The Logistics and Customs Control Tower (LCCT) taking the supply chain by storm

What are some of the biggest challenges large export and import enterprise face in
managing customs and logistics operations? And how can these challenges be effectively addressed to ensure smooth and efficient supply chain management?

In the domain of international trade, organisations frequently encounter a wide array of challenges related to documentation, regulatory compliance, shipment oversight, intricate logistics management, and record-keeping.

Ensuring the accurate and timely submission of all necessary documents to the relevant authorities is critical for expediting the processing of cargo declarations and customs clearances. Each shipped commodity presents its own set of complexities concerning regulatory and customs compliance, necessitating the acquisition and submission of permits and licenses, as well as compliance with customs regulations, classifications, duties, and tariffs in both the country of origin and the destination country.

Furthermore, closely monitoring the progress of consignments through various logistics stakeholders within a complex and fragmented supply chain is a challenging yet indispensable task. Having a unified view of the tracking mechanism and updated visibility on the shipment is essential for anticipating potential bottlenecks and proactively coordinating with relevant stakeholders.

Effective logistics management is not just a necessity, but a cornerstone for any enterprise to adhere to delivery timelines and maintain strict control over logistics expenses. This comprehensive solution, which integrates with the organisation’s ERP, logistics service providers, and order fulfilment, is the key to monitoring and managing all aspects of a shipment related to documentation and logistics.

Automation is not just a tool, but a game-changer in the international trade domain. It is instrumental in automatically assigning documents from the repository to relevant shipments and operational documents processed by various stakeholders, ensuring that all necessary documents are readily available for internal reference, download, and sharing within the supply chain. This efficiency is what makes it a crucial part of expediting shipment processing.

A single-window shipment management system that consolidates inputs from various logistics service providers ensures the availability of crucial information for informed decision-making and effective supply chain planning. Addressing these challenges in export and import trade is not just a task, but a fundamental step for streamlining operations. It ensures the timely and efficient movement of goods in the global marketplace, a key factor for success in international trade.

Logistics and Customs Control Tower (LCCT) is a platform for new age organisations to be agile in cross-border trade. How has introducing Kale’s LCCT platform proven to be game changer for enterprises and what future does it hold?

The Logistics and Customs Control Tower (LCCT) is a powerful tool designed to empower enterprises engaged in international trade. It enables them to manage the complexity of documentation, review and process critical information from stakeholders in the supply chain and monitor and control shipment movements.

Equipped with business rules, integration capabilities, internal workflows, SLA, and TAT tracking for various services, the solution introduces and supports automation and collaboration between internal and external stakeholders in the enterprise. An integrated single-window solution to manage internal workflows and external logistics operational activities enables an enterprise to take control of various aspects of a shipment, manage complexities, and take proactive action to optimise documentation and logistics operations, resulting in effective management of supply chain processes.

With a configurable business rules engine, the LCCT enables enterprises and supply chain stakeholders to harness technology effectively. It expedites operational processes, ensures tasks are performed within timelines, and monitors and manages deviations. This results in significant time and cost savings, facilitating smoother trade operations and enhancing the bottom line.

The Logistics and Customs Control Tower is a comprehensive solution for managing logistics and customs compliance activities. It controls and manages critical activities, defines internal workflows, and tracks logistics costs at the order and shipment level. It also provides enhanced services to customers, generates reports for decision-making, and plans for effective supply chain management, making it a one-stop solution for all logistics needs.

Enhanced integrated visibility enables an enterprise to manage logistics and compliance activities by means of automation and intelligent dashboards, track shipments and inventory levels for dispatches, identify possible delays in the supply chain from Purchase Order to dispatches to delivery, provide enhanced services in terms of visibility and on time deliveries to customers, mitigate risks related to compliances and documentation and control overall logistics costs by optimising logistics flows.

What role do control towers play in enhancing visibility and efficiency in logistics operations?

Control Towers equip export-import enterprises with the ability to exercise better control over logistics processes, offer enhanced visibility on internal and external operations, and enhance the tracking of consignments as they pass through critical milestones aggregated from multiple logistics services providers and rendered in a single solution for a comprehensive view of operations and other key metrics in terms of delivery timelines.

With a constant overview of operational activities, Control Towers enable an enterprise to analyse data and key metrics for decision-making, efficiently plan supply chain logistics, and proactively identify documents required for expedited compliance by various regulatory authorities. Any deviations or exceptions in the normal flow enable an export-import enterprise to address these proactively before they turn into bottlenecks, delaying the entire supply chain process. Appropriate alerts and notifications support faster response.

Automation plays a crucial role in processing data and tasks, including defining workflows within and outside an enterprise. With support for integration for the exchange of relevant information and documents in real-time, the Logistics and Customs Control Tower fosters collaboration between various stakeholders in the supply chain, including customers and suppliers of the enterprise.

Definition and monitoring of key KPIs ensure improvements in the supply chain, documentation generation/submission, and turnaround of operational tasks across logistics, compliance, and deliveries.

In short, the Control Tower is a critical element for any enterprise engaged in international trade to manage and adhere to regulatory compliances, track consignments, monitor KPIs, generate data for decision-making, and improvise operations and processes for logistics efficiencies.