Top Five Supply Chain Management Best Practices
As business drives demand for the development of digital supply chain tools. We take a look at some of the best practices in supply chain management and discuss how this ties in with the use of supply chain technology.
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05: Collaboration
Collaboration happens throughout every stage of the supply chain process, from sourcing and negotiations to product or service delivery. Providing the tools for personnel to collaborate will streamline each process. The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is an excellent example of how a digital ecosystem can be used to monitor and collaborate in manufacturing and can even be used to manage robotics.
04: Competition and Financial Management
Competition in the supply chain involves maintaining supplier relationships, understanding the need for fast operations and providing personnel with the equipment and skills to carry out their jobs.
A particularly attractive financial strategy for supply chain companies in 2021 is cost reduction. As the use of big data widens, businesses can focus their attention on reducing production costs and tackling much-needed price negotiations.
03: Using Big Data
Data analytics and business intelligence is a big trend in 2021. Many supply chains are moving towards big data usage, which is definitely important for keeping up with the industry. But only around half of supply chains are using technology to their advantage, despite them understanding its long-term benefits.
02: Acquiring Skills
As digital transformation becomes a critical focus for supply chains, companies aim to acquire more skills to manage sophisticated supply chain systems. Predictive operations systems are becoming more popular as the development of AI and machine learning manages menial tasks, which allows personnel to focus on the wider operations and procurement tasks. However, managing these systems requires new skills like any new system.
01: Identify Risk
It is very beneficial for project managers or risk managers to carry out assessments of risk regularly. The events of Covid-19 have highlighted some key issues that supply chain leaders should become aware of as they plan for the future. There are various risks along the supply chain, especially for large logistics companies. Some of these include:
- Health and safety risks
- Crime incidents involving transport vehicles
- Regulation changes
- Cybersecurity threats
