Intelligent Freight: The Shift Beyond Visibility to Predictive Insight | Episode 64
Tire Tracks’ latest mini-series, When Your TMS Turns Every Data Point into a Signal, kicks off with CSCMP President & CEO Mark Baxa.
In this episode, Baxa examines how freight visibility has evolved from simple tracking into a tool for proactive decision-making. He reflects on how global disruptions and congestion have changed what Shippers and 3PLs need from data, and why anticipating risk and likely outcomes has become as important as knowing where freight is. The conversation also covers the growing role of TMS (transportation management system) platforms and AI in improving reliability, while reinforcing why human judgment remains essential.
Beyond Freight Visibility Episode Key Points
- How freight visibility has evolved since basic shipment tracking.
- Why location data alone is no longer enough in today’s supply chains.
- Early warning signals such as dwell time, congestion, and route deviation.
- The growing role of TMS platforms in proactive freight management.
- How predictive analytics and AI support better planning and intervention.
- Hidden operational risks beneath shipments that appear to be on track.
- Why human judgment remains critical alongside automation.
- Balancing technology adoption with workforce development.
- The biggest barriers to the next phase of supply chain technology.
- What comes after visibility: discovery, adaptability, and working together across the supply chain.
“Our mission is to connect, educate, and develop supply chain professionals throughout their careers. That includes academics, service providers, and shippers, or beneficial cargo owners and practitioners.” — Mark Baxa [0:01:55]
“Where’s my shipment?’ became really cool 20 years ago with the advent of the internet.” — Mark Baxa [0:03:45]
“[TMS] enables a company to be much more proactive. We’d much rather know that it’s not going to be there before we hit our promise date.” — Mark Baxa [0:06:49]
“No machine is going to replace the knowledge that you need to vet, validate, and implement.” — Mark Baxa [0:21:48]
“When we do something for ourselves, we solve a problem for the day. When we go together, we solve problems, possibly for a lifetime. So, the supply chain has to go together. It’s a chain for a reason. We’re all interconnected.” — Mark Baxa [0:34:50]
Learn why visibility must evolve into behavioral signals and predictive insight so logistics teams can see disruption coming and act before it hits. Click above to view Tire Tracks episode 64.
Subscribe to Tire Tracks on your preferred podcast app to receive notifications of new episodes released each month.