The process of managing risk through exception management is a common approach in the context of ocean shipment tracking. But what does exception management actually mean, and how does Portcast’s suite of features enable you to manage risk via this approach?

What is Exception Management?

Exception management is the process of identifying, analysing, and resolving disruptions or anomalies in the supply chain, particularly related to container shipments. This means specifically looking at the anomaly side of things, in order to focus attention on the highest risk disruptions and incidents.

When tracking shipments via traditional visibility platforms, it can be difficult to focus on these disruptions under the context of a large scale of tracked shipments; if every shipment is signaled in the same way, agnostically, establishing risk parameters and actioning at the right moment to mitigate that risk becomes difficult.

In order to enable exception management, therefore, there are key aspects that need to be built into the very tracking philosophy, and therefore product features, of a platform, and which we have integrated into the Portcast platform:

• Access to multiple, real-time, complementary data sources: constantly combining data sources, either from carrier milestones, sailing schedules, or AIS satellite tracking data, is key to having a constant pulse on any ongoing events that might affect, or are already affecting your shipments. Combining these data sets allows us to effectively mitigate lack of data and therefore visibility - for example, when carrier milestone information is lacking, it can be compensated by looking at the carrier’s vessel actual observed behaviour.
• Real-time anomaly detection: it is important to establish what ‘normal’ patterns or behaviour are, and what constitutes anomalies, in order to prioritise and reliably detect what actually creates disruption in the supply chain. Key concepts like delay, ideal routes and deviations, or incidents help create context and explain why a disruption is being signaled.
• Timely notifications: signalling when disruptions are found, anywhere in the shipping process, maximises the chances of actionability, and therefore risk mitigation, being possible. This means analysing risk pre-journey, during the journey, and once the journey has finished; and allows proactive behaviour, instead of reactive.
• Root cause analysis and impact assessment: having access to a combination of predictive components (like predictive ETA) and observed disruptions (like port congestion or incidents) can help create a clear picture of why an exception is occurring; and forecast the impact on downstream operations, like impact on warehouse scheduling, or demurrage and detention costs.
• Automation and integration: providing ways to connect with external systems, like ERPs, logistic management systems, or booking platforms, allows constant adaptation and actionability without the need to depend on a single platform. Easy-to-use APIs, including ones which include push delivery, are crucial for this, as they allow information to be sent ad-hoc in a timely manner to external systems which would be oblivious to this new information otherwise.
• Post-mortem, historical analysis and discrepancy audit: accessing reliable historical data that includes exception data and context allows for better future choices in the booking stage; having access to that data also allows disputing issues if they arise after a disruption took place, like unexpected Demurrage & Detention (D&D) costs. Being able to have access to reliable data on the specific root causes for disruption can enable disputing those costs, in an automated way that does not depend on manual analysis and labour.

In short, exception management ensures that logistics teams are not just tracking containers but actively managing disruptions to maintain an efficient and resilient supply chain. So what are the Portcast features that actively enable Exception Management in logistics organisations?

What are Portcast’s Exception Management-enabling features?

• Predictive ETA: having a real-time, ever-adjusting ETA ensures that any considerable deviations from planned ETAs are signalled in real-time. Portcast’s predictive ETA is based on complex models that include a variety of data sources and pattern detection, making it much more reliable than carrier ETAs.
• Delay calculation: comparing scheduled ETAs with much more reliable, predictive ETAs allows delay prediction and reporting at all stages of the shipment’s voyage. Shipments at risk due to delay are therefore signalled and actionable upon much earlier.
• Actual route tracking and ideal routing: Live ingestion of Satellite AIS data means any substantial deviations from ideal routes, calculated in the beginning of the voyage, can be detected and affect ETA and delay calculations.
• Incidents: reporting incidents as they happen, or as they are predicted, means signalling containers where risk is probable is much easier, and also creates context for explainability and post-mortem analysis. And associated data, like impact on schedule or predictions, means the impact of those incidents is effectively quantifiable.