Ocean shipments dominate the modern supply chain network as the largest and most influential of all shipping lines. Ocean freight is the method of moving cargo across oceans for global distribution. Usually, this involves putting boxes and pallets into freight containers and stacking those on ships for the long trans-ocean voyage. Ocean freight visibility demands remain high as more and more pressure is placed on already stressed and overloaded vessels, ports, and workers. Industry experts estimate that 80%–90% of the world’s trade is moved by sea, making ocean freight visibility a critical piece of the puzzle. 

Ocean freight takes more time, but it’s far cheaper and has fewer restrictions on what can be transported and where the cargo can be unloaded. Keeping track of multiple orders, containers, and ships can be challenging for shippers when ocean freight visibility is lacking. Enough focus has not fallen on improving ocean shipment visibility. Maintaining the highest level of ocean freight services depends on shippers' strong ocean shipment visibility, insight, and management practices. Improving shipping and logistics visibility remains a crucial priority for transportation service providers today as the demand for fast, affordable, and reliable container and terminal tracking options continues to grow.

What Is Ocean Freight Visibility?

Ocean shipment visibility makes every step of the shipping process manageable and streamlined from start to finish. Improving visibility enhances ocean freight services and makes it more affordable for shippers to offer the best ocean shipments and options. Understanding how ocean freight transportation,  logistics visibility, and supply chain management impact each other allows shippers to make the most of current market trends. Further, visibility into ocean freight is simply the process of tracking container movements across all legs of transportation with a top focus on the maritime leg. That’s important in light of the recent supply chain disruptions deriving from e-commerce expansion. 

SupplyChainBrain highlights that the recent growth of online shipping and e-commerce has transformed the global marketplace in ways that will forever shape how customers view shipping and transportation services. As evidence, consider the estimated $86.01 billion that U.S. consumers spent on online shopping in 2020, which is a staggering 44% increase over the prior year. Improving ocean freight visibility is essential for ongoing growth and recovery and unlocks many supply chain visibility benefits that shippers can enjoy now and in the future. With the demand for fast shipping, the need for ocean freight visibility and insights continues to grow.

A significant piece of the puzzle regarding ocean shipment visibility is the ability to track not only entire ships, containers, and individual orders. Real-time tracking and tracing features have become the expected norm for ocean freight services today, and customers expect to be able to see where their orders are at any given time. There are several technologies enhancing ocean shipments and tracking notifications. Real-time ocean cargo visibility solutions use real-time monitoring and notification systems to track cargo and provide a much more accurate shipment ETA. In the end, understanding the ins and outs of ocean freight visibility and tracking is critical to managing challenges and solutions while maximizing the supply chain visibility benefits that await.

Why Visibility Matters So Much in the Modern Supply Chain

Ocean freight visibility allows for greater insight and control over shipper and customer relations and interactions. Ocean shipment visibility is the ability to track cargo while in transit, giving a clear view of every step in the transportation process. Good ocean freight logistics visibility, paired with the best ocean freight services and tools, sets ocean shippers apart from the competition and gives them a significant advantage during ongoing ocean shipping volatility. As a result, the supply chain will become more robust and agile, and shippers can be more proactive about reducing container risks associated with ocean freight transportation.

Ocean shipment visibility offers a unique perspective and insight into customer service, ocean shipments, and supply chain logistics services.  The demand for fast, reliable, and affordable services continues to grow and shows no sign of slowing. A press release from Roadie  highlighted that  “Half of the retail and supply chain leaders surveyed said they offer or would offer same-day delivery because customers expect and demand it. In addition, nearly two-thirds (64%) said that they believed more than 40% of shoppers would be willing to pay a higher price for products with a same-day delivery option. And 30% of respondents said they believed the majority of shoppers — 61% or more — would do so.”  

What this means for ocean freight visibility and optimized shipping services is that shipping companies have reached a point where they must improve ocean freight shipping and transportation services to keep to current levels of growth and recovery. Shipping companies will struggle to keep up with market trends without clear and reliable visibility and miss out on supply chain visibility benefits.

The dreaded ripple effect is the real example of why ocean shipment visibility is critical for reliable ocean transportation. For over-the-road shipments, a missed drop-off or a delay in unloading cargo might lead to an extra day added to the delivery ETA. For ocean freight services, however, a delay of just one day along the transportation path for ocean freight services could result in a 2-week extension to the transit time. With ocean shipments and cargo, multiple sources impact delivery progress and the final ETA for delivery for shippers, carriers, and freight forwarders alike. 

Ocean freight visibility tools and technology consider various factors to generate real-time ETA and allow push notifications and alerts of delays and changes to delivery parameters. These visibility insights consider traffic congestions, weather-related delays, political and war-related conflicts, fleet and vehicle failures, port congestions and backlogs, human mistakes and errors, and other unique factors affecting ETAs and delivery progress. Such logistics visibility factors make ocean ETAs more complex and more challenging to monitor than over-the-road options and make the need for clear and concise visibility more important than ever.

What Optimized Ocean Shipment Visibility Looks Like

Optimized end-to-end  ocean shipment visibility should focus on seven separate but vital stages of an ocean shipment’s journey:

• Shipment from the point of origin – This stage focuses on ocean freight visibility and includes processes such as emptying the container and loading it for the next load. This data directly feeds into generating initial ETAs for final delivery.
• The in-transit movement to port – During ocean shipments, this stage uses technology to track the real-time position of containers and individual orders as they travel on vessels. These ocean freight visibility updates occur in real-time to keep delivery ETA accurate. 
• Port of loading real-time monitoring – This part of ocean freight services monitors what occurs on the vessel and considers the end-to-end process involved with the shipment. It takes into account cargo rolls and alerts that occur while in transit.
• Ocean freight visibility during transit – This aspect of logistics visibility and ocean shipping uses real-time technology to track vessels and containers. This data helps update ETA accordingly, depending on what new information is available.
• Tracking through a port of discharge – This ocean shipment visibility process looks at the port of discharge to consider how various port events might impact the overall timing of the shipment. Real-time notifications will send based on container visibility notes.
• In-transit to shipping destination – This stage of ocean freight visibility integrates many track and trace technologies to give real-time updates on the container’s location at any given moment. At every new destination, the ETAs will update accordingly.

• Arrived at the final destination – The culmination of all advanced ocean freight visibility and tracking systems, the final stage monitors ETAs and delays for last-mile delivery and hand-off. Final receipt of cargo triggers the sending of proof of delivery notifications.

Unlocking the many supply chain visibility benefits drives shippers and carriers today to reconsider their end-to-end tracking and monitoring processes. Improving ocean freight and transport visibility allows companies to manage more shipments with a higher degree of accuracy and reliability.  Ocean container software tracking keeps on-time in-full rates high and customer satisfaction even more heightened.

Unlock the Benefits of Optimized Ocean Freight Shipping Visibility With OpenTrack

End-to-end ocean freight visibility is critical to streamlining ocean shipments and optimizing ocean freight services. Ocean freight shippers need to be able to offer accurate ETAs for ocean containers. Shippers must have clear visibility into scheduled orders, current container and vessel location, data-backed updates, real-time push notifications, digital sharing and communication lines, optimized ocean shipment visibility, and live market analytics. 

With improved logistics management, ocean freight visibility, and supply chain optimization, freight can be shifted and moved without sacrificing customer satisfaction and experience. Contact OpenTrack today to learn more about the supply chain visibility benefits that await.