Geopolitical conflicts, severe weather events, and port congestion are just some of the major ongoing factors impacting the global supply chain on a daily basis. Over the past month, just 40% of TEU departed the port of load (POL) on time, with an average delay of 7.3 days, according to WiseTech Global data. While only 21% of cargo arrived on time at the port of discharge (POD), and delays averaging 13 days.
In an environment where delays are commonplace, true operational visibility isn’t simply about tracking every shipment. For freight forwarders managing hundreds of shipments at once, the challenge is knowing which shipments need attention, where they are starting to deviate from plan, and where there is still an opportunity to respond.
More tracking data doesn't always mean a clearer picture
A container's journey generates signals from different sources, each providing a different piece of the operational picture. Carrier milestones can tell one part of the journey, while vessel movements and data from ports, terminals and IoT-enabled containers can provide additional context.
Bringing those signals together, however, creates another challenge: they don't necessarily arrive at the same time, in the same system, or tell the same story. The objective is therefore not simply to collect more data, but to determine which information can be trusted and turn those individual signals into a coherent picture of what is happening to a shipment.
Through robust relationships built over decades, WiseTech Global has connected CargoWise to over 160 carriers, with the platform now tracking more than 95 million containers annually and capability to track over 20,000 vessels.
“When different sources tell you different things about the same shipment, the challenge is understanding which information to trust,” says Senior Product Manager, Daniel Bahna.
With CargoWise’ Container Automation module, the WiseTech Global team is focused on evaluating the quality of every data source.
“We harmonize and deduplicate data, validate it against other sources, and look at historical patterns and travel times.”
Daniel explains that there are three things that matter: reliability, completeness, and timeliness.
"Reliability is about whether the information accurately reflects what is happening, especially if you’ve set up workflow automation. Completeness means having enough context to understand the shipment journey,” says Daniel. “And, timeliness determines whether that information reaches the forwarder while there is still an opportunity to respond.”
Shifting from “visibility” to “attention” where it matters
While having a complete data picture of your operations is clearly crucial, Product Manager Dingwen Huang, explains it’s only a part of the solution.
“The constraint isn't data. Our customers have more of it than ever before. It's really about attention. Hundreds of shipments, a handful that need a decision today.”
Many forwarders often find themselves checking multiple carrier systems, spreadsheets, emails and other locations to understand not only where a shipment is but also what is happening around it.
“Disruption costs vary depending on when you see it,” says Dingwen. “If a week or two ahead, a slipping transshipment is a planning decision for proactive scheduling and advanced notifications. But if you discover it on a customer's call later on, it demands a recovery. Essentially, the earlier you see it, the cheaper the fix.
“That's the shift from tracking to deciding. You stop asking ‘where is it?’ and start asking ‘what needs my attention, and what can I do about it?’”
Bringing the wider picture into view with CargoWise Map
CargoWise already gives forwarders visibility into individual shipments and vessels through Route Visualizer and Cargo Tracker. CargoWise Map builds on this capability with a complete view across operations, helping teams identify which shipments need attention and where to investigate further.
“Map is for the moment before a customer asks about their shipment, when you don't have a particular focus point or you are simply overwhelmed by the number of jobs to worry about. Map surfaces the shipments you should be asking more about.”
By combining data exploration capabilities with geospatial context, Map allows forwarders to explore their shipments alongside what is happening around them. Maritime disruption alerts and delay indicators help teams identify shipments that may be affected and determine where closer investigation is needed.
Both operators and their managers also have access to the same live picture of their operations, without jumping between tools and systems.
The “visual control center” for logistics operations
With delays and disruption occurring across different stages of the ocean freight journey, either at POL due to a delayed sailing, at transshipment because of a missed connection, or at POD when congestion causes further delays, it’s clear forwarders need more than individual shipment updates to maintain resilient supply chains.
As Dingwen explains, this is the role CargoWise Map was designed for: “It will be the visual control center which our customers can rely on to understand not just where their cargo is, but also what's happening around it and what it means for the next decision.”
Want to see CargoWise Map in action, including the upcoming AI-powered natural language data exploration capability? Watch the first episode of the Ocean Visibility webinar series on demand now.
Or are you ready to take the step from visibility to insight? Register for our next episode to explore how operational and market intelligence can help logistics teams look beyond individual shipments to understand how changing market conditions could impact their operations.