Believe it or not, “multimodal” and “end-to-end” are not synonyms. While these terms are often used interchangeably, they represent different layers of insight into your supply chain.
Multimodal visibility: managing complexity across transportation modes
Multimodal visibility is about seeing shipments as they move across different transportation modes, whether by truck, rail, sea, or air. Goods are rarely confined to a single mode of transportation throughout their journey, especially for long-distance shipments. For example, a shipment might start its journey in a truck, be transferred to a cargo ship, and finally reach its destination via rail.
Each of these transportation modes comes with its own tracking systems, challenges, and data sources. Multimodal visibility is about consolidating this disparate data into a single platform, offering a unified view of the shipment’s progress across all modes. It allows logistics professionals to monitor the shipment’s status, irrespective of whether it’s currently on a truck, ship, or plane. This data aggregation is crucial for managing delays, keeping customers informed, and coordinating with different carriers.
In essence, multimodal visibility simplifies the management of a shipment as it transitions from one mode of transport to another, providing transparency into the complexities of switching between modes and geographies.
End-to-end visibility: a complete picture from start to finish
End-to-end visibility, on the other hand, is broader in scope. With end-to-end, you’re tracking a shipment from the moment they leave their point of origin until they reach their final destination. This approach covers the entire supply chain journey, giving stakeholders continuous insight into every stage of the shipment’s movement.
| At project44, we use “end-to-end” as a general term for tracking a shipment from its origin to its final destination, while “door-to-door” refers to a specific type of end-to-end visibility where a freight forwarder manages all or part of the shipment. Our Ocean Door-to-Door Visibility and Air Door-to-Door Visibility products integrate with both freight forwarders and carriers to offer complete visibility of the entire shipment journey, including pre-carriage and on-carriage moves managed by the forwarder. End-to-end visibility is also available through our standard Visibility products, which connect directly with the carriers, thanks to our proprietary modal stitching technology that ties each shipment leg together for a single end-to-end shipment view. |
End-to-end visibility goes beyond simply knowing where your goods are at any given moment. It also provides critical insights into key shipment milestones, potential delays, and estimated arrival times. Some advanced solutions even offer real-time updates on shipment conditions, such as temperature, humidity, or shock levels, which are vital for sensitive or high-value goods.
With end-to-end visibility, the goal is to create a seamless view of the shipment across the entire logistics process, ensuring that no matter how many transportation modes are involved, the shipment can be monitored without interruption. This comprehensive approach helps logistics teams proactively address issues, reduce bottlenecks, and ultimately deliver a better customer experience.
TL; DR: a quick comparison
- Multimodal visibility: Focuses on tracking shipments as they switch between different transportation modes. It consolidates data from various carriers and transport methods into a single platform, giving users insight into each leg of the journey. May or may not cover the entire shipment from origin to final destination (end-to-end).
- End-to-end visibility: Encompasses the entire journey of a shipment, from its starting point to its final destination. It tracks every stage of the shipment, regardless of the transportation modes used, and includes additional data like potential delays, shipment conditions, and milestone updates. May be a single mode or multimodal.
The best of both worlds: multimodal visibility from end-to-end with project44
At project44, we understand that supply chains are complex and no two are the same. That’s why our visibility solution is designed to be both multimodal and end-to-end. We provide comprehensive visibility across all modes of transportation, while delivering real-time insights from the point of origin to the final destination. This combination ensures you get a complete picture of your supply chain, with the flexibility to handle whatever challenges come your way.
Want to learn more about how project44 can help optimize your logistics operations? Visit our Visibility Solutions page for more information.
