How to Optimize Transportation Management with AIT

AIT is a global transportation management leader that facilitates companies in terms of transportation logistics.

Want to know more about AIT Worldwide Logistics? Here is a full explanation of its functions, some actual use cases, and more.

What is AIT?

Transportation Management System

A transportation management system (TMS) is a logistics platform that uses technology to optimize and execute transportation plans for businesses. It ensures that both incoming and outgoing physical goods are fully compliant with all the legal documentation available.

TMS provides insights into and moderates your daily transportation, as well as all the documentation and logistics regarding a timely and cost-efficient transportation plan. TMS also formulates the shipping process and organizes it in ways that allow further optimization and regulation.

Optimization

TMS is at the core of supply chain operations, impacting every aspect from initial planning and procurement to the intricacies of logistics and lifecycle management. The extensive and comprehensive insights provided by a TMS streamline transportation as a whole, which ultimately enhances customer satisfaction. This heightened satisfaction will eventually increase sales and translate to further business expansion.

Functions of AIT

Freight Consolidation

Freight Consolidation is essentially superior shipping planning, with some major benefits like more streamlined shipping, enhanced security, and more cost-efficient shipping. It typically involves combining cargo from multiple shippers into one main transport.

In the case where there are multiple shippers, the inventory space is not fully optimized most of the time, with about 50%–75% occupied. It also faces the problem of having to rely on more storage sites or inventory management facilities. By consolidating regional freight, the cost of shipping and storage will go down significantly.

Another major benefit is flexibility and management. You will have better visibility and control with more streamlined transportation. The cargo will be easier to track and moderate, which reduces the rate of damaged cargo or potential delays. Flexibility is often overlooked, but having to adjust one shipment instead of multiple is much more efficient.

Customs Brokerage

Customs brokers are individuals or corporations that are licensed and regulated by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to assist importers and exporters in meeting Federal requirements governing imports and exports.

According to AIT, "In 2018 alone, the United States made 50,952 trade seizures, issued 1,385 trade penalties, and collected $42.2 million in importer audits", which are all avoidable with proper methods. Licensed customs brokers from AIT can assist customers with affairs like documentation management and carnet issuances to prevent these situations.

Customs brokers can further help with additional document preparation or declarations, as well as duty, tax, and rate calculation.

Case Studies

Automotive Supplier

During the peak of the pandemic in late 2021, automotive suppliers faced major challenges in the transportation of more than 40 tons of automotive parts produced in China, which is essential for their production line in Mexico. If these parts fail to arrive quickly, the shutdown of production in Mexico will cause severe losses. However, the ongoing pandemic impacted on-air freight capacity significantly.

Experts in AIT were able to secure the procurement of a charter flight from Shanghai to Dallas. From the logistics of local cargo pickup in China to the transborder transportation from Dallas to the production in Mexico, AIT arranged all these while preparing all the customs brokerage requirements to secure the functioning of the tight production timeline and avoid a potentially costly and devastating shutdown.