The State of Visibility 2024 Report: A Sneak Peek

The pursuit of crystal-clear shipment visibility is revolutionizing global commerce—turning every stage from production to purchase into an open book. Beyond keeping an eye on goods, the objective behind this technology is to redefine efficiency and reliability across supply chains. As digital transformation reshapes industries, real-time visibility helps businesses adapt, predict, and respond with agility to a changing market—and the "State of Visibility 2024" report looks deeper into what’s driving this transformation.

This joint effort by Tive, Shipping & Freight Resource, Supply Chain Radar, and Charlie Pesti explores a growing need for real-time visibility across multiple industries—and emphasizes its crucial role in streamlining operations and propelling digital transformation in a world that waits for no one.

Download the report now, and read on for a sneak peek into the State of Visibility 2024.

The State of Visibility 2024: Key Highlights

First, let’s focus on the report’s key insights:

• Rising demand across industries: The compelling need for on-demand shipment information stresses a broader trend: customers across various industries now consider real-time visibility to be both desirable and essential, driving companies to prioritize this capability to meet customer expectations.
• Challenges to effective visibility: Achieving this level of visibility has its burdens. The report identifies three main obstacles: the complexity of integrating new technologies, securing data accuracy, and the costs associated with implementing these systems.  
• Strategic advantages of visibility: Beyond addressing customer demands, the report emphasizes the strategic importance of real-time shipment visibility in enhancing supply chain agility, competitiveness, and sustainability. This capability is about keeping pace with current demands—and positioning companies for future growth and resilience in the face of disruptions such as those experienced in 2023.

Survey Methodology

The "State of Visibility 2024" survey explored the complex world of supply chain shipment visibility, gathering perspectives from 244 industry professionals from around the globe.

Who the Survey Spoke To

With a focus on gathering a broad range of perspectives, the survey spanned various industry sectors—including food, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, logistics services, automotive, and healthcare—demonstrating that the need for shipment visibility transcends industries.

Moreover, the survey cast a wide net in terms of company sizes, engaging participants from small startups to global giants (enterprises with 1001+ employees), reflecting a panorama of business scales—each with unique visibility objectives.

Key Findings & Analysis

Despite widespread recognition of the importance of enhanced visibility, the survey revealed a significant gap in adopting advanced technologies for effective tracking.

A Look at IoT Adoption: 2023 vs. 2024

The transition from 2023 to 2024 marked a turning point in the industry's perception of real-time visibility. While in 2023, 80% of industry insiders recognized the value of real-time visibility, in 2024, these views are finally translating into action—with the adoption of IoT devices for shipment tracking more than doubling from 25% to 53%. This growth underscores a steady push towards technology-enhanced supply chains, demonstrating how seriously companies take real-time visibility in meeting customer demands for transparency and improving operational efficiency.

Demand for Real-Time Visibility Across Industries

The need for real-time shipment visibility spans a broad spectrum of industries, indicating a universal requirement for better tracking capabilities and demonstrating the wide-ranging appeal of this technology. 77% of respondents consider real-time visibility a must have, and yet, nearly half of the organizations surveyed have yet to implement it.

Why Companies Invest in Visibility

The drive to invest in shipment visibility solutions is multifaceted. Companies focus on enhancing customer service, slashing operational expenses, and boosting overall supply chain efficiency. This strategic approach highlights a keen interest in not only satisfying customers but also in using visibility as a tool to refine operational processes.

Cargo Theft as a Main Driver for Investment in Visibility

A startling 48% of respondents reported monthly losses of $5,000 or more due to cargo theft—and 80% of respondents cite that cargo theft and cross-border shipping challenges are driving their need for real-time visibility.

Digital Transformation: The Visibility Vanguard

Within logistics’ digital transformation, shipment visibility plays an undeniably major role. 41% of industry professionals earmark it as a top-tier priority, with an additional 30% placing it as the highest priority of their strategic agenda. Moreover, further analysis shows that senior executives—and larger corporations prioritizing visibility solutions—indicate their strategic value across different organizational levels and company sizes.

Sustainability Meets Visibility

With real-time tracking in the equation, monitoring sustainable practices will go beyond complying with mandates—it will serve as a valuable tool to monitor environmental impact and ethical standards. Companies should consider a multifaceted strategy to meet ESG standards, including investing wisely in visibility technology, prioritizing collaboration and digital processes, investing in people and skills, and emphasizing scalability.

The Future of Logistics: Why Shipment Tracking is Key

The insights from the "State of Visibility 2024" survey are clear: real-time shipment tracking is revolutionizing supply chains beyond merely monitoring goods—it is fundamentally reshaping how businesses operate globally.  Explore these findings and more in greater detail, as well as additional recommendations and future predictions, by reading the full complementary report today.

Ready to lead the way in logistics innovation?

Download the "State of Visibility 2024" report now.

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