Markets are evolving rapidly these days, bringing with it a level of change and unpredictability that has exposed the fragility of supply chains around the world. It’s a challenge that even the largest companies can’t avoid, with Airbus recently downgrading its annual forecast due to “ongoing specific supply chain issues.”
The impact of this is that we need to ensure that our global supply chains are more resilient than ever. With the challenge of doing this high on the C-suite agenda, how can organisations ensure that their supply chains are not only high performing, but also highly adaptable?
Chief Commercial and Product Officer and Co-Founder, Dexory.
The crucial role of visibility
On the positive side, organizations are looking to improve the resilience of their supply chains. Capgemini’s Fast Forward report found that over 57% of organizations are increasing their investments to improve the resilience of their supply chains, with many (62%) making improving their supply chain resilience a top priority.
But where do companies start on their journey? For me, the first place is visibility.
We already know that high-performance supply chains thrive on a deep understanding of the flow of raw materials and goods. Visibility is at the heart of this concept. Yet, only 6% of logistics companies claim full visibility into their operations.
Change is essential here, but business leaders must first understand the key aspects of visibility in the journey to more resilient supply chains. These include:
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 measures 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 insights.
Customer satisfaction: Trust between suppliers and customers is damaged when there are issues with the supply chain. Visibility enables organizations to be more transparent with their customers and gives them data-driven insights to share.
Visibility is a fundamental element of the modern, resilient and efficient supply chain. And while it can indeed enable better performance, its potential is much broader, with qualitative insights driving better decision-making and better partnerships with customers and stakeholders.
The power of real-time data
We know that data is an incredibly powerful asset for business leaders and teams when it comes to decision-making. Timely, accurate data is a competitive advantage in business and must be leveraged in the complex, fast-paced world of supply chains.
Combined with innovative technologies, this data can transcend traditional boundaries and expectations. For example, inventory levels can be dynamically adjusted to reroute shipments to unforeseen events, such as weather or traffic, whose impact extends far beyond operational efficiency. When you think about this use case alone, real-time data not only means avoiding unexpected disruptions, but also saving staff time by allowing for more accurate and effective scheduling.
It is important to note here 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 is happening in your supply chain at all times, compliance issues can be resolved before they become a problem.
Closing the visibility gap
The lack of end-to-end visibility, or the ‘visibility gap’, masks significant economic costs for businesses and prevents them from squeezing tight margins by improving inefficiencies and reducing the cost of disruption. Yet organizations no longer need to struggle with the visibility gap in their supply chains. Innovative solutions exist to address strategic gaps in data, technology and visibility, organizations just need to make the most of them.
There are still challenges that stand in the way, such as determining what types of data to collect, grappling with the multitude of elements at play, and translating insights into actionable steps. Fortunately, advanced robots can help with this complex puzzle by providing 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. This has never been more important than now, as the world we live in remains unpredictable and businesses continue to fail as a result. Only by improving visibility through real-time data can organizations take firm control of their supply chains.
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