In part 2 of our series on SCM use cases with limbiq, we will explore intra-company logistics and how the product supports this process. Additionally, we will discuss how companies can use limbiq to organize their future receiving processes and streamline their supply chain operations.

According to the OECD, intra-company logistics can represent up to 30% of an industrialized country's total trade volume. This means that for many manufacturing companies, intra-company logistics is a major part of their day-to-day business. They must ensure that raw materials, partially finished goods, parts, or completed products are transported to the subsidiary, production plant, or headquarters.

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Challenges in Cross-Border Intra-Company Logistics

When planning international shipments between company locations, there are several aspects that companies must consider. From the moment an internal order is created in the ERP system to the arrival of goods at their destination, a lot of information must be exchanged between various parties involved. The main challenge is that the receiving party cannot plan effectively due to a lack of information when the goods are in transit and may be stored in a forwarder's warehouse.

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The Consequences Of The Inability To Plan

Inability to properly plan for goods in transit forces companies to take certain countermeasures, such as:

• manually tracking shipments via websites
• increasing stock to bridge delays
• calculating longer lead times towards customers to gain more time for finishing production
• sending more WISMO (where is my order?) requests to various parties.

Remedying a broken process can be time-consuming and costly, and it can also have a negative impact on customers. Some effects of these remediations include:

• Delays in shipments and changes or rerouting of cargo to vessels with later departure dates
• Lack of transparency into the depots of the forwarders

This results in the following issues:

• Problems with planning the receipt of goods.
• Incorrect confirmed production dates.
• Incorrect confirmed dates for the customer.

So, there has to be a better way.

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How limbiq helps to optimize intra-company logistics

limbiq provides a central platform for managing all aspects of the process in a lean and collaborative manner. Let's quickly go through the different phases and assess how Limbiq supports each step.

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Planning Phase

To plan the shipment in limbiq, follow these steps:

• Send the planning orders or shipments via API or upload them to the limbiq platform.
• Invite all relevant parties to view and enhance the file.
• Use limbiq to inform all parties that a shipment is underway.

When the files are in the platform, the transactions and shipments are created:

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Transitphase

Once the goods are in transit, the shipment route can be tracked, including pre- and post-runs, via Limbiq's integration with third-party tracking providers. Therefore, all parties with access to a specific shipment will be able to see it and receive notifications in case of deviations from the expected schedule.

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On-Carriage planning at the destination (Outlook)

The organization at the ramp is crucial once the goods are en-route to their final destination. In the future, limbiq will provide this service for customers. By dragging and dropping shipments into a calendar view, users can organize the arrival at ramps by location.

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Conclusion

By using limbiq as the central tool for organizing inter-company shipments, organizations can gain greater transparency into the status of various shipments, even at the SKU level. This leads to better and more integrated transit planning. If deviations occur, users are automatically alerted and can take action. Overall, using limbiq results in:

• Improved planning accuracy
• Lower stock levels
• Increased customer satisfaction due to more accurate production and delivery dates
• Better organization of on-carriage processes
• Improved communication between parties
• Elimination of email and spreadsheets in planning and tracking
• Automatic tracking through data providers instead of manual tracking of carrier websites

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About limbiq:

We make SCM intuitive, affordable & fun to useWe are a young FreightTech start-up with the ambition to create the most efficient supply chain workflow solution and thus revolutionize communication in international logistics. Our mission is to make supply chain management across company borders intuitive, affordable and fun to use.

Interested in learning more? Contact us for a one-on-one follow-up to evaluate how limbiq can support your organization here.