2023 02 23 Pete Gowanlock of DLT Labs: Real Time Freight Invoice Processing

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Details

Date: Thursday, February 23, 2023

Time: 10:30pm IST / 6:00pm CET / 5:00pm GMT / 12:00pm EST / 9:00am PST

Meeting link: https://zoom.us/my/hyperledger.community.backup?pwd=dkJKdHRlc3dNZEdKR1JYdW40R2pDUT09

Zoom Meeting ID: 622 333 6701 Passcode: 475869

Meeting Recording on YouTube

Upcoming events

F reightWaves Global Supply Chain Week: February 21-23, 2023; online.
F reightWaves Supply Chain Meets FinTech Summit: March 15, 2023; online.
Linux Foundation is hosting SustainabilityCon on May 10-12 in Vancouver as part of the Open Source Summit North America.

- The Call for Proposals process is open until February 5. The topics for proposals include items relevant to the Supply Chain and Trade Finance SIG, such as sustainable supply chains, so this can be a good place to share relevant projects. To submit a proposal, check out https://events.linuxfoundation.org/open-source-summit-north-america/program/cfp/.
F reightWaves Future of Supply Chain: June 21-22, 2023; Cleaveland, OH.

GS1 Connect 2023: June 5-7, 2023; Denver, CO
The next Hyperledger Global Forum is planned for early 2024 (exact date TBD)

Announcements

Discussion

Should we move upcoming events to its own page within the wiki? (Alicia)

Presentation

Pete Gowanlock, VP of Freight at DLT Labs presents a demo of their end-to-end shipment tracking platform, which uses Hyperledger Fabric.
- 30+ years experience, crossroads of finance and supply chain.
- DL Freight - private, permission based supply chain solution
- Purpose: to process domestic frieght invoiceing for Walmart Canada, inbound and outbound
  - To/from vendors
  - Direct store delivery
  - Full truckload, less than full truckload
  - Audit capabilities on small parcel, delivery
  - Scheduling capabilities
- Metrics:
  - Walmart's fleet or direct store deliveries from vendors - to reduce backup of loading/unloading
  - >1,000 active users - Walmart Canada staff, dispatch, external auditors
  - Into millions of parcel delivery
  - 132 million IoT process updates
  - Mileage: 575 million miles traveled
  - Dispute resolution processes have gone from >70%annually to <2% annually
    - Walmart and carriers agree to contract info in the platform, carriers have visibility, enable quick response of disputes
- Turn-key platform. Offers multiple functions:
  - Track & Trace
  - Workflow & supply chain
  - Value transfer & exchange
  - Contract compliance
  - Provenance & authentication
  - Credentials & certifications
  - Records management
  - Privacy & consent
- Lessons learned:
  - Don't change carrier's processes, other parties' processes. Make the experience work around their existing workflow.
- Time to onboard a new carrier: 1 hour workshop on how to integrate, then they are connected to a UAT environment, doing straightforward API calls (send query, send message about statues). Is about a 4 week process to onboard one person at a transportation carrier.
  - Many have chosen to only use the portal, not use an API
- Info in platform:
  - Freight rates agreed by shipper and carrier
  - Weekly fuel rates for trucks, monthly for rail
- Difference business rules: detention, demurrage, calculation of off-route miles - all agreed upon ahead of time.
- Freight payment process:
  - Now 5 steps, down from 11 steps in the previous process
    - 1) Draft invoice is created when tendered.
    - 2)Carrier performs pickup - has gps tracking, how long they are waiting in stores for pickup/delivery
    - 3)System is updated
      - Walmart Canada no longer requires physical paperwork
      - Carrier reviews charges, taxes, etc.
    - 4) Carrier validates and/or adds charges, confirms tax, approves invoice
      - Invoice is ready for delivery by the time the carrier leaves the store - no more audit occurs, they are guaranteed the payment terms
      - This is when the audit starts in most freight terms
    - 5)A/P receive invoice, process payment, provides pay status
- Dashboard:
  - Carriers see data on # of instances, list of workflow, how many shipments, where each shipment is in the process
  - Master data - has tool kit rates for truckload, less-than-truckload
    - Fuel rates, tax rates, etc.
- Data is stored in a way that is interoperable with Salesforce, other platforms
- Business workflow data includes local ID, invoice status, weight, load carrier on & off dates, total, grand total, taxes, discounts/rebates, invoice date, date that carrier submits invoice, date that payment is transferred to the carriers bank account, other data. More than 200 data elements. Columns are all sort-able.
- DSOs - days sales outstanding. Carriers can choose Quickpay, may still be on 30 or 45 days
  - DSOs have dropped significantly - less than 48 hours from submission to approval on the platform.
  - Resource saving within Walmart - ROI has been close to 5% of annual freight spend (~$550 million annually → ~$30 million in annual savings)
    - One of their carriers had previously said they would not renew their contract because of challenges in getting invoice approvals and payments.
  - for shippers
  - Data usually comes through API. DL will process EDI for some carriers.
  - Integrated with Salesforce for accessorial charges; approval takes seconds.
  - This was a business-driven initiative - Walmart's business team had a challenge that they needed a solution for, this
    - 95+% of info is from the tender.
    - Walmart made the technology a requirement for carriers. Many of them had it already.
      - Many of the carriers are brokers, deliveries may actually be made by third-party mom-and-pop carriers
      - Broker-carriers using the system have requested to use the platform for tracking data with their subcontraction carriers.