Supply chain disruptions have become a significant concern for businesses worldwide. According to reports, such disruptions can cost companies an average of 6-10% of their annual revenues, impacting both financial performance and customer trust. ​

These losses often stem from a lack of visibility into shipment statuses, partner performance, and the origins of delays. Without clear, real-time data, teams are left reacting to issues after they've occurred, leading to missed delivery windows and increased operational costs.​

This article shares 7 practical strategies to evaluate and improve supply chain performance. 

What Is Supply Chain Management?

Supply Chain Management is the coordination of everything it takes to move a product from source to customer. That includes sourcing raw materials, managing suppliers, handling logistics, storing inventory, and delivering the final product.

Done well, it ensures goods are available when and where they’re needed, without excess cost or delay. 

The key components of supply chain management include:

• Procurement: Securing materials or products from suppliers
• Logistics: Coordinating transport, warehousing, and distribution
• Inventory Management: Balancing stock levels to meet demand without overordering
• Transportation: Moving goods efficiently across modes and geographies
• Partner Coordination: Aligning timelines and expectations across suppliers, 3PLs, and internal teams

Why Supply Chain Evaluation and Improvement Matter?

Many supply chain issues start small and go unnoticed until they disrupt deliveries or inflate costs. Without regular evaluation, these problems continue unchecked.

Here is why continuous evaluation is essential:

• Identify delays early: Catch problems before they reach the customer.
• Hold partners accountable: Use accurate data to align expectations and performance.
• Increase consistency: Build a supply chain that responds quickly and supports long-term growth.

Also read: Freight Visibility for Supply Chain Management

7 Strategies for Supply Chain Management Evaluation and Improvement

Stronger supply chains start with better evaluation. These strategies help you identify gaps, improve visibility, and make faster, data-backed decisions.

1. Understand Current Performance

Before improving any supply chain process, you need a clear picture of where things stand. This starts by setting a baseline using accurate, real-time data.

With Vizion’s TradeView, teams can:

• Track key performance indicators like lead time, dwell time, and delivery accuracy.
• Monitor live shipment flows 30 to 90 days before arrival.
• Access over 10 years of shipment history to compare past performance and spot long-term trends.

This baseline gives context to your operations and reveals where change is most needed.

2. Centralizing Shipment Visibility

Tracking shipments through multiple portals and disconnected systems leads to delays, missed updates, and poor coordination. A centralized view is essential for control.

With Vizion, teams can:

• Stream real-time container movement data across 98% of global ocean carriers.
• Standardize shipment events into a single, consistent feed.
• Eliminate the need to log into multiple carrier platforms.

3. Automating Performance Monitoring

Manual tracking slows teams down. When updates are delayed or missing, decisions are made on outdated information.

With Vizion, teams can:

• Automate the delivery of container status updates via webhooks or polling.
• Get structured event data that flows directly into internal systems.
• Track ETAs and exceptions in real time without manual effort.

Automation reduces manual errors and enables faster responses across the board.

4. Identifying Areas for Process Improvement

Process improvement depends on finding recurring friction points across routes, partners, or geographies.

Using TradeView, teams can:

• Search by product, company, or industry to isolate performance issues.
• Filter by location, goods type, and time window for targeted reviews.
• Trace delays to specific handoffs or patterns, using actual movement data.

With detailed filters and search capabilities, TradeView helps operations teams pinpoint what is slowing things down and why.

5. Improving Supplier and Partner Accountability

Partner performance can make or break your supply chain. TradeView gives you the visibility to manage those relationships with facts, not assumptions.

Teams can:

• Monitor supply chain networks across 500 million suppliers and logistics providers.
• Discover upstream and downstream relationships linked to your shipments.
• Identify risk categories, including financial, movement, restriction, and ESG, and filter results by location, product, and time.

With these insights, you can set clearer expectations, flag problems early, and strengthen your partner network.

6. Aligning Cross-Functional Teams

When logistics, operations, customer service, and procurement work in silos, delays and miscommunication follow. Shared access to real-time data is key to better collaboration.

Vizion helps align teams by integrating container tracking data directly into your systems, including:

• Transportation Management Systems (TMS)
• Enterprise Resource Planning platforms (ERP)
• Custom internal dashboards or tools

7. Scaling with Data-Driven Decisions

Scaling a supply chain means making smarter decisions across more lanes, partners, and regions. 

With TradeView, you can:

• Compare shipment volumes between companies to benchmark trade activity.
• Filter by product, location, and time to track shifts in sourcing or demand.
• Flag ESG, movement, and compliance risks across suppliers and trade lanes.

Also read our Guide on Real-Time Supply Chain Visibility and Tracking Solutions

Conclusion

With the right data, teams move faster, make better decisions, and respond to disruption before it spreads. From upstream supplier risk to last-mile delays, every improvement starts with better visibility.

Whether you are managing ten shipments or tracking a million, Vizion makes it possible to monitor each one with accuracy, speed, and clarity, all in a format your systems and teams can use right away.

See what your supply chain can do with smarter visibility. 

Book a demo and explore what is possible with Vizion.