Business
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BUILDING THE CONTINUOUS SUPPLY CHAIN
Sourcing is complex , often involving hundreds of partners in the chain .
By Phil Lewis , VP of Solution Consulting EMEA at Infor
Competitive supply chains must enable a new level of coordinated performance that creates a high-fidelity picture of in-process flows across extended networks .
Building the continuous supply chain supports contextual deviations , conveys alerts , and drives continuous planning via sense and respond capabilities . This in turn optimises multiparty business processes .
Supply chains are complex networks where over 80 % of the data and processes sits within partner systems . To see and act on the latest picture of its supply chain , the organisation needs that data from each of its partners . The problem is that most companies rely solely on an enterprise-centric approach to solve a multi-enterprise problem .
The only way to overcome those limitations is to adopt a ‘ network approach ’. Connecting all partners to shared processes , data , and metrics managed within a single platform creates a single version of truth for all parties . This allows supply chains to eliminate data silos and inherent latency to reduce the root causes of friction , variability , and costs in today ’ s supply chains , both internally and externally .
Balancing customer service levels and supply chain costs is nothing new , but customer expectations are more demanding than ever before , due to how quickly products need to be in market to capture sales and quickly turnaround delivery . Customers are under their own pressure to meet on-time and in-full ( OTIF ) delivery and that flows all the way back upstream .
These challenges highlight that today ’ s supply chain structures simply aren ' t equipped to deal with the high demands if partners and systems aren ' t providing ‘ single truth ’ visibility . With solutions that provide real-time visibility and machine learning to assist with predictive sensing of product availability issues , businesses can make the needed adjustments to meet customer service agreements .
The key lies in advancing supply chain visibility maturity in the organisation . How is supply chain visibility defined today ? Leaving aside long-term forecasting and planning that depends on insight to meet demand , the operational aspects of the supply chain that are materially impacted with improved and multi-dimensional visibility involve orders , shipments , and inventory .
www . hvacronline . co . za RACA Journal I April 2022 45