As someone who’s worked extensively with analyzing shipping data, I can attest to the many challenges to cut through its complexity for real insights and informed decision-making. Its like searching for a needle in a haystack. Indeed, the data is scattered across various departments and organizations, and its quality is often compromised. Moreover, this fragmentation hampers our ability to establish a reliable Single Source of Truth (SSOT). As a result, it is difficult to harness the full potential of data-centric technologies like analytics, AI, and decision intelligence. Imagine the possibilities if we could unify our shipping data – the improved visibility, efficiency, and financial outcomes would be transformative.
In this article, I’ll explain the benefits of using Transport Load IDs to unify your shipping data. Moreover, I’ll demonstrate how this strategic move can maximize the utility of your shipping data. Also, I’ll highlight the current challenges and the resulting lack of insights with shipping analytics today. Most Importantly, I’ll show you how you can use shipment Load IDs to maximize insights from your shipping data across your organization. Lastly, I’ll provide you with 10 practical use cases where Load IDs can enhance supply chain operations, from planning and order fulfillment to shipping, payment, and post-shipment analysis.
- 1. The Poor State Of Shipping Data Analytics Compared To Other Supply Chain Data – 4 Unique Challenges.
- 2. Limited Insights From Shipping Data Due to the Fragmented Use of Multiple IDs.
- 3. What Is a Transport Load ID, Why Use It, and How Can It Help with End-To-End Shipment Analytics?
- 4. Ten Example Use Cases For Shipping Data Load ID In Supply Chain Operations.
1. The Poor State Of Shipping Data Analytics Compared To Other Supply Chain Data – 4 Unique Challenges.
In today’s fast-paced logistics industry, supply chains face massive hurdles leveraging data analytics and adopting new data-intensive technologies such as AI. The reason: shipping data chaos. At its core, shipping data encompasses a diverse range of systems, various data formats, and numerous communication protocols within supply chains. Complicating matters further, this data is often fragmented, duplicated, and riddled with inaccuracies. To sum it up, below are the 4 major challenges with shipping data that causes havoc and stifles iniative across the supply chain.
Four Major Challenges with Shipping Data
- Supply Chain Organizations Are Disjointed Because Of Restricted Shipping Visibility.
- Massive Amounts Of Fragmented Shipping Data, But Few Insights.
- Supply Chain Orchestration And Automation Limited Due To Complicated Shipping Data Structures.
- FinTech Solutions Adoption And Integration Impeded Due To A Lack Of Good Shipping Data.
For more information on the challenges with shipping data analysis, see my article, Poor Shipping Data Analytics – Here Are The 4 Reasons Impeding High Tech Visibility And Optimization.
“… tracking, carrier invoicing, and customer reference numbers … do not unify all shipping data together into a structured whole.”
2. Limited Insights From Shipping Data Due to the Fragmented Use of Multiple IDs.
As discussed, supply chains suffer from a fundamental visibility gap: shipping data is scattered across disconnected systems and stakeholders. Without a Single Source of Truth (SSOT), even the most advanced analytics are rendered ineffective by GIGO (Garbage In, Garbage Out) – resulting in a cascade of poor decisions and unintended consequences. At the same time, we often rely on tracking numbers, invoices, and POs to bridge these visibility gaps, but these identifiers only offer a ‘siloed’ view. They tie parts of the process together but never the whole. So, let’s look at the specific limitations of these different shipment-related IDs that prevent a truly unified shipping data structure.
Limitation of Current Shipment Reference IDs
- Carrier Tracking Number. The tracking number is issued by one or more carriers. Most importantly, a tracking number by itself does not embody all the shipment characteristics, nor specifics about the product within the shipping container, nor financial details. Moreover, especially for international shipment loads, there may be multiple tracking numbers from different carriers.
- Carrier Invoice Number. A carrier’s invoice provides charge details associated with a specific shipment. Also, it will normally have some shipment characteristics such as shipment dimensions. However, in many cases the carrier’s invoice is not detailed, nor particularly decipherable from an analytics perspective. This is because the carrier only presents an invoice to get paid. Lastly, many shippers may never see their carrier’s invoice data because their 3rd party provider is paying for the shipment.
- Customer / Shipper Generate Reference IDs. Also, shippers and customers generate shipment-related identifiers. This can include an ID for a purchase order (PO), Bill of Lading (BOL), or other customer reference numbers. However for some shipping activities, there is no necessity for a customer reference ID. For example, the shipper is just transporting goods between their facilities. Also, many times the receiver or a third party is paying for the shipment where the shipper has limited to no visibility of the carrier’s shipping data. So, again, traditional customer or shipper reference IDs only link to parts of the shipping data.
Hence, the shipment reference numbers typically used within today’s supply chains do not link all shipping data together. In fact, disjointed shipping data is the reason supply chains are not “data ready” to reap actionable insights, nor fully leverage data-intensive technologies such as AI. What we need is a new type of shipment ID that ties all shipping data together from planning through execution to settlement and post-analysis.
“Without a Single Source of Truth (SSOT), even the most advanced analytics are rendered ineffective by GIGO (Garbage In, Garbage Out) – resulting in a cascade of poor decisions and unintended consequences.”
3. What Is a Transport Load ID, Why Use It, and How Can It Help with End-To-End Shipment Analytics?
As a result of the challenges with shipping data, shipping analytics is a convoluted process that involves a lot of manual labor and significant transportation data expertise. As discussed, the primary reason for this is that there is no one shipping reference number or ID that ties all the shipping data together across the supply chain. So, let’s look at what a Transport Load Id is and how it can help supply chains to achieve end-to-end visibility and a lot more.
a. The End of Siloed Supply Chains: Why Unified Shipping Data Is a Competitive Edge.
Today, savvy shippers attempt to bridge shipping data silos by mapping internal reference IDs to carrier tracking numbers. While this works for simple moves, the process collapses under the weight of modern logistics. For instance, in intermodal and international trade, a single load is buried under a mountain of conflicting IDs from carriers, 3PLs, government agencies, and financial entities. In trucking, the use of multiple load boards often creates redundant IDs for the same shipment. Further, when shippers bundle multiple purchase orders into a single load, the critical “one-to-one” relationship vanishes. The result? Most supply chains—from planning to profit—are operating in a state of shipping data chaos.
Because shipping data remains fragmented, most supply chains lack a “Single Source of Truth” (SSOT) for their goods movement processes. They possess no searchable reality that bridges the gap between planning, operations, finance, carriers, and logistics partners. But imagine if a shipper could finally unify this fractured landscape. By transforming disconnected shipping data into a single, cohesive view, supply chains would gain an unbeatable competitive advantage—turning raw shipping data into unparalleled strategic insights.
b. The Missing Link: How a Shipper-Generated Load ID Eliminates Data Silos.
It is time to solve the disjointed, partial view we have of our shipping data. The best way to solve this is by shifting to a shipper-generated Load ID. The creation of this identifier would occur when the shipper identifies a need for a shipment. Today, load IDs are used within specialized niches like military load planning and digital freight boards. However, we need to greatly expand the utility of load IDs, creating a “Golden Thread” across the entire shipping data life cycle. Without a doubt, this bridges the gap between logistics planning, operations and finance. This structural shift moves beyond simple tracking, enabling high-integrity analytics that span the entire life cycle—from planning to profit.
For more on how a shipper-generated load ID is the “Golden Thread” to an Interlinked Shipping Data Framework, see my article, Mastering The Shipping Data Life Cycle: The Way To A Complete View Of The Truth.
c. Transport Unit Identifier (TUID) Defined: The “Golden Thread” Load ID for Linking Shipping Data.
With this better understanding of what a Load ID, let’s define it. For the purposes of this article, I like the following definition from the TUID Working Group. This group is part of an international standards initiative focused on digital information in the supply chain. Further, this group is part of the ASTM F49 international committee that is leveraging ISO and other standards to increase interoperability of supply chains. The Transport Unit ID (TUID) definition is as follows:
“… a unique identifier for a load where the goods movement process has reached a status when there is an authorized order for shipment.”
TUID Working Group
d. Bridging the Shipping Data Silos: Moving Beyond the Limitations of Current Shipment IDs.
Below are the major reasons for using a Load ID such as the Transport Unit Identifier (TUID) for shipment analytics, supply chain visibility, and better, more informed decision-making.
- Not Tied To Carrier. First, the Load ID connects not to a specific carrier, but to the shipper who generated the shipment requirement. At its essence, the shipment Load ID represents the shipper’s need to transport goods.
- Closely Coupled With The Customer Order. Additionally, it is closely coupled with the customer order, internal or external, that generates the need for a shipment to move goods.
- Enhances Analytics and Visibility Across The Supply Chain. Further, all supply chain functions can use this Load ID for their specific requirements. In particular, key functions that can leverage a Load ID include planning, operations, and finance. Also, all stakeholders can have complete visibility of shipments across the supply chain. For more details, see my article, The Way To Better Supply Chain Analytics: Overcome Data Interoperability With Intelligent Tracking Status.
- Able To Leverage Data-Centric Technologies. Lastly, the shipment Load ID enables organizations to better leverage data-centric technologies such as data analytics, AI, and Decision Intelligence. It can do this because a Load ID unifies all shipping data that these data-intensive technologies need to be effective. For a primer on data centricity, see my article, A Data-Centric Business: The Best Way To Agility, One Truth, Simplicity, Technology Innovation.
“… a “Golden Thread” across the entire shipping data life cycle … bridges the gap between logistics planning, operations and finance … enabling high-integrity analytics that span the entire life cycle—from planning to profit.”
4. Ten Example Use Cases For Shipping Data Load ID In Supply Chain Operations.
By supply chains focusing on shipment loads and their unique Load IDs, the possibilities are endless for fully leveraging shipping data. Indeed, with unified shipping data, supply chains can more effectively leverage data-centric technologies such as data analytics, AI, and decision intelligence. Positively, a shipment Load ID enables the entire supply chain to leverage shipping data for their own operational needs. Further, individual departments, planners, and executives have full visibility of shipment data instead of partial view they have today. To get a better understanding of the power of using shipment Load IDs, below are 10 use case examples on how logistics managers can use shipment load IDs across the supply chain.
Use Cases For The Use Of Shipment Load IDs
- Supplier Sourcing: Streamline and optimize carrier RFP processes.
- Supply Chain Planning (SCP): Seamless transportation planning for demand sensing, capacity, and asset management.
- Ecommerce And Order Fulfillment: Increase visibility of order-to-delivery operations.
- Inventory Management: Gain visibility of product inventory at rest and in motion coupled with anticipated demand.
- Fleet Management And Trucking Technology: Optimize capacity and minimize costs.
- Freight Brokering: Increase real-time efficiencies while reducing costs and fraud.
- Visibility And Tracking: Gain multi-facet visibility of orders and transportation across the supply chain.
- Freight Bill Auditing And Payment: Streamline processing, leverage more FinTech solutions.
- Decision Intelligence Tech: Automate Decision Flows Across The Supply Chain.
- Supply Chain Protection: Minimize fraud and detect anomalies through better traceability.
For a more detailed discussions of these supply chain use cases for Load IDs, see my article, Unifying Shipping Data Using Transport Load IDs: Here Are 10 Ways It Can Unlock Analytics And Empower Logistics Tech
Conclusion.
So, we have looked at the advantages of using Transport Load IDs to unify your shipping data. Indeed, supply chains adopting the use of shipment Load IDs is a compelling strategic move to maximize the utility of their shipping data. Moreover, there are countless use cases for using shipment Load IDs to enhance supply chain operations. Indeed, this includes planning, order fulfillment, shipping, payment, spend management, and post-shipment analysis.
More References.
- ASTM F49 committee and their work on the Goods Movement Process, see Standard Terminology for Goods Movement Process (GMP) Precise Foundational Definitions.
- Supply Chain Analytics: Meet Ralph Whose The Best At Leveraging Awesome Data Analytics Technology To Empower His Supply Chain
- More on TUID and the Goods Movement Process: The Best Shipment Visibility: One Source Of Truth Framework For Better Planning, Execution, Post-Analysis
Need help with an innovative solution to make your supply chain data ready? I’m Randy McClure, and I’ve spent many years solving data readiness challenges to help decision-makers gain better, faster insights and for organizations to leverage data-intensive technologies. As a supply chain tech advisor, I’ve implemented hundreds of successful projects across all transportation modes, working with the data of thousands of shippers, carriers, and 3rd party logistics (3PL) providers. I specialize in pilot projects and program management for emerging technologies. If you’re ready to modernize your data infrastructure or if you are a solution provider, let’s talk. To reach me, click here to access my contact form or you can find me on LinkedIn.
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Greetings! As a supply chain tech advisor with 30+ years of hands-on experience, I take great pleasure in providing actionable insights and solutions to industry leaders. My focus is on supply chains leveraging emerging LogTech. I zero in on tech opportunities and those critical issues that are solvable, but not well addressed, offering industry executives clear paths to resolution. I have a wide range of experience to include successfully leading the development of 100s of innovative software solutions across supply chains and delivering business intelligence (BI) solutions to 1,000s of shippers. Click here for more info.