- Recruit and develop professionals
Emerging technology and globalization of supply chain are key to revolutionizing supply chain processes. However, there would still be many challenges, even with perfect technology, globalization and a lack of skilled workers. Studies point out that only 38% of the leaders in the supply chain are confident of their current team and their abilities to compete in today’s market. Therefore, you should look for the best possible skilled individuals to fill positions in your organization. You can achieve this by building a strong relationship with universities to find the right people straight from college.
- Align your team
Effective cross-execution of a business needs building a strong supply chain. However, each supply chain function operates as a separate or distinct entity with a separate business unit, different priorities, time and resources. It can also have different resources and systems, resulting in siloes. This leads to gaps, errors, inconsistencies and slow communication. Therefore, you need to align your team, systems and resources for proper processes and services to be experienced.
- Build strong alliances with suppliers
Suppliers are a lifeline for any supply chain company. Building partnerships with them is vital for success, minimizing expenses and improving reliability. Building strong partnerships and treating them as a partnership will be beneficial. It leads to balanced problem-solving and co-creating goals that help both parties. Look for suppliers you share vision and principles with, and work together to improve your supply chain.
- Improve demand forecasting
Demand forecasting is a critical component for any serious supply chain company. Having too much stock will be costly, while too little can cause customer dissatisfaction. As such, build a strong demand forecasting ability to help you know when to stock certain products and when not to, as this will enhance the satisfaction of your customers and profits for your business.
- Optimize inventory management
Inventory management works hand-in-hand with demand forecasting. It is another critical part of an efficient supply chain. Once you can reliably predict demand, you should be able to calculate optimal levels of inventory for current and future demands. Having supply chain visibility helps forecast accurately. However, without inventory visibility, you cannot have accurate planning. Ensure demand is aligned with the supply chain objectives.
- Increase supply chain manager
Constant communications, regular and timely updates and documentation are critical for the supply chain. Therefore, you need to ensure end-to-end supply chain visibility and account for every item and journey from manufacturer to customer. This builds trust and transparency with the customers.
- Invest in technology and software
Most businesses have multiple systems for managing supply chain operations. These systems are basic programs such as Excel and other applications integrated into ERPs. These systems are semi-manual and often create silos. With modern systems emerging, ensure you have the technologies and software needed to manage operations. This will ease operations and help in using data.
- Set up a supply chain council
Without a supply chain council, you will not have a clear strategy for efficient operations. By supporting your supply chain with the right leadership, you can improve communication and demonstrate the value of having the right structures and eliminating barriers to success.