In this environment, logistics has become a strategic control layer that connects digital production models to physical execution.
This article outlines how a global spare parts manufacturer partnered with Birlasoft to modernize its transportation operations using Oracle Transportation Management (OTM) Cloud, integrated with a real-time shipment visibility platform, enabling a more resilient, transparent, and scalable supply chain.
Market Context: Growth with Structural Change
The global spare parts manufacturing market is forecast to grow to over $730 billion by 2030[1], driven by:
- Predictive maintenance and uptime-based service models
- Inventory optimization and digital supply chains
- Smart factory and Industry 4.0 investments
However, this growth is accompanied by structural shifts:
- Electrification is altering parts portfolios, increasing demand for electronic and software-driven components while reducing demand for traditional mechanical components.
- Revenue pools are shifting, forcing manufacturers to rethink sourcing, production, and distribution strategies.
- Service expectations are rising, with logistics performance directly impacting customer satisfaction and brand trust.
These shifts increase operational complexity, particularly in transportation and fulfilment.
Digitization, Additive Manufacturing & the New Logistics Reality
Digital Spare Parts and Digital Warehousing
Manufacturers are increasingly adopting digital spare parts: digital representations of physical components that can be produced on demand using advanced manufacturing techniques.
This enables:
- Reduced physical inventory
- Shorter lead times
- Lower supply chain risk
- Localized production closer to demand
However, digital inventories also change logistics dynamics. Instead of fewer, predictable shipments from central warehouses, manufacturers now face higher shipment frequency, more fragmented lanes, and tighter delivery windows.
Additive Manufacturing (AM)
Additive manufacturing is accelerating this shift by enabling:
- Near-point-of-use production
- Flexible, low-volume part manufacturing
- Regional production hubs and AM partners
As production becomes more dynamic, transportation planning becomes event-driven rather than schedule-driven, increasing the need for intelligent orchestration and real-time control.
All of these trends (digital inventories, AM, electrification, and servitization) converge in one place: transportation execution.
Transportation is now where:
- Digital production decisions become physical outcomes.
- Service commitments are either met or broken.
- Cost, speed, and resilience trade-offs are resolved in real time.
Without an intelligent Transportation Management System and real-time visibility, these innovations risk increasing disruption rather than reducing it.
The Client Challenge
The client, a global manufacturer supplying automotive and military vehicle components, operates at a significant scale:
- Over 900 daily shipments across North America and Europe
- Complex routing requirements, including milk runs
- High dependency on carrier coordination and EDI messaging
Their legacy transportation management system had reached the end of support and could no longer support:
Without an intelligent Transportation Management System and real-time visibility, these innovations risk increasing disruption rather than reducing it.
- Accurate ETA and appointment management
- Efficient load and route optimization
- Real-time shipment visibility
- Scalable growth across regions
Leadership recognized the need not just to replace a system, but to re-engineer logistics as a strategic capability.
Strategic Response: Intelligent TMS with Embedded Visibility
The transformation strategy focused on two principles:
- Modernize transportation planning and execution through a cloud-based TMS.
- Embed real-time visibility into daily operations to enable proactive decision-making.
Birlasoft partnered with the client to deliver this through Oracle Transportation Management Cloud, integrated with a real-time shipment visibility platform.
The Solution: Intelligent Transportation Management with Oracle OTM Cloud
Birlasoft implemented Oracle OTM Cloud as the central orchestration platform for transportation planning and execution.
Key capabilities included:
- Automated load and route optimizations
- Exception-based planning and alerts
- Integrated carrier collaboration and mobile enablement
- Advanced reporting and analytics
- Simplified document management
The solution was fully integrated with the client’s existing ERP and legacy systems, and two years of historical data were migrated to preserve insights and continuity.
Real-time Shipment Visibility as a Control Layer: To meet rising expectations for transparency and resilience, the solution was expanded to include real-time shipment visibility. This enabled:
- Continuous tracking of shipments across regions
- Real-time event ingestion directly into OTM
- A single operational workbench combining planning, execution, and visibility
- Faster identification and resolution of exceptions
Planners moved from reacting to delays to managing outcomes in real time.
Together, OTM and the visibility platform enabled a transportation control tower – a single, operational view across:
- Production and shipment events
- Carrier performance
- Exception risk and SLA exposure
- End-to-end shipment status
This control-tower model enables spare parts manufacturers to increase decision velocity, reduce manual intervention, and maintain service levels even during disruptions.
Logistics as a Risk & Resilience Capability: In an environment shaped by tariffs, geopolitical instability, and logistics volatility, transportation has become a risk management function.
Real-time visibility enables:
- Early detection of disruption
- Dynamic re-routing and re-planning
- Proactive communication with customers and partners
- Faster identification and resolution of exceptions
Combined with intelligent TMS workflows, this shifts logistics from reactive execution to predictive control, protecting uptime, revenue, and brand trust.
The Business Impact
The combined TMS and visibility solution delivered tangible improvements:
Cost & Efficiency
- Reduced transportation costs through improved routing and load optimizations
- Higher planner productivity through automation and exception-based workflows
Speed & Control
- Near real-time shipment visibility across North America and Europe
- Faster response to delays and operational disruptions
Visibility & Trust
- End-to-end transparency for internal teams and customers
- Improved service reliability and customer confidence
Strategic Readiness
- A scalable, cloud-based platform supporting continuous improvement
- Reduced dependency on infrastructure and specialist IT resources
What Leading Spare Parts Manufacturers Are Doing Next
Progressive manufacturers are now:
- Treating transportation data as a strategic asset, not an operational by-product
- Integrating TMS, visibility, and analytics into demand sensing and inventory positioning
- Moving from reactive logistics to predictive, event-driven orchestration
- Using logistics insights to inform commercial, aftermarket, and service strategies
Transportation is becoming a source of competitive differentiation, not just cost control.
Birlasoft: A Global Oracle OTM Implementation Partner
Birlasoft brings deep expertise across Oracle Transportation Management, cloud migration, and global supply chain transformation. Our approach goes beyond implementation, focusing on adoption, resilience, and long-term value. We help spare parts manufacturers design logistics capabilities that scale with growth, adapt to disruption, and support evolving business models.
