Today’s markets are evolving rapidly, creating change and unpredictability that has demonstrated the fragility of supply chains around the world. It’s a challenge that even the largest companies cannot avoid, and Airbus has recently lowered its annual forecast due to “specific persistent supply chain issues.”
The impact of this is that we need to ensure our global supply chains are more resilient than ever before. With the challenge of achieving this top of mind for executives, how can organisations ensure their supply chains are not only high-performing, but also highly adaptable?
Chief Commercial and Product Officer and co-founder of Dexory.
The crucial role of visibility
On the positive side, organizations are looking to improve supply chain resilience. Capgemini’s Fast Forward report found that more than 57% of organizations are increasing their investments to improve their supply chain resilience and that for many organizations (62%), increasing their supply chain resilience is a key priority.
But where should companies start on their journey? For me, visibility is the first place to start.
We already know that high-quality supply chains thrive on a deep understanding of the flow of raw materials and goods. Visibility is at the core of this concept. Yet only 6% of logistics companies claim to have full visibility of their operations.
Change in this area is vital, but business leaders must first understand the key aspects of visibility on the path to more resilient supply chains, including:
Early detection of problems and effective risk management:Visibility enables organizations to quickly identify potential disruptions or issues at various points in the supply chain. This means they can take proactive steps to mitigate them.
Improved decision making and optimization:Decisions based on accurate and timely data enable true business agility. While visibility, by definition, increases the quality and volume of data and information.
Customer satisfaction:Trust between suppliers and customers is damaged when there are problems in the supply chain. Visibility allows organizations to be more transparent with their customers and gives them data-driven insights to share.
Visibility is a fundamental element of a modern, resilient and efficient supply chain. And while it can certainly enable better performance, its potential is much broader: quality information drives better decision-making and better partnerships with customers and stakeholders.
The power of real-time data
We know that data is an incredibly powerful resource for business leaders and teams when making decisions. Timely and accurate data is a competitive advantage in the business world and therefore must be used in the complex and fast-paced world of supply chains.
When combined with innovative technologies, this data can transcend traditional boundaries and expectations. For example, inventory levels can be dynamically adjusted to reroute shipments in the face of unforeseen events (e.g. weather or traffic), the impact of which extends far beyond operational efficiency. Thinking about this use case alone, real-time data not only means that unexpected disruptions can be avoided, but it also means that workforce time doesn’t have to be wasted due to more accurate and effective schedules.
It’s important to note that real-time data can also help organizations ensure compliance with regulatory requirements throughout the supply chain. For example, export and import requirements, environmental regulations, and even those related to worker safety. By understanding exactly what’s happening in your supply chain at all times, compliance issues can be addressed before they become a problem.
Bridging the Visibility Gap
Lack of end-to-end visibility, or the “visibility gap,” masks significant economic costs for businesses and does not allow them to reduce tight margins by improving inefficiencies and reducing the cost of disruptions. However, organizations no longer need to deal with the visibility gap in their supply chains. Innovative solutions exist to address strategic gaps in data, technology, and visibility—they just need to make the most of them.
There are still challenges to be solved, such as determining the types of data to collect, dealing with the multitude of elements at play, and translating insights into actionable steps. Fortunately, advanced robots can help with this complex puzzle by offering a solution to improve accuracy.
Final Thoughts
There is still much work to be done to close the visibility gap and ensure resilient supply chains. Taking action in this regard has never been more important than now, given that the world we live in remains unpredictable and businesses continue to fail as a result. Only by improving visibility through real-time data can organisations have a firm grip on their supply chains.
We list the best ERP software.
This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel, where we showcase the brightest and brightest minds in the tech industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author, and not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you're interested in contributing, find out more here:
