Smartphone use as transparency improvement tool in the Supply Chain Execution

Although there are proprietary fleet management systems the information flow to the sender or to the receiver of consignments is limited and complex. The research shows how road based delivery information can theoretically be made transparent to stakeholders, with the joint appliance of Location Based Services (LBS) and tracking & tracing technologies. Furthermore, it proves that real time geo- tracking functionalities in mobile devices can be used not only for vehicles/trucks, but also for the tracking of their individual loads. Its accurate load data can be published in real time to all relevant stakeholders through any desired technology. The research shows, with LBS there are new indicators for performance measureable in the Supply Chain Execution process. Accurate forecasts of estimated arriving times can efficiently support the Supply Chain Management of all partners and the physical movement of material streams becomes highly transparent. The purpose of the research is to show how current and readily accessible technologies can be nicely combined, to create transparency through continuous information flow in the delivery process. By an integration of common mobile devices and transformation of social network principles into the professional field of logistics, a state-of-the-art toolkit was developed for supply networks.