C.H. Robinson, a global logistics company, and SAS, a data analytics company, recently announced a partnership to create an end-to-end supply chain solution that integrates inventory and demand signal data with real-time transportation data. Steering a supply chain from a centralized operation like this will allow companies more fluid adjustments in scheduling, carriers and responses to changing consumer demand while inventory is still moving on the ground. Retail and consumer packaged goods companies in North America will benefit first from this integration, although it is designed to eventually fill the gap between business and logistical planning across all industries.

“The C.H. Robinson and SAS collaboration uses data and analytics to solve a gargantuan supply chain problem: agility,” said Brian Kilcourse, retail and CPG analyst at RSR Group. “As 2020’s shortages illustrated, COVID pushed retailers and consumer goods companies over the supply chain cliff. The C.H. Robinson-SAS partnership combines data from retailers and consumer goods companies with logistics and transportation data to build faster, more resilient, cost-effective shipping methods that honor traditional models while clearing a path for needed innovation.”

“Powered by SAS and mobilized by C.H. Robinson, this partnership helps companies see their supply chains in a new light,” said Richard Widdowson, Vice President of Global Retail & CPG Solutions at SAS. “It will help make opportunities and challenges visible as they happen so our customers can accomplish more – even during a disruption of pandemic proportions.”

Within an integrated data loop, SAS triggers a demand plan which feeds into C.H. Robinson’s dynamic transportation procurement tool. In turn, that connects into Navisphere, a global supply chain management platform, to provide real time visibility of inventory, which then links back and informs SAS’ Intelligent Planning suite. For example, a retailer or maker of packaged goods can connect its corporate demand plans to products and freight on the move. They then can react to real-time changes in demand, such as surge in consumer interest, and real-time changes in transportation factors, such as inclement weather.

“By establishing this unprecedented information loop, we are transforming the procurement process and giving companies the information advantage and flexibility needed to better compete in today’s rapidly evolving transportation marketplace,” said Chris O’Brien, Chief commercial officer at C.H. Robinson. “Rather than relying solely on an annual transportation contract event which frequently becomes out of sync with real-world variables, we can build a more dynamic procurement plan that can flex based on real-time changes in product demand and the transportation market. More than ever, supply chain agility, based on real-time data, can be a competitive advantage for companies.”

About C.H. Robinson

C.H. Robinson solves logistics problems for companies across the globe and across industries, from the simple to the most complex. With nearly $20 billion in freight under management and 18 million shipments annually, we are one of the world’s largest logistics platforms. Our global suite of services accelerates trade to seamlessly deliver the products and goods that drive the world’s economy. With the combination of our multi-modal transportation management system and expertise, we use our information advantage to deliver smarter solutions for our more than 119,000 customers and 78,000 contract carriers.

About SAS

SAS is the leader in analytics. Through innovative software and services, SAS empowers and inspires customers around the world to transform data into intelligence.