For years, logistics has been measured with two variables: cost and punctuality. If the orders arrived on time and the numbers squared, the operation was considered good.
This way of evaluating the activity is still valid, but it falls short. Today logistics is more demanding on various fronts, and coordinating suppliers, operators and systems is more complex.
There are more incidents —delays, returns or stock breaks—, more variability and more points where things can fail.
For the promotion of ecommerce, more orders are managed, smaller and more frequent, with shorter delivery times and less margin of error.
In this new scenario, the classic indicators say little and evaluate the activity only with cost and punctuality is no longer enough.
That's why KPIs start to change.
Traditional indicators say if the operation has gone well. But they do not explain what happens when something deviates from the plan, nor how much it costs to solve the problem.
So indicators focused on:
Some companies already use metrics like these:
These new generation KPIs do not replace the previous ones. They complement them.
These indicators are not used only when something goes wrong.
They serve to anticipate. Although orders continue to arrive on time, some indicators can show that the operation begins to strain: waiting times for loading and unloading increase, more route changes are needed or the number of small incidents increases daily.
That is where its value lies.
They allow to detect tensions before they become visible incidents. And this changes the daily management: routes are changed to avoid interruptions, alternative suppliers are activated to ensure the supply or stock is moved between warehouses to avoid breakages.
In logistics, the person who measures the most does not win. Gana who understands what is happening and acts before the impact reaches the customer.
