Striking the right balance between operational processes and technology is vital to streamlining supply chains – and the key to unlocking greater visibility. In today’s business environment, staying ahead means having a thorough understanding of your own operations as well as those of your competitors.
How to Gain Better Supply Chain Visibility
With advancements in technology, businesses have more options than ever for gaining insight into their supply chain. From real-time data tracking to predictive analytics tools, companies can better identify areas for improvement and capitalize on opportunities for growth. However, it is not just about adding technology to your operational processes. Instead, logistics managers and operational leaders need to assess their operations fully to understand what bottlenecks occur in their logistics. With the aid of technology and insights, businesses can achieve better, faster, and more reliable order fulfillment.
Kimberly-Clark and many consumer goods companies face difficulty managing the trend of Monday-Wednesday order spikes and lighter weekend workloads. They recognized that adding new technology on top of their current processes wouldn’t cut it. Their logistics team examined their operations to understand and resolve bottlenecks, and uncovered challenges within their stock, transport, and distribution capacity. As a result, Kimberly-Clark increased their end-to-end supply chain visibility and are able to manage order spikes.
In this blog post, we will discuss some of the ways that organizations can use technology to gain greater visibility into their supply chain operations.
Make the Most of Supply Chain Data
By incorporating data analytics into your operations, you can obtain more insights to identify operational inefficiencies that might be reducing your performance. Analytics solutions help to determine the areas where you can strengthen your logistics to optimize and configure efficiently. As a result, you can know precisely where to invest time and resources to achieve the optimal operational process.
Track What You Can in Real-time
Real-time tracking enables businesses to monitor their shipments and gain access to vital information about their entire supply chain. Technologies like RFID provide an accurate insight into the status of each shipment, from its origin to the final destination. It helps companies track a product’s progress through various points in the process, such as warehouses and distribution centers, ensuring that it is delivered on time. In addition, this sort of visibility allows organizations to withstand any unforeseen disruptions or delays.
Automate your Supply Chain
Using automation in your logistics can enhance your operational efficiency when paired with your current operational processes. Automating operational processes can decrease human error, improve timelines, and also produce excellent customer experiences.
Identify Disruptions Using Predictive Analytics
Predictive analytics can be used to identify potential problems with supply chain operations before they occur and provide possible solutions before they become major issues. By utilizing predictive analytics tools, businesses can make more informed decisions and stay ahead of any disruptions that could potentially affect their supply chain.
Utilize the Potential of Cloud-Based Platforms
As the supply chain has become increasingly complex, cloud-based platforms like Shelvz have emerged to help organizations manage their resources more efficiently. These platforms can give companies real-time updates, enabling them to make swift data-driven decisions.
Collaborate and Communicate with Departments
Collaboration between different departments in your supply chain is essential in maintaining efficient logistics. By maintaining strong communication channels between different areas, you can ensure that everyone in the supply chain understands the role they play in the fulfillment process. Encouraging collaborations between teams can assist in ensuring all aspects of the supply chain remain congruent and integrated to optimize the entire system.
Enhance Visibility using IoT Solutions
One effective way to enhance end-to-end visibility is by adopting IoT solutions in your operations. Smart Retail Devices use sensors to provide data that can indicate real-time information on things like delivery times, temperature requirements, and other metrics that affects the integrity of the goods being delivered. By integrating IoT tools with your retail software, you can achieve greater visibility and ensure that there is no loss of goods during the fulfillment process.
Leverage Proper Tools and Strategies
In conclusion, there are many ways that businesses can increase supply chain visibility to unlock insights that can significantly impact their supply chain efficiency. By leveraging proper tools and strategies, companies can achieve greater efficiency and better order fulfillment. Operations and logistics managers must keep up with technological advancements and explore solutions to remain competitive in today’s global market.
