Reducing Manufacturing Downtime Through Proactive Logistics Planning

February 10, 2026 • 7 minute read
Author: Phyllis Jackson, Senior Manager, US Marketing, UPS

Key Points

• Greater shipping visibility can help better manage manufacturing downtime, which is estimated to cost $260,000 per hour.¹
• Integrating systems and tracking tools between suppliers and manufacturers can enable two-way communication and improve logistics planning.
• Incorporating real-time shipping information into forecasting can improve forecasting accuracy by as much as 27%.²

The Cost of Downtime in Manufacturing

Manufacturing downtime is costly. In fact, manufacturers lose up to $260,000 per hour, on average, when operations are forced to pause.¹ That amount can significantly increase, depending on the industry. For example, automotive manufacturers lose an average of $2.3 million per hour when production lines halt.³

Manufacturers can better manage that loss by leveraging shipping visibility tools that identify downtime causes, increase uptime and strengthen inventory management with optimized logistics planning.

How Does Shipping Visibility Impact Manufacturing Downtime?

Shipping plays an important role in how manufacturers run their daily operations and keep costs in check. For example, knowing when a shipment from a supplier will arrive allows teams to schedule production and ensure that their operations are staffed to handle deliveries.

Supply chain disruptions can cause unexpected delays for key components and equipment that lead to production stoppages, impacting inventory management, weakening customer relationships and increasing costs due to rush orders and changes in production schedules. And when an assembly line goes down, the cost can add up to thousands or millions of dollars a day.

“Manufacturers need their production lines running, no matter what,” says Lorie Schlatterer, Strategic Lead, UPS. “Companies that have better shipping visibility will often see their manufacturing downtime decrease, leading to more satisfied buyers.”

How Can Manufacturers Improve Logistics Planning?

Manufacturers can focus on three key areas to improve logistics planning: shipping visibility, supplier relationships and shipping dashboards.

Improve Shipping Visibility

End-to-end visibility is key to keeping production lines moving. With seamless real-time tracking from the supplier’s warehouse to your receiving docks, you will have greater insight into the shipping journey, better preparing you to meet demand.

Improve Supplier Relationships Through Collaboration

Manufacturers often track their shipments through information that their suppliers provide. However, they can take a proactive approach to receiving real-time shipping updates by using tools that improve their shipping visibility, which also reduces the workload for suppliers.

“UPS has tools available that allow you to send your suppliers preprinted labels, so you have greater management over inbound shipments,” Schlatterer says. “We find that manufacturers not only get a boost in visibility from this, but also confidence in their understanding of shipment data and trends.”

Improving supplier collaboration has business-building benefits, too. A study from McKinsey found that companies that improve their supplier relationships see “higher growth, lower operating costs, and greater profitability than their industry peers.”⁴

Alignment, communication, trust and governance take time, but progress can start with small steps. This is one of the reasons Schlatterer recommends using integrated tracking tools (electronic data interchange solutions and API functionality, for example) that work between the manufacturer and supplier to provide full real-time shipment visibility.

“Transparency and visibility increase efficiency,” she says, “and, ultimately, help manufacturers avoid unplanned downtime.”

How Can Shipping and Logistics Dashboard Improve Logistics Planning?

A centralized shipping dashboard that provides specific information about your shipments increases the chance you’ll see issues before they impact your operations. UPS My Choice^® for Business service provides users with full visibility of inbound, outbound and third-party shipments. The dashboard identifies delayed or late shipments and empowers you to make operational adjustments to protect against the cost of manufacturing downtime.

This platform is also designed for smaller manufacturers that don’t have enough shipping volume to require in-depth reporting and analysis but still want a quick way to check shipping status for both inbound and outbound packages.

Larger manufacturers with more robust tracking and reporting needs may find that that it’s simpler to see their full supply chain view and coordinate logistics planning via Quantum View^® tracking services. This platform provides a complete view of inbound/outbound package shipments and also integrates with other platforms for efficiencies with multi-desktop shipping, batch file shipping and more.

“UPS’s multiple dashboards options and UPS Ready^® Business Solutions partners can help manufacturers avoid production stoppages through tailored solutions that give them more control over and visibility throughout the shipping process,” Schlatter explains.

Benefits of Improved Shipping Visibility

Taking a proactive approach to logistics planning can open up a wealth of data and analysis that can ultimately help to optimize inventory, manage staffing, decrease manufacturing downtime and improve demand forecasting.

Inventory Optimized

As manufacturers increase their shipping visibility, they can dynamically adjust inventory levels based on real-time information. If a delivery is projected to arrive later than expected, decision-makers can change their production and reordering schedules to reduce stockouts, mitigate overstocking and optimize safety stock. This real-time approach reduces the cost of receiving, producing and shipping unneeded inventory.

Real-Time Staffing

Shipment visibility also allows for greater flexibility when it comes to manufacturers staffing their operations. For example, if shipping delays mean a plant or warehouse will receive an influx of inbound materials within a specific timeframe, manufacturers can increase staff as needed at receiving docks and on the production floor, based on inventory (or demand).

Improved Forecasting

Forecasting is only as good as the available data. The use of tracking and data dashboards can help to better inform demand forecasting, budgeting and planning. The result: fewer emergency situations that require expedited (and expensive) shipping. Recent data reveals that integrating real-time shipping information into forecasting can improve forecasting accuracy by as much as 27%.²

The Path to Reducing Manufacturing Downtime

Shipping visibility can have a positive ripple effect on logistics planning and customer satisfaction in several ways.

• Fewer unanticipated delays. When suppliers know they can rely on you, there’s a sense of trust that can strengthen long-term business relationships.
• Transparency. Knowing when inbound deliveries will arrive can help you set realistic outbound delivery expectations.
• Knowledge sharing. Easy access to delivery information can help you answer questions and resolve issues quickly.

“There is no magic wand that manufacturers can wave to ensure they avoid downtime,” Schlatterer says. “However, you can reduce the chances you have to stop production by joining with a logistics partner that can improve your relationship with your suppliers, offer solutions to mitigate supply chain challenges and work with you over the long term as you build your business.”

¹ “The Cost of Downtime: Manufacturing’s Worst Nightmare and How To Solve It,” Smart Industry, January 22, 2025.
² “An Integrated AI-Power BI Model for Real-Time Supply Chain Visibility and Forecasting: A Data-Intelligence Approach to Operational Excellence,” International Journal of Advanced Multidisciplinary Research and Studies, accessed July 25, 2025.
³ “The True Cost of an Hour’s Downtime: An Industry Analysis,” Siemens, July 4, 2024.
⁴ “Taking Supplier Collaboration to the Next Level,” McKinsey, accessed July 16, 2025.

Individual results and options will vary. UPS makes no promises of any specific outcome in this document but instead provides only example outcomes based on certain UPS customer experiences.