Supply chain blind spots: Why milestone tracking is no longer enough

Visibility across every stage of the supply chain is quickly becoming crucial for freight forwarders and logistics providers amid a landscape marked by disruption and volatility. 

With WiseTech Global data showing almost 75% of containers arriving late at their destination ports so far this year, it’s clear shipment delays aren’t just occurring at key choke points. They can emerge at any point in a container's journey, whether on a vessel, at a transshipment hub, within a rail network or during inland transport. Yet many visibility solutions still rely on milestone updates, leaving logistics teams to infer what is happening between events. 

The limits of milestone-based visibility 

While milestone tracking tells organizations when key events occur, it often provides limited visibility into the container itself. In an industry where a single shipment may spend weeks moving through complex global networks, understanding the location and movement of the container in real-time can provide critical context that milestone events alone cannot. 

In ocean freight, which transports approximately 80% of the world’s goods, a shipment journey takes roughly between 20 to 45 days, but in peak seasons it often takes longer. Understanding when a shipment enters a high-risk zone, including a key choke point like the Suez Canal, is one thing, but being able to pin-point the exact location of a container in real-time can be a game changer for operations teams.  

Why the industry is turning to IoT-enabled containers 

Carriers have already made significant efforts to close the visibility gap, by investing in “smart” containers, installed with IoT (Internet of Things) devices. With Hapag-Lloyd estimating that around 25% of the world's containers are already equipped with these devices, smart containers are rapidly moving from an emerging technology to a mainstream source of supply chain intelligence. 

"IoT-enabled containers provide some of the most precise tracking information available today,” WiseTech Global Product Manager, Daniel Bahna, explains.  

“As adoption continues to grow across global fleets, they have the potential to fundamentally improve how freight forwarders, carriers and cargo owners monitor container movements and respond to disruptions,” says Daniel.  

Rather than relying solely on milestone updates, freight forwarders can gain insight into the physical movement of the container itself throughout its journey with smart containers.  

Live container visibility allows organizations to: 

• Access real-time container location data 
• Understand whether a container is moving or stationary 
• View historical movement patterns and journey progression 
• Gain additional context between traditional shipment milestones 
• Build a more complete picture of container movements across complex supply chain networks 

Earlier visibility enables better decisions  

For forwarders and logistics providers, this level of visibility ultimately enables better operational decision-making. 

When disruptions occur, teams often spend valuable time piecing together information from different sources to understand what has happened and how it might affect downstream operations. Access to live container location data provides additional context, helping teams identify potential issues earlier and respond more proactively. 

“Our customers now expect visibility to work more like the GPS technology they use every day. They want to see where their cargo is, understand what is happening, and make decisions earlier. Live container position data gives them that clearer view, rather than relying only on dates or delayed updates,” says Alfredo Osuna, Director of Technology at Intercom Logistics. 

Mexico-based CargoWise customer Intercom Logistics is one organization already leveraging live container data from Hapag-Lloyd’s IoT enabled fleet of 2 million smart containers. 

“In Mexico, logistics can be complex, especially across import and inland movements. Having live visibility gives us and our customers more time to prepare for changes, from customs documentation through to warehouse planning,” Alfredo explains. 

“When we can see the container on a map, it is much clearer where the cargo is and what we may need to adjust to limit any disruption. It also helps our teams collaborate easily and work faster because the data is now available for everyone directly in CargoWise.” 

One source of visibility across the supply chain 

Rather than requiring users to log into multiple carrier portals, CargoWise provides a centralized platform for managing shipment visibility alongside operational workflows. 

Through the Cargo Tracker map within CargoWise, customers can now access live container position data alongside existing vessel, port call and tracking event information, creating a more complete view of container movements throughout the shipment journey. The same live and historical position information is also available through the Cargo Visibility API, enabling customers to incorporate it into their own systems, workflows and customer-facing solutions. 

“We’re excited to have worked with Hapag-Lloyd to develop the architecture to provide their IoT data to our customers through CargoWise or with an API,” says Daniel Bahna. “While we’re launching with Hapag-Lloyd’s fleet of IoT-enabled containers, our vision extends beyond a single carrier.” 

CargoWise's approach is designed to be carrier-agnostic, allowing organizations to access equipment position events through a single integration regardless of the live position provider. As additional carriers invest in smart container technology, this architecture provides a foundation for expanding live position visibility across more carriers, container fleets and container types over time. 

“Customers don't want to manage separate integrations for every carrier,” says Daniel. “Our goal is to provide a single platform where they can access increasingly rich visibility data across their global supply chains, regardless of where that data originates.”