Is your supply chain management deeply affected by recent economic, political, and environmental events like the US-China trade war, Brexit, and the lethal COVID-19 pandemic? Be assured that you are not the only one.
Many global supply chain economies and leaders have been suffering from the aftermath of such unprecedented incidents. They are compelled to trade off cost and operational efficiency, and several roadblocks to strike a balance. Read on to know more about the problem and how you can efficiently navigate the rough waters with resilience.
What is the SCM scenario like?
Evaluating the current situation, VP Analyst at Gartner Geraint John said, “Most supply chain leaders recognize that becoming more resilient is a necessity in the current environment.” However, he added that “measures such as alternative factories, dual sourcing, and more generous safety stocks go against the well-versed philosophy of lean supply chains that has prevailed in recent decades.”
Moreover, a Gartner survey found that merely 21% of respondents have high resilient networks, excellent visibility, and the agility to quickly shift sourcing, manufacturing, and distribution activities.
Increasing resilience in supply chain management is a hard-line priority for the rest of the respondents as they emerge from the current crisis. Another Gartner survey predicts that, by 2026, 50% or more will be highly resilient within two to three years by competing as collaborative digital ecosystems rather than discrete firms — sharing inputs, assets, and innovations.
Where lies the challenge?
Restoring the disrupted supply chain and balancing efficiency and resiliency are the core challenge in global operations and supply chain management. Moreover, issues in global supply chain management gets aggravated because resilience comes at an additional cost.
Furthermore, the new-age SCM must consider the demand and volume variability, and be prepared to have business continuity plans in the wake of events like natural disasters and global pandemics.
What could be the new-age supply chain management solution?
Microprocessor development, consumer technologies, and advanced electronics manufacturers have taken a few pioneering steps to deal with the supply chain post-pandemic.
They have already produced comprehensive dashboards that lay out the full status of production and shipment, down to the last detail. These dashboards refresh every 20 minutes to provide a real-time overview of the entire supply chain.
Other industries, such as pharmaceutical, can also adopt a similar supply chain management strategy to maneuver these choppy waters. How?
For example, in the pharma industry, there is a lack of a single database, either centralized or distributed, from which to map the critical components for drug manufacturing. For suppliers, and ultimately, end-users, the visibility on sourcing is critical and needs upgradation.
Also, leadership teams can proactively improve their ability to analyze internal data and external sources of big data rapidly to stay a step ahead of supply chain disruptions. This implies – harnessing ML and AI for predictive and prescriptive analytics. These tools facilitate early-warning technologies, model risk scenarios, and develop pre-programmed responses.
Another critical aspect is the need to update planning parameters and objectives, to survive the increased risk of disruption scenarios, as old assumptions become obsolete.
How can Techwave help your global supply chain in a post-pandemic world?
Techwave offers multiple solutions to strategize supply chain management in the post-COVID-19 business environment.
This includes Techwave’s External Manufacturing Integration (EMI) Platform, which provides external integration through deployment to the cloud. This cloud-based solution helps achieve a collaborative intelligent supply chain network connecting local, regional, and global operations for a real-time view across the supply chain.
Unique features of the EMI Platform
1.Transforms data into actionable insight
It transforms data from any connected supply chain partner’s edge devices, mobile, and IoT technologies into actionable insights for more effective decision-making, new efficiencies, and higher levels of supply chain performance.
2.Ensures external integration
It connects a company’s operations with its supply chain partners and is built in such a way that it facilitates seamless interaction with any supply chain solution or ERP. It can be deployed on-premises or in the cloud while accepting a wide range of data inputs from external manufacturers through spreadsheets to real-time APIs.
2.Ensures external integration
It connects a company’s operations with its supply chain partners and is built in such a way that it facilitates seamless interaction with any supply chain solution or ERP. It can be deployed on-premises or in the cloud while accepting a wide range of data inputs from external manufacturers through spreadsheets to real-time APIs.
3.Establishes integration faster than ever
Techwave EMI can be deployed in the cloud faster than ever due to its pre-validated and baseline configuration with a library of integration options. In addition, it provides near-instantaneous back-up, recovery, and cloning of your Techwave environment regardless of size.
4.Offers AI-enabled platform
With Techwave Analytics, AI, and Machine Learning, stakeholders can perform deep dives into intra-day risk positions in real-time, that standard analytical computing cannot do.
5.Provides a high level of security and robustness
The EMI platform is a secure, scalable, sustainable AWS cloud environment. It facilitates third-party integration to support the overall supply chain process.
The solution has been designed in collaboration with the SAP industry leadership and Techwave. As a result, it has an expanded functionality than the standard SAP supply chain solution. In addition, the solution focuses on the future technical direction of SAP using the S4 Hana foundation and the lower cost of ownership compared to alternative SAP solutions.
Benefits of the EMI Platform
This solution’s foremost benefit entails an enrichment of the business value. It is designed by supply chain industry members and SMEs’ expertise. Consequently, it creates value for the multi-tier industry supply chain and CMO end-user process.
With COVID-19 exposing the inherent weaknesses of the global supply chain management, a fresh and evolved perspective is the need of the hour. It calls for rethinking the supply chain management fundamentals to build a far more robust and resilient SME strategy and network.
If these are the features and benefits you are looking out for in your SCM, please feel free to contact us and learn more about how Techwave can help you.