Case study
Ford boosts operational efficiency and reduces costs by more closely monitoring container shipments
Ford was incurring excessive costs from dealing with inaccurate inventory levels and part shortages. They turned to Incite to get resolve the issue.
The company’s 31 North American manufacturing plants relied on a massive supply chain to move part containers efficiently, and any disruptions or delays in this process had severe financial consequences. To compound matters, Ford’s supply chain management team used a complex manual process with Microsoft Access and Excel spreadsheets, leading to issues like inaccurate inventory levels, part shortages, premium freight costs, excessive use of single-use containers, and lost container claims.
Meeting financial goals while enabling smarter day-to-day business decisions
The automaker sought a solution for its supply chain inefficiencies and partnered with Incite. Together, they developed the Container Management Analytics Solution, which provides a comprehensive dashboard with automatic alerts for key performance indicators, daily data updates to identify shipping issues promptly, and insights into mislabeled or unreturned containers. It also facilitates tracking shipment locations along the return route and proactively manages container flow. These actionable insights now empower the company’s supply-chain management team to address issues before they impact operations and reduce costs significantly, meeting their financial goals while enabling smarter day-to-day business decisions.
“Now we have a tool that doesn’t just collect data; it brings issues to our attention that could turn into serious problems and gives us the analytics we need to fix them. It’s a game-changer.”
SMC Container Manager
Reliable data and actionable insights help Ford’s supply-chain management team address problems before they impact operations or grow bigger.
Ford’s dashboards quickly reveal valuable business insights, such as costs associated with suppliers mislabeled or unreturned containers.
Business benefits
- Automatic alerts if a key performance indicator moves outside an acceptable range
- Daily data updates to identify shipping issues and reduce supplier claims for lost containers
- Identification of mislabeled or unreturned containers to avoid supplier shortages
- Expendable container notifications to highlight possible supplier issues
- Views into shipment locations along the return route to ensure reliable reporting of missing returns
