fort Myers, Florida, U.S.A., Shanghai, P.R. China, Prague, Czech Republic, and Dubai, U.A.E. For more information, visit www.allynintl.com.