Meet Invacare
Since 1885, Invacare has helped people with disabilities live life. Today, Invacare is the global leader in home and long-term-care medical products.
Invacare Corporation (NYSE: IVC), headquartered in Elyria, Ohio, is a global leader in the manufacture and distribution of innovative home and long-term care medical products that promote recovery and active lifestyles. Invacare employs approximately 2,200 associates and markets its products in 100 countries around the world. The Company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol IVC.
Invacare, through its products and services, makes life’s experiences possible for millions of consumers everyday.
With Visiwise, we’ve increased the number of containers we can track with just one person, without needing to add more staff to manage our supply chain.
The Challenge: Lack of Shipment Visibility
As a global organization, Invacare’s supply chain is complex. Managing the flow of materials and products across continents requires precision and agility. In 2022, Vincent, Invacare’s EMEA Distribution Center and Outbound Manager, faced a growing challenge: tracking roughly 600 ocean containers annually across various freight forwarders. The manual process was time-consuming and lacked transparency, making it difficult to anticipate delays or risks in their supply chain.
“We wanted to disconnect from the limitations of freight forwarders’ systems and have a single, independent tool to track our containers globally,” Vincent explained.
The company was grappling with:
- Tracking approximately 600 containers imported annually across the world
- Dependence on freight forwarders for shipment information
- Inconsistent tools and interfaces from different logistics providers
- Difficulty in accurately predicting arrival times due to global supply chain disruptions
Power of Automation
Initially, Invacare’s team tracked shipments manually using Visiwise. However, as they gained confidence in the system’s reliability, they decided to automate the entire process. This automation was achieved through email integration, allowing Invacare to simply forward Excel files from their forwarders to Visiwise. Within minutes, all shipments would appear on the dashboard, eliminating the need for time-consuming manual tracking.
KPIs and Analytics as Invacare’s needs
Visiwise has enhanced Invacare’s logistics operations with three key analytics features:
- ETA Deviation: This tool compares the initial estimated time of arrival provided by shipping lines with the actual arrival time, allowing Invacare to quantify delays and improve shipment tracking accuracy.
- Transit Time Insight: Visiwise provides data on the duration it takes for containers to travel from the port of loading to the port of discharge, enabling Invacare to analyze performance across different shipping routes and lines.
- Delivery Lead Time: This feature measures the time from a container’s arrival at the port of discharge until its empty return, offering valuable insights into the logistics team’s efficiency.
These analytics tools have significantly improved Invacare’s ability to manage their supply chain, track approximately 600 containers annually, and make data-driven decisions to optimize their shipping operations.
Effect of our collaboration: Streamlined Operations and Increased Efficiency in Invacare
The results have been transformative:
- Enhanced Efficiency:
“With Visiwise, we’ve increased the number of containers we can track with just one person. We didn’t need to hire more staff to handle our growing logistics demands,” Vincent shared. - Improved Risk Management:
Real-time updates on estimated time of arrival (ETA) and potential risks allow the team to act quickly, ensuring their supply chain remains resilient. - Flexibility and Independence:
“Visiwise gives us the freedom to choose our freight forwarders without being tied to their individual systems. It’s one tool that works across all providers,” Vincent explained. - Transparency and Automation:
“By automating container imports using Excel integration, we save time and track shipments with precision. Visiwise provides full transparency, showing deviations in ETAs and helping us manage delays effectively.”
Vincent Roussel
Visiwise is a reliable partner for tracking containers worldwide, providing the tools and support we need to manage our logistics effectively.
Expanding Success
What began as a regional solution in Europe has now expanded globally. Invacare is rolling out Visiwise to its operations in the United States, where they plan to track approximately 1,000 containers annually.
“Visiwise is a trusted partner that helps us stay ahead in our logistics operations. It’s a user-friendly, flexible tool that has made a tangible impact on our efficiency and supply chain visibility,” Vincent concluded.
Customer-Centric Support
Beyond the platform’s capabilities, Vincent praised Visiwise customer service:
“The team is always available to help us resolve issues or develop new functionalities tailored to our needs.”
Looking Ahead
Vincent and his team are now fully convinced of Visiwise’s value. The tool has been adopted not only in France but also in other European facilities such as Portugal, Sweden, and the UK. Invacare is now preparing to implement Visiwise in their US operations, where they anticipate tracking approximately 1,000 containers per year.
As Invacare continues to grow and adapt to the changing global supply chain landscape, their partnership with Visiwise stands as a testament to the power of innovative solutions in overcoming complex logistical challenges. This collaboration has not only streamlined Invacare’s operations but also reinforced their position as a leader in the medical equipment industry, ensuring they can continue to make life’s experiences possible for millions of consumers every day.
Visiwise offers full transparency, letting us monitor deviations in estimated arrival times and track our containers with precision.