The status line is a critically important concept in supply chain management. It provides visibility into where a product is in the fulfillment journey, allowing companies to optimize efficiency, meet customer expectations, and make data-driven decisions. As supply chains grow more complex, the status line is more vital than ever for maintaining control and resilience.
What is the purpose of a status line?
The status line gives a real-time snapshot of the progress through the supply chain. It tracks the product from the initial supplier all the way through manufacture, shipping, and delivery to the final customer. Each step of the way is documented so that the current status is always known. This serves several key purposes:
- Visibility – With a status line, companies have complete visibility rather than guessing where a product is. This allows them to provide accurate updates to customers.
- Efficiency – By understanding the status, bottlenecks or issues can be identified and resolved to keep supply chains running smoothly.
- Coordination – Different teams like manufacturing, logistics, and sales can view the same status data to coordinate activities.
- Forecasting – Based on status visibility, forecasts can be created for things like delivery dates, transportation needs, and inventory levels.
- Risk management – Potential supply chain disruptions due to weather, labor shortages, or other factors can be predicted and mitigated.
Fundamentally, the status line provides the insight needed to optimize logistics, minimize costs, and meet customer expectations. Every supply chain manager needs access to timely, accurate status data.
What data makes up the status line?
The status line is comprised of milestone events along the supply chain journey. This includes both discrete events like arriving at a warehouse and periods of time like transit between facilities. Typical data points include:
- Order information – Purchase order number, customer name, products/quantities ordered
- Manufacturing status – Date raw materials received, production started/completed
- Warehouse status – Received at origin warehouse, picked, loaded for transport
- Transportation status – Departed origin, in transit, arrived at destination
- Delivery status – Available to customer, delivered, signed for
- Returns status – Return requested/authorized, received at warehouse, repaired/replaced
Additional data like temperatures, locations with geo-codes, and inventory serial numbers can also contribute to a detailed status overview. The key is identifying the critical tracking events that need to be monitored based on the company’s operations and customer requirements.
How is status line data collected and tracked?
Given the many parties involved in supply chains, collecting status data requires information sharing across organizations. Some of the key methods include:
- API integration – APIs allow seamless data sharing between supply chain software systems used by different companies.
- IoT sensors – Sensors on products/assets can automatically communicate location, condition, etc. to provide status updates.
- Barcode/RFID scanning – Scanning product identification at each step of the process documents status.
- Electronic documents – EDI and e-waybill documents contain shipment status data and are shared between trading partners.
- Manual entry – In some cases employees manually enter status data into a system.
This information is aggregated in a central database or platform to provide end-to-end visibility. Dashboards, alerts, and other features help supply chain managers digest and act on the status information.
Machine learning can also help analyze the data to identify patterns, risks, and opportunities for optimization. The goal is to not just collect status data but maximize its value.
What are some examples of supply chain status lines?
Status lines come in all shapes and sizes depending on the company and industry. Here are a few examples:
- Retail purchase order status – Shows if order is confirmed, allocated to a store, partially/completely fulfilled, in transit, delivered, or paid.
- Parcel tracking status – Documents checkpoint scans from origin to destination like arrived at post office, departed transit hub, out for delivery.
- Warehouse order picking status – Displays items picked, packed, queued for shipping, and loaded on outbound truck.
- Manufacturing production status – Indicates raw material receipt, WIP stages, quality inspections, production completion, and stocked as finished goods.
- Equipment repair status – Flags request received, diagnostics started, root cause identified, parts sourced, repair work underway, testing, complete.
These provide a slice of the overall supply chain status focused on a particular facility, function, or order type. Expanding the scope provides even greater visibility.
What are the benefits of supply chain status lines?
Effective use of status lines provides both internal and external benefits:
Internal process improvements
- Increase efficiency with real-time work/asset tracking
- Identify and resolve bottlenecks
- Coordinate teams and inventory with shared data
- Reduce costs with optimized workflows
- Improve planning and forecasting accuracy
External customer advantages
- Fulfill orders accurately by shipment date
- Provide shipment and delivery visibility and tracking
- Create transparency and trust with order status updates
- Reduce inbound inquiries about order status
- Proactively communicate potential delays or changes
The result is a supply chain that runs according to plan, satisfies customers, and supports data-driven improvement.
What challenges exist with supply chain status lines?
Deploying and managing effective status lines has a number of potential challenges:
- Data fragmentation – Disparate systems across companies can make data sharing difficult.
- Manual processes – Lack of automated data capture results in human errors or delays.
- Poor data quality – Inaccurate or incomplete status data undermines trust and value.
- Change management – Adoption of new status tracking processes can require training and buy-in.
- Cost – New hardware, software, and labor may require significant investment.
- Analysis paralysis – Collecting data is useless without ability to analyze and act on it.
These hurdles require careful strategy and planning to overcome. But the long-term benefits make status line implementation well worth the effort.
How can companies improve supply chain status lines?
Turning status lines into a competitive advantage requires focus in several key areas:
- Automation – Use API, EDI, IoT sensors, barcode scanning, and other technologies for hands-free data collection.
- Standards – Develop data standards, naming conventions, and formats for consistent status data.
- Training – Educate employees on the importance of accurate, timely status capture.
- Data governance – Establish governance policies for status data quality, security, and accountability.
- Platform – Implement a central data platform to eliminate information silos.
- Analytics – Provide self-service analytics tools to generate actionable insights.
- Processes – Update processes to leverage status data for efficiency gains.
Additionally, starting with a pilot project or minimal viable product allows companies to demonstrate quick wins, gain user feedback, and expand gradually.
Conclusion
The supply chain status line is at the heart of supply chain visibility, efficiency, and resilience. Tracking milestone events from order to delivery provides companies with the data foundation needed to optimize operations, delight customers, and compete on customer experience. While implementing end-to-end status tracking faces challenges, the tools and best practices available today can set companies up for success. Companies that leverage supply chain status lines will gain a significant edge over competitors still flying blind.