Just like any other industry, trends come and go in the supply chain, but one thing that is not going away is the speed at which business continues to move.

Goods used to move by at the speed of horse-drawn wagons. With the introduction of the railway system, goods could be delivered across the country faster, safer, and more reliably. Once the Highway System was built in the mid-20^th century, trucks began being used to transport and deliver goods locally and across the country. Now, between planes, trains, and automobiles (and freight ships), the global supply chain is a vast interconnected system.

From their initial source to the warehouse rack to their final delivery destination, it’s critical to know what’s happening with your supplies each step of the way. That’s where real-time data analytics come in. 

Here are 5 major advantages of real-time data analytics:

1. Improved Decision Making

Real-time data analytics can be used to make more informed decisions because your data is always current. In the warehouse, end-of-day or end-of-shift data only gives you the breakdown of what happened after it’s all over. That’s fine for longer-term planning, but if you want the ability to quickly identify trends and patterns during the shift so you can make adjustments in the moment, your data has to be real-time.

2. Enhanced Customer Experience

Customer service is a two-way street. With real-time analytics, you can understand your customers better and provide a more personalized experience. This can lead to increased customer loyalty and satisfaction, which means increased revenue over time. You can also give your customers access to the real-time data for order and shipping updates in real-time. Knowing where their order is will give them peace of mind and help lighten the load on your customer service team.

3. Cost-savings

Real-time data analytics can help you save money by eliminating the need for manual processes and reducing labor costs. With real-time data, you can identify areas of waste and inefficiency that can be addressed quickly and cost-effectively. From wasted space to idle workers, you can keep your business running at its most efficient.

4. Increased Productivity

By providing employees with access to up-to-date information, you can improve productivity and efficiency. Employees can feel empowered by seeing how their work affects business in real-time. You can also gain insights into ways to improve processes, enabling managers to manage well, leading to improved performance.

5. Improved Warehouse Management

Real-time data analytics can be used to better manage inventory levels in warehouses. By having access to accurate information on stock levels, you can ensure that you have enough inventory at any given time to avoid costly overstocks. Improve your Quality Assurance with real-time data on expiration dates, location tracking, and other important data.

If you want to stay ahead of the competition, real-time data analytics is an invaluable tool. And these are just five advantages that will help you save time and money.

Conclusion

Real-time data is no longer just a tool for the biggest companies. Businesses of all sizes—from single warehouses to supply chains that span the country—can take advantage of the numerous benefits. But in the end, real-time data isn’t a magic wand. It is still just another tool for you to utilize. How you use it in your decision-making process is up to you.

Want to know how real-time data analytics could specifically benefit your company? Ask us about Rebus.

Rebus is the only Labor Management System & warehouse visibility software that unifieslabor, automation, and inventory data in real-time.

MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA | February 11, 2025 — Longbow Advantage, the supply chain technology leader behind Rebus Analytics, is proud to announce the launch of Rebus AI: Trend Forecasting. This groundbreaking product revolutionizes warehouse operations with advanced predictive analytics, enabling supply chain leaders to transform data into informed decisions and unlock new levels of efficiency. 

Rebus AI: Trend Forecasting introduces highly accurate forecasts for labor needs, inventory demands, and shipment activities. By replacing manual processes with AI-driven models, this new capability enhances efficiency, mitigates risks, and ensures proactive people and inventory management. With seamless integration into existing warehouse systems, Rebus AI: Trend Forecasting provides comprehensive trend forecasting and nuanced predictions based on historical and real-time data.

“Rebus AI: Trend Forecasting is a game-changer for supply chain leaders,” said Ryan Uhlenkamp, COO of Longbow Advantage. “Through our early adopters, we’ve already seen a 25% return in their working hours. This time savings allows teams to shift their focus from manual forecasting to strategically managing their labor programs and driving inefficiencies out of the operation. By harnessing predictive analytics, we’re empowering our customers to proactively navigate challenges, optimize resources, and confidently adapt to the ever-changing demands of their operations.” 

Longbow Advantage developed Rebus AI: Trend Forecasting in collaboration with its customers to address real-world challenges. The result is a tool that not only enhances operational efficiency but also aligns with Longbow’s core value: putting people first.

“Our customers are the driving force behind everything we do,” said Connor Brady, VP of Product Development. “Rebus AI: Trend Forecasting is the culmination of our team’s dedication to creating a solution that gives warehouse operations more accurate forecasting that will boost workforce satisfaction as well as optimize costs and control risk. It integrates seamlessly with existing warehouse systems and empowers supply chain leaders to achieve their goals.”

About Longbow Advantage and Rebus

Longbow Advantage is a global leader in supply chain visibility, labor management technology, and Blue Yonder WMS implementation. With a focus on data-driven solutions, Longbow helps organizations optimize warehouse and distribution center operations. Rebus is the company’s advanced analytics platform, integrating real-time data from labor, automation, and inventory to provide actionable insights that enhance decision-making, improve productivity, and reduce costs. Together, Longbow Advantage and Rebus empower businesses with the tools and intelligence needed to achieve operational excellence and drive measurable results.

For more information about Rebus AI: Trend Forecasting , visit AI Trend Forecasting

Read the original press release on EINPresswire.

AI and ML Begin to Normalize

The pressure is on for these technologies to begin reshaping traditional supply chain processes. 2023 brought us an AI revolution and we expect that pressure to continue in 2024. However, as early adopters and quick-to-market technologies begin to shake out, we expect to see 2024 normalize some of the AI and ML landscape. The abilities of these technologies to analyze vast amounts of data, identify patterns, and make decisions is revolutionizing how companies are thinking about their decision-making capabilities.

There is a massive opportunity when you start thinking about what AI and ML can do with access to the amount of data supply chains—and warehouses, specifically—create. But we must acknowledge the risk that lies in the over-reliance on AI-driven decision making.

While these technologies excel at analyzing data, unforeseen circumstances or outliers may not be adequately accounted for in algorithms. An algorithm wouldn’t have predicted the pandemic, for example. This lack of adaptability could lead to suboptimal decisions, especially in rapidly changing environments.

In 2024, we expect to see AI and ML begin to be used for practical efficiencies, but we’re going to continue to see those human overlays.

Data Security Concerns Surrounding AI and Machine Learning

When you’re thinking about accessibility to large amounts of data, a concern we’re seeing is the potential for data security breaches and privacy issues. Again, as these technologies rely heavily on vast amounts of data and sensitive information, we’re seeing that there’s, of course, going to be an increased risk.

What we typically see with new technologies is that there are growing pains when it comes to security and legal challenges. While there’s no doubt that security and legal advances are going to catch up, we can’t say it’s there yet and the reality is that, unfortunately, early adopters are going to have to help navigate those challenges. They’ll get the opportunity to help shape what some of that looks like.

Our recommendation is that teams begin to dip into the AI and the ML opportunities, in low-risk ways that provide efficiency gains without exposing a ton of risk to their company or their strategy.

Ethical Considerations Regarding AI and ML

In addition to security and legal issues, there are ethical considerations to be examined as these technologies evolve. As biases present in historical data may be perpetuated into AI algorithms, this can obviously lead to unfair treatment, discrimination, and unintended consequences, which raises concerns about the ethical use of AI in supply chain decision-making.

Conclusion

Our key takeaway here is that ultimately, while AI and machine learning offer transformative benefits, we recommend a careful and low-risk entry into these new technologies to mitigate risks and ensure responsible, sustainable, and thoughtful integration into supply chain technologies. The new shiny object approach is not going to be the path that works here.

This post was adapted from our webinar, “Top 7 Supply Chain Trends for 2024.” Watch the webinar here.

Longbow Advantage, the industry-leading supply chain technology company behind The Rebus Extended Warehouse and Labor Management Platform and the global leader in warehouse software and consulting, is delighted to announce it has been honored with Blue Yonder’s Partner Leadership Award for Collaborative Partner of the Year for 2023.

On May 16, 2024, Blue Yonder announced their Partner Leadership Awards, recognizing the outstanding contributions of their partners over the past year. Longbow Advantage, as a Blue Yonder partner, has earned this prestigious award due to its immense growth and exceptional service in the Warehouse Management System (WMS) consulting sector. Over the course of 2023, Longbow Advantage grew its WMS consulting practice by more than 25%, a significant achievement largely driven by its work with Blue Yonder customers.

“Longbow has built a great partnership with Blue Yonder over the years, and I’m honored to accept this award on behalf of our amazing Consulting Services team,” said Gerry Brady, Founder and CEO, Longbow Advantage. “We have an incredible team of experts who provide immense value to customers leveraging Blue Yonder solutions, and we are excited as we track towards another year of record growth. Thank you again to the leadership at Blue Yonder for this award and for being excellent partners in the supply chain space.”

The partnership between Longbow Advantage and Blue Yonder has been built through collaborations with shared strategic customers. This relationship has enabled both companies to deliver unparalleled value and innovative solutions to their clients, solidifying their positions as leaders in the supply chain technology space. As a testament to this successful collaboration, Longbow Advantage looks forward to further strengthening its partnership with Blue Yonder and driving even greater growth and success in the future.

“The winners of this year’s Partner Leadership Awards utilized their extensive technological and domain knowledge, as well as their exceptional delivery skills, to ensure our customers achieved their business objectives and surpassed consumer expectations,” said Danielle Manning, Senior Vice President, Global Field Strategy & Solution Sales, Blue Yonder.

About Longbow Advantage

Longbow Advantage is a global leader in supply chain visibility, labor management technology, and Blue Yonder WMS implementation. With a focus on data-driven solutions, Longbow helps organizations optimize warehouse and distribution center operations. Rebus is the company’s advanced analytics platform, integrating real-time data from labor, automation, and inventory to provide actionable insights that enhance decision-making, improve productivity, and reduce costs. Together, Longbow Advantage and Rebus empower businesses with the tools and intelligence needed to achieve operational excellence and drive measurable results.

For more information about Longbow Advantage and its services, please visit www.longbowadvantage.com

Read the original press release on EINPresswire.

As a supply chain professional, you know how critical it is to ensure product quality throughout the distribution chain. Quality control is essential for maintaining customer satisfaction, brand image reputation, and profitability. However, traditional quality control methods such as post-production inspections, batch reviews, and random sampling are not sufficient in ensuring product quality anymore.

In today’s fast-paced and highly regulated industry, real-time quality control is the key to guaranteeing product quality from sourcing to delivery. Let’s discuss the importance of real-time quality control in your supply chain and how it can help you mitigate risks, minimize costs, and enhance your operation’s efficiency.

Achieving Operational Efficiency

In may seem obvious, but real-time quality control helps identify potential issues as soon as they arise, allowing for quick responses, in real-time. A defect identified in real-time can be directly addressed, reducing product waste and return rates. This preventative approach allows for efficient management of the entire supply chain, avoiding costly delays and the potential for product recalls or damaged reputation.

Enhancing Supply Chain Visibility

Integrating real-time quality control into your supply chain means capturing and sharing data across all areas. This approach enables the identification of trends, the recognition of hazards, and risk mitigation. This transparency allows operations managers to spot areas prone to potential problems and improve accountability for suppliers and production facilities.

Mitigating Risks

Real-time quality control allows supply chain managers to spot issues before they become problems. For example, monitoring temperature or humidity levels in real-time during a logistics operation can help eliminate the risk of damage to sensitive products such as food and pharmaceuticals. With the help of real-time quality control, supply chain managers can take immediate action to rectify the issue, significantly reducing the risk of product spoilage or loss.

Meeting the Demands of Consumer Expectations

Real-time quality control helps companies align product quality with consumer expectation. Good customer satisfaction entails providing consistency in the product. With the help of real-time quality monitoring, companies can track trends in customer feedback to quickly address any issues in the product. This approach can help enhance the brand image and help companies increase their competitive edge.

Cost Savings

A proactive approach toward quality control ensures that the supply chain runs smoother with little or no delays. This not only saves manufacturers money but can also save consumers money by ensuring products retain their quality and do not go to waste. Additionally, a reduction in defects and the number of returns helps manufacturers reduce costs in replacing flawed goods, resulting in an overall lower total cost of ownership.

Conclusion

Real-time quality control in your supply chain is crucial to ensuring product quality, mitigating risks, and achieving operational efficiency. By integrating it into your quality management system, you can take proactive steps to identify and address issues immediately, leading to cost savings and an increase in customer satisfaction.

Supply chain managers, warehouse managers, and food and beverage company owners should explore the benefits of real-time quality control and look to invest in the tools and resources to implement this approach into their operations for a more efficient, successful supply chain.

If you’re ready to take the next step towards benefitting from real-time quality control, ask a member of our sales team about Rebus Inventory & Process Analytics (I&PA). Rebus I&PA gives you real-time visibility and control of your inventory, connecting seamlessly with your WMS, LMS, and the rest of your supply chain tech stack.

MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA | February 14, 2024 – Longbow Advantage, the pioneering force in supply chain technology, renowned for The Rebus® Platform, and a global leader in warehouse software and consulting, is thrilled to unveil plans for the eagerly awaited 4th Annual Rebus User Conference, NOW 2024. The conference is set to take place from August 20-22, 2024, at the prestigious Marriott Chateau Champlain in Montreal, Quebec, the city of Longbow’s global headquarters.

Building on the resounding success of NOW 2023 in Chicago, Ill., Longbow Advantage continues its commitment to fostering collaboration, innovation, and expertise within the supply chain community. NOW 2024 serves as a hub for Rebus users to connect live, share insights, and address ongoing trends in warehousing, including labor constraints, emerging technologies, and inventory and fulfillment challenges in a supply chain era that is rapidly evolving.

Attendees can anticipate:

• Insightful Speaker Sessions
• Technical and Practical Training
• Unveiling of New Rebus Products and Features
• Networking Opportunities with fellow Rebus Users
• Exclusive customer case studies

“As we unveil plans for NOW 2024, I am excited to bring our event home to Montreal,” said Gerry Brady, CEO and Founder. “The 4th Annual Rebus User Conference is not just an event; it’s a testament to our commitment to driving collaboration, innovation, and expertise within the supply chain community. We look forward to fostering meaningful connections, sharing insights, and unveiling cutting-edge solutions that will shape the future of warehouse excellence.”

Save the date for NOW 2024, where the future of supply chain innovation unfolds. Stay tuned for updates, speaker announcements, and registration details.

About Longbow Advantage

Longbow Advantage is a global leader in supply chain visibility, labor management technology, and Blue Yonder WMS implementation. With a focus on data-driven solutions, Longbow helps organizations optimize warehouse and distribution center operations. Rebus is the company’s advanced analytics platform, integrating real-time data from labor, automation, and inventory to provide actionable insights that enhance decision-making, improve productivity, and reduce costs. Together, Longbow Advantage and Rebus empower businesses with the tools and intelligence needed to achieve operational excellence and drive measurable results.

For more information about Longbow Advantage’s extended warehouse platform, Rebus, and its many innovative supply chain solutions, please visit www.longbowadvantage.com