We’ve seen seismic shifts in the global logistics landscape over the past few years, including a transition to omni-channel commerce, increasing demand variability and growing customer expectations. In the age of Amazon, consumers want customized fulfillment and delivery options, with fast service at a low cost. To operate profitably, companies need to carefully orchestrate their logistics operations at every step, across thousands of SKUs, hundreds of thousands of customers, and a distribution network that may span multiple countries.

Perhaps no one has benefitted more from this growing complexity than the world’s logistics services providers (LSPs). They’ve been able to significantly expand their business, as manufacturers and retailers are increasingly outsourcing their logistics tasks — and counting on LSPs to master the complicated business of distributing and transporting their products. Providing turnkey managed services represents an enormous revenue opportunity for LSPs.

While this is great news, it’s also placed pressure on LSPs to quickly get up to speed on advanced logistics software. From transportation management system (TMS) and warehouse management system (WMS) software to labor management, warehouse execution and yard management solutions, today LSPs need to capitalize on digital capabilities to combine high service levels with high margins.

Whether they’re building loads, optimizing routes, picking and packing orders, or otherwise managing customer logistics, LSPs need to work quickly, intelligently and strategically to achieve healthy profits. They need to monitor changing conditions in real time — like freight rates, carrier and warehouse space availability, and order volatility — and always make decisions that balance service and costs. That means ingesting real-time data, performing automated analysis, making optimal decisions and executing them quickly. Digital solutions aren’t optional, they’re imperative.

Implementing advanced technology, launching it quickly, and achieving a fast, sizable return on investment (ROI) has never been more critical for LSPs. But how can they accomplish that?

Understanding the Value of a Composable Journey

A recent LinkedIn Live event, called “How Does a Composable Journey Benefit Logistics Services Providers?”, addressed that question. I was joined by Erik Gudas, Blue Yonder’s Corporate Vice President for the Composable Journey Team. Eric’s group ensures the right Blue Yonder solutions, aligned processes and agendas, and the best people are assembled to help every customer, including LSPs, achieve rapid results and a significant ROI from their software investments.

According to Eric, a Blue Yonder composable journey begins by looking at each customer’s long-term goals — then creating a plan to generate wins quickly. “As one example, we worked with an LSP that wanted to extend their managed services beyond warehousing and transportation,” explains Eric. “The customer wanted to offer forecasting, inventory optimization and store replenishment as a service, to grow their revenue and operate as a true 4PL, or fourth-party logistics provider.

“In a case like this, the customer isn’t looking for a multi-year, multi-million-dollar engagement that doesn’t deliver an ROI until 2027. They’re looking for extended digital capabilities and new revenues right now,” Eric emphasizes. “That’s the mission behind Blue Yonder’s Composable Journey Team. Our goal is to launch software quickly — via cloud-native microservices and application programming interfaces, or APIs — and generate big returns quickly.

“In this case, we linked new Blue Yonder forecasting functionality directly to the TMS, the WMS and the OMS via robust APIs — because it was critical to tie front-end forecasting to back-end execution. We integrated all software on Blue Yonder Platform so all solutions would be interoperable, sharing the same real-time data and making synchronized decisions. As a result, the LSP was able to quickly get the new forecasting, inventory optimization and replenishment capabilities up and running. By offering expanded services, they were able to add new customer value and create a new revenue stream, before that opportunity disappeared,” says Eric.

Every Digital Transformation Begins with a Single Step

Each customer’s composable journey will look different, because it’s based on addressing their unique challenges. But Eric stresses that all Blue Yonder Composable Journey engagements are targeted, fast and aimed at generating a significant ROI. Because the cost associated with launching cloud-native microservices is much lower than monolithic software implementations, that return on investment can be as high as 1200%.

“Think of adding a cloud-native Blue Yonder microservice as the first step in a larger digital transformation,” notes Eric. “The scope can be broad, like adding an entirely new forecasting and replenishment capability, or it can be narrow and more specific. For example, we recently helped an LSP with the highly targeted challenge of adding intelligent load-building capabilities. Their average truck capacities were around 80%, which means there was 20% wasted space on every trip. A quick way to cut costs and emissions is to fill trucks more efficiently. We gave them that capability very quickly, and at a relatively low cost.”

In Blue Yonder’s experience, many LSPs want to take advantage of artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), predictive analytics and other advanced technologies — but they don’t know how to begin. By engaging with Blue Yonder’s Composable Journey team, LSPs can identify practical, value-added opportunities for digitalization that deliver quick wins, with little to no disruptions.

“At Blue Yonder, we’re evangelists about the power of AI, ML and other advancements to solve even the most complex supply chain challenges intelligently, profitably and rapidly. It’s extremely gratifying to meet with LSPs and uncover exciting new opportunities for them to cut costs, grow revenue, increase speed and accuracy, and otherwise optimize their operations,” Eric says.

“It’s equally gratifying to keep working with customers over time, incrementally expanding their digital capabilities and their supply chain results. At every step, our goal is to come in, launch software quickly and drive a substantial ROI,” he concludes.

Your Own Composable Journey Starts Now

Blue Yonder’s Composable Journey Team has delivered both high-level strategic benefits and incremental operations improvements for the world’s LSPs. They’re working from a deep base of industry expertise and hands-on experience, as Blue Yonder has over 175 LSP customers.

What unique value can Blue Yonder deliver for your organization? Your journey to a fast implementation and a dramatic ROI starts now, by watching our LinkedIn Live event or contacting Blue Yonder today.