SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT
Figure 3- Transportation visibility in the Elemica system
converts it through a domain-specific layer, rationalising the variations in terms of validation, cross-referencing rules and enrichments applied through the use of microservices.
Across four dimensions
Samuga particularly highlights the Supply Chain Value Maturity Model, which he describes as a framework to help organisations assess where they stand in their digital transformation journey across four different dimensions of visibility, automation, collaboration and intelligence.
“ Each dimension there has different maturity stages, so we evaluate the client ' s current capabilities across functions like procurement, logistics, order management and inventory control. Then we look at benchmarking where the company is compared against industry peers and best-in-class standards based on real data from the Elemica network.”
The third stage is prioritisation. Elemica identifies high-value opportunities where a small number of companies bring a high proportion of the traffic.“ You can flip the switch immediately because they ' re already on the network. Then we have a roadmapping session where we create a tailored roadmap and show quick wins and longer-term initiatives, in terms of how you can achieve value incrementally.”
This is not restricted to order-tocash, Samuga stresses.“ Go into transportation. Don ' t just stop going to e-invoice compliance. You ' re going to get a lot there in terms of freight audits as well as tax audits that you end up spending millions of dollars on.” The last step in the assessment is continuous improvement, aided by quarterly business reviews.
“ It’ s not just a diagnostic tool,” he says.“ It ' s more of a strategic compass. By guiding chemical companies through a structured path towards value realisation, we help them shift from isolated digital projects to enterprise-wide supply chain orchestration.”
Of course, different systems are often fragmented, with multiple ERPs, homegrown systems, spreadsheets, siloed systems and so on. Elemica, says Samuga, harmonises, ingests and normalises the data across different signals in terms of orders, forecasts, shipments, invoices, freight bills, etc.
“ This gives people a unified language all the way from procurement to customer service, fulfilment and transportation. Then, when you add trusted layers of visibility on top, that ' s basically how you end up becoming a system of record as well as identifying how you can create value.”
Sustainability in focus
Perhaps not surprisingly, the most common questions Elemica receives in any RFP, RFQ or RFI are‘ Where does Elemica stand on sustainability?’ and‘ How can Elemica help us in our sustainability initiatives?’ Reducing truck-waiting times helps but it is low-hanging fruit because it makes business sense; helping with wider sustainability aims is more complex.
“ As a technology service provider and a technology vendor, we need to focus a lot on how can we support our clients ' ESG goals,” Samuga says.“ There, fundamentally, it ' s about reduced emissions. So when you improve visibility and collaboration, especially with logistics, the Scope 3 impact is immediate, because companies can consolidate loads, reduce empty miles and optimise transport modes.”
In addition, he says, real-time visibility into inventory across different nodes helps to reduce overproduction, spoilage and obsolescence. There is also an impact, albeit a smaller one, from the ability to store documents in the cloud and handle compliance without printing vast amounts of documents, because Elemica is fundamentally paperless.
“ Then there is supplier engagement when we help clients capture sustainability data from suppliers so that they can have the option to source from a greener source. With our insights layer, we are able to track CO 2 as it relates to each and every delivery and offer smarter trade-offs between cost, service and sustainability.”
Sustainability, Samuga says,“ comes at a price. We need to be able to offer that model and that choice to enterprise clients, to invest in those smarter trade-offs”. Elemica focuses on the chemicals industry because of the heavy compliance burden it has.“ We empower chemical companies to operationalise their sustainability strategies, not just report on them.” ●
J j
Elemica
info @ elemica. com www. elemica. com
56 SPECIALITY CHEMICALS MAGAZINE ESTABLISHED 1981