To many in the world of international logistics, visibility is a Band-Aid, not an elixir. Needing data about where a shipment is, especially if receipt of the data requires payment to a third party, is a sign of insufficient data quality from carriers and facilities across modes. But on a deeper level, it’s also a sign that an organization is so reliant on a specific shipment that it needs data about its whereabouts at key junctures because the price of not knowing is more costly. And that, at its core, is a failure of demand planning. Not having reliable enough forecasts of what’s needed, and where, puts a logistics department at an immediate disadvantage. That’s because logistics is then reacting to an in-the-moment need from another group in its organization. And the last-minute nature of that need means it needs to be followed more closely — i.e.,, with visibility — to ensure that shipment doesn’t go awry, potentially spoiling a seasonal promotion or a production line. In this session, logistics providers will describe how improving planning and forecasting upstream can alleviate some of the reliance on in-transit visibility.