Logistics Performance, Measured
Client Context
Our client, a regional logistics operation with agrowing fleet and supplier network, struggled to answer twomission‑critical questions: are wedelivering on time, and at a sustainable cost?Data lived in silos—GPS/telematics portals, booking logs, andspreadsheet cost sheets—without a single, trusted view.
Their dataset included:
- GPS/telematics pings from multiple providers (vehicle position, timestamps)
- Booking & dispatch logs (delivery ID, origin/destination, planned vs. actual ETAs)
- Route & lane mapping (regions, stations, distance in km)
- Cost components (fixed costs, maintenance/repairs per delivery)
- Supplier/transport partner master data and basic service‑level targets
The Problem
- On‑Time Blind Spots — Leadership lacked a reliable on‑time delivery (OTD) metric by route, region, and supplier.
- Manual Reporting Bottlenecks — Weekly/monthly reports were stitched in Excel from multiple sources; no near real‑time view.
- Cost Transparency Gaps — Fixed and maintenance costs were recorded, but not tied to specific deliveries/routes for cost‑to‑serve.
- Data Fragmentation — Inconsistent provider naming, unmapped regions/stations, and mixed date/time standards impaired analysis.
- No Early Warning — Teams discovered SLA breaches after the fact instead of acting when ETA risk first appeared.
Key Findings
- OTD ~ 73% overall — with clear variability by lane and supplier; a handful of routes drive the majority of late arrivals.
- Typical trip ~34 hours / ~554 km — establishing a measurable baseline for performance targets and SLAs.
- Cost‑to‑Serve Visibility — Fixed and maintenance costs now trace to each delivery, enabling lane‑level unit economics.
- Data Hygiene Wins — Normalization surfaced unmapped regions and inconsistent station naming that previously hid delays.
- Actionable Outliers — Delivery‑time distribution highlights late clusters tied to specific suppliers and lanes.
ROPA’s Solution
We designed and deployed a PowerBI Logistics Performance Dashboard that turned fragmented telemetry and booking data into a decision‑ready system.
Key features delivered:
- Executive KPI Panel: On‑time %, average delivery time (hours), average route distance (km), deliveries analysed, and cost snapshots (fixed + maintenance).
- Route & Supplier Analytics: OTD and delay patterns by lane/region/supplier with side‑by‑side comparisons.
- Delivery‑Time Distribution: Histograms and outlier views to isolate bottlenecks and dwell issues.
- Exception Management: Late‑only slices, missing ETA flags, and drill‑through to the specific deliveries.
- Data Quality Monitors: Normalized provider/station names and flags for unmapped or inconsistent records.
- Governance & Ops: Role‑based access, scheduled refresh aligned to landing times, and mobile‑friendly cards for field teams.
Baseline metrics from the initial deployment window (sample): On‑time ≈ 73%,avg. delivery ≈ 34 hours,avg. route ≈ 554 km,across 700+ deliveries and a multi‑supplier network. (Figures vary by lane and period.)
Business Impact & Actionable Steps
With clear, trustworthy metrics, the client immediately:
- Introduced SLA Alerts & Early Warnings — operational teams intervene before a delivery becomes late.
- Re‑balanced Lanes — rerouted or rescheduled the riskiest windows, improving OTD on the worst‑performing routes.
- Launched Supplier Scorecards — OTD, variability, and cost‑to‑serve now guide sourcing and performance reviews.
- Standardized Data — locked naming conventions for providers/regions, reducing manual clean‑up and errors.
- Automated Reporting — leadership views refresh on schedule; no more spreadsheet stitching.
Why This Matters
ROPA’s approach turns raw telemetry and bookings into one source of truth for logistics. Leaders see what’s on time, what’s late, and where to act—linking customer promises to unit economics and supplier performance. The result is fewer surprises, lower costs, and faster, better decisions.
“At ROPA Advisory, we don’t just build dashboards. We deliver the clarity and control that operators need to keep promises—and margins.”
