A leading third-party logistics (3PL) provider approached Infoveave with a clear objective — to gain complete visibility across its vast and complex delivery network. Every day, the company managed thousands of consignments moving through multiple hubs, carriers, and client systems. To effectively monitor performance, they needed a consistent and reliable way to measure operational KPIs such as on-time performance (OTP), shipment transit times, return-to-origin (RTO) rates, and delivery exception trends.
On paper, the logistics provider appeared to have its data well in hand. Shipments were being logged, status updates were regularly captured, and non-delivery reasons were documented. But when the time came to aggregate this information and generate a single, trustworthy view of performance across the network, the cracks began to show.
Reports from different regions told conflicting stories. KPIs fluctuated inexplicably. Teams disagreed on what the data actually meant. In short, the company realized it wasn’t suffering from a lack of data—it was suffering from a lack of data consistency and trust. What they needed was not just another dashboard, but a unified data management platform that could harmonize and validate data from every source before it shaped business decisions.
The logistics provider’s difficulties stemmed from fundamental data inconsistencies between client systems and internal operations. Shipment information from client manifests often didn’t align with internal master data — such as hub assignments, routing information, or pin-code mappings. These mismatches created ripple effects across every part of the operation.
Inaccurate performance reports: Hub and route efficiency metrics were distorted, creating a false picture of delivery performance.
Unreliable root cause analysis: Without standardized failure codes, teams couldn’t accurately pinpoint why deliveries failed or where delays occurred.
Erroneous SLA calculations: Misaligned routing and time data resulted in incorrect SLA and transit time metrics, leading to client disputes and misplaced accountability.
At this scale, even small discrepancies compounded into major inefficiencies. The company was effectively making critical operational and strategic decisions based on unverified data.
Problem: Shipment records frequently contained Air Waybill (AWB) numbers that didn’t match those listed in client manifests. Some were incorrectly formatted, others were missing altogether.
Impact: This directly affected shipment traceability and billing reconciliation. Without reliable AWB mapping, real-time shipment tracking suffered, billing cycles were delayed, and client performance reports became unreliable.
Solution: Infoveave implemented a data validation rule that automatically flagged shipments missing or mismatched AWBs. These records were withheld from SLA calculations until reconciled with the source manifest, ensuring only validated records influenced performance metrics.
Problem: Delivery failures were often logged as free-text entries like “cust not home,” “no answer,” or “customer unavailable,” leading to an unmanageable variety of terms.
Impact: Without a standardized list of reasons, it was impossible to identify recurring operational bottlenecks or accurately track first-attempt delivery rates (FADR).
Solution: A controlled vocabulary system was introduced. Only predefined, approved non-delivery codes were accepted. Free-text variations were mapped to standardized categories (for example, “customer not available” or “incorrect address”), while unrecognized entries were flagged for manual review.
Problem: Many shipment records contained pin codes that didn’t align with the assigned delivery hubs or branches in the master logistics database.
Impact: This led to misrouted shipments, increased transit times, and unnecessary costs. It also distorted performance metrics, wrongly attributing SLA breaches to last-mile teams instead of incorrect routing data.
Solution: A pin code validation layer was added, cross-referencing each shipment against an authoritative pin-code-to-hub mapping table. Any mismatches were quarantined for correction before being included in downstream reports.
Problem: Client systems provided data in inconsistent formats — some used DD-MM-YYYY, others MM/DD/YYYY. Units of measurement for weight and dimensions also varied widely.
Impact: These inconsistencies produced erroneous transit time calculations and caused inefficiencies in load planning and vehicle allocation.
Solution: Standardization rules were applied during data ingestion. All formats were automatically converted into a single, consistent standard, ensuring accuracy before the data entered operational workflows.
Infoveave recognized that data correction after the fact was reactive and inefficient. Instead, the goal was to prevent errors at the point of entry by introducing a Unified Data Management Platform that acted as a single “data quality gate” for the logistics provider.
Before any shipment record entered the operational systems, it underwent a series of automated validations:
Verification that the AWB exists in the client manifest.
Confirmation that the non-delivery reason matches approved codes.
Validation that the pin code maps correctly to the assigned delivery hub.
Assurance that dates and measurements follow standard formats.
Records that failed these checks were redirected to an Exceptions Report, allowing teams to resolve discrepancies immediately. Only data that passed all validation steps was marked as “Ready for Operations.”
This proactive, rules-driven approach ensured that every downstream dashboard, report, and metric reflected accurate, reconciled data.
Decision-makers regained confidence in their KPIs. Network performance dashboards now displayed consistent and reliable data that teams could act upon without second-guessing accuracy.
Metrics such as OTP and RTO rates stabilized across regions and over time. The organization could now benchmark performance effectively and identify genuine areas for improvement.
Accurate routing data and standardized failure codes enabled better route optimization, higher first-attempt delivery rates, and faster issue resolution. SLA reports shared with clients became transparent and defensible.
In logistics, data completeness is not the same as data correctness. Even the most detailed operational data can mislead if it isn’t validated, standardized, and reconciled across systems.
By implementing Infoveave’s Unified Data Management Platform, the 3PL provider established a single version of operational truth. Every KPI—from OTP to RTO—was built on clean, trusted data. This not only strengthened internal efficiency and planning accuracy but also deepened client confidence through transparent, fact-based reporting.
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