Benefits

Logistics decisions such as vehicle loading and dispatching, routing, and scheduling are mathematically complex operational decisions that should be made with high frequency. However, due to the supply and delivery time pressure, huge amount of data especially in less-than-truckload (LTL) industry (shipments and packages, transportation vehicles, pickup/delivery facilities, road condition data such as traffic, and other rules and limitations), as well as the dynamic nature of the business (constant flow and cancellation of orders, change in road condition and availability of vehicles, etc.), human is unable to make such decisions in an optimal way and within a reasonably short time window. ILS claims to make all these decisions simultaneously, within a reasonable time, and with high optimality accuracy. ILS easily integrates with client’s existing back-end systems such as WMS and TMS. ILS creates value both to the clients and to the public. ILS’s primary value proposition is improving supply and distribution operations productivity. We do this in following ways:

Planning Time Saving

Motor Carrier Cost Saving

Fleet Size Reduction

Improving Supply Chain Visibility

Damage Cost Saving

Loading and Unloading Time Saving

Fleet size reduction: ILS computes the optimal type and count of the transportation vehicles needed for pickup and delivery. As a result, ILS allows logistics companies to release redundant capacity or postpone purchase of new vehicles. ILS will reduce the fleet size by 5-20% through better utilization of the existing vehicles

Operational cost reduction: Using its complex solution engine, ILS exploits freight consolidation opportunity by selecting the optimal customers and shipments to be served by each vehicle, the optimal sequence of pickup and deliveries, the best load plan of shipments and packages inside vehicles, and the best timing and routing of vehicles considering traffic and other restrictions. As a result, it minimizes freight and fuel costs as well as transportation planning cost as the main operational costs of any logistics system. Moreover, since all these decisions are made real-time and automatically, planning, scheduling and coordination can be handled cost effectively. On the other hand, by accounting for extensive stacking rules and load configurations, ILS lowers product damage during transit. In brief, ILS:

Saves fuel costs (5~30%) by driving fewer miles and reducing deadhead.

Reduces product damage costs (0.05~2%) by deploying safety rules in loading plan.

Saves vehicle space (5~30%) by deciding on the best placement of each product and shipment inside transport vehicle.

Saves planning time (90%+ compared to a fully manual system) by automatically making all transportation decisions and virtually requiring no transportation planning team.

Reducing loading and unloading time and error: with step-by-step directed loading instructions and illustrative diagrams that depicts the precise placement of shipment products inside vehicles, ILS saves the time needed to load a vehicle. In addition, it reduces product shifting and relocation that may be needed during delivery, and improves forklift and labor efficiency by enforcing a strict policy on loading procedures. ILS takes the guess work out of load planning by advanced calculations prior to loading and minimizes labor error.

Improving supply chain visibility and sharing data, information, and insights with stakeholders. The information may be used by the client to identify improvement opportunities such as network redesign, package and container redesign, contract assessment, etc.

Service level improvement: by incorporating customer specific needs such as soft or hard pickup/delivery time windows, load/unloading restrictions, safety considerations, and factors such as road traffic, ILS automatically calculates more dependable estimated time of arrivals (ETAs). ILS can communicate the tighter and more accurate time windows to the customers, and provide them with safer and cheaper services.