Optimising Supply Chain Management in Large Corporations with Tech Solutions

Supply chains run through the heart of the global economy. They provide critical infrastructures to keep our networked world functioning, ensuring businesses and customers have what they need, when they need it.

But in an era of rapid change - from shifting demand and digital innovations to international conflicts and climate crisis - supply chains are left vulnerable to bottlenecks, shortages and worse.

Fortunately, new supply chain technologies leverage data-driven insights and powerful hardware to offer large corporations improved operational efficiencies, major cost savings and a competitive advantage for increasing customer satisfaction.

Discover how supply chain management technology can enhance your business in this blog.

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The Current State of Supply Chain Management.

In our densely interconnected world, supply chain management has never been more complicated and disruption sensitive.

Variable access to raw materials can cause unforeseen shortages, and international conflicts threaten important infrastructures, forcing companies to rapidly restructure.

Ports become congested, bottlenecks can result, freight prices can climb suddenly, and warehouses struggle to manage waste and eliminate clutter. Moreover, fluctuating consumer demand makes forecasting to prevent such problems more difficult.

This strains already complex communications between the various actors in the materials, manufacturing, delivery, storage and retail ecosystems, all of which depend on access to accurate, shareable data.

However, key decision-makers routinely find themselves in the dark, as legacy supply chain information systems fail to provide necessary visibility on critical elements of the process: inventories, deliveries, orders, payments, defect rates and more.

Finally, as new environmental regulations are updated to protect vital planetary systems, companies are faced with shifting compliance requirements.

These and other factors like inflation, labour pressure and digital transformation play a major role in supply chain fragmentation, as supplier relationships change to accommodate an array of complex converging pressures.

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Ready to future-proof your supply chain? Speak to a specialist.

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Key Technologies Transforming Supply Chain Management.

While 5G and Starlink, cloud computing and digital supply chain twins all have major impacts on supply chain management sectorially, the key transformative technologies are outlined below.

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Internet of Things (IoT)

The internet of things (IoT) refers to networks of sensor-equipped devices, allowing objects such as vehicles and appliances to exchange data.  In supply chain management, IoT generates real-time data through improved tracking protocols, enhancing visibility for decision-makers.

For example, smart warehouses reduce dependency on manual labour, making workspaces safer for employees, while real-time fleet management monitors individual vehicles within a larger cohort during collections and deliveries.

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Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) refer to a range of statistical technologies with advanced pattern recognition capabilities, offering wide-ranging benefits in several industries.

Adopting artificial intelligence and machine learning in supply chain management can streamline operations by automating routine data-based tasks, optimising routes and generative predictive analytics to anticipate future changes.

This allows companies to better forecast demands and adjust their inventories, to avoid shortages, bottlenecks and other disruptions.

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Blockchain Technology

Blockchain technology provides supply chain software solutions to persistent security threats. Immutable records allow for enhanced traceability and fraud-prevention measures, guaranteeing transparency throughout product lifecycles.

Particularly for food safety and pharmaceuticals, blockchains and associated cryptographic data verifiers prevent counterfeit, control quality with digital signatures, and transmit product information between manufacturers and pharmacies to ensure consistent quality.  

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Robotic Process Automation (RPA)

Robotics and automation in supply chain management increase efficiency by minimising human error and labour costs, such as when processing orders or updating inventories.

Furthermore, warehouse robots rapidly perform routine manual tasks, improving safety standards by insulating humans from common physical hazards.

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Advanced Analytics

Modern supply chain management and logistics software improves strategic decision-making with comprehensive analytics, enabling leaders to respond effectively to sudden changes in supply, demand or capacity.

Data-driven insights and performance tracking on interfaces like real-time analytics dashboards improve KPI monitoring, revealing opportunities for optimisation and anticipating problems before they arise.

These empower teams to better manage inventories, promote compliance, mitigate risk, and generally run more agile businesses over-all.

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Integrating Technology into Supply Chain Management.

Adopting new digital solutions requires a methodical approach.

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Strategic Planning

Technology is only valuable when it helps drive existing business objectives forward.

This ensures new innovations drive performance and yield a meaningful return on investment.

It is best practice to begin by reviewing existing processes and identifying areas of inefficiency, both in terms of cost and waste.  This will highlight opportunities for automation and more accurate analytics.

Once you’ve appraised your business’s current capacities, challenges and priorities, you’ll have a clearer picture of which elements require special attention (e.g. inventory levels, distribution centres and other supply factors).

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Implementation Steps

1. Assessment

Evaluate your organisation’s current supply chain process and identify areas for improvement.
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2. Selection

Consider the options available and choose those which are most customisable to your organisation’s specific needs.
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3. Integration

Seamlessly transition to new technologies by incorporating the latest functionalities into your organisation’s existing system, to minimise disruption.
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4. Training

Educate teams appropriately, empowering your organisation with the knowledge to best leverage the latest tools at their disposal.

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Case Studies

These two success stories demonstrate how technology in supply chain management solves many endemic challenges faced by large corporations in the sector.
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Symbotic

Symbotic aims to “reinvent the warehouse” and “reimagine the supply chain” with AI-powered robotic warehouse automation.

Their vision-enabled autonomous robots are networked through intelligent AI software, generating real-time analytics for rapid responses to changes in the supply chain.

Major players like Walmart, Target, Albertsons, Giant Tiger, Associated Food Stores and C&S Wholesalers and Grocers all testify to Symbotic’s pivotal role in increasing their flexibility, speed and efficiency.

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Coupa

Coupa helps businesses manage their spend holistically with data-driven software solutions. They specialise in running custom digital twins of physical supply chains, allowing large corporations to strategise more effectively using virtual scenario planning.

These consider elements such as geopolitical conflicts, climate crisis and fluctuating consumer demand to better manage inventories, routes and more.

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Benefits of Tech-Enhanced Supply Chain Management.

Embracing new supply chain technology allows for improved inventory and factory floor control, smarter order management and increased operational efficiency through automation.

With advanced analytics, demand is easier to forecast and bottlenecks easier to eliminate, while AI drives faster delivery solutions.

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Efficiency Gains

When it comes to logistics, the amounts of time at each link in the supply chain are always stacking, jeopardising customer satisfaction.

Automated processes increase productivity by preventing human error and shrinking lead and delivery times, freeing supply chain processes to run faster and more efficiently.  

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Cost Savings

Automated solutions and optimised inventories reduce costs while promoting supply chain resilience, minimising costs for increased profitability.

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Improved Customer Satisfaction

An ordering customer expects quality goods delivered punctually for a reasonable price, a tall order given the complexity of production and distribution.

As such, tech-enabled supply chain solutions go a long way to improving customer satisfaction, allowing companies to meet demand accurately, promptly and affordably.

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Future Trends in Supply Chain Technology.

New technology in supply chain management emerges every year. including innovations in quantum computing, autonomous vehicles and more.

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Emerging Technologies

The quantum revolution, while still in its early  stages, offers massively expanded computational power. It promises to process calculations orders of magnitude larger than those undertaken by current software, as well as enlarged storage capacities.

In an increasingly complex global supply network, more computational power will become critical, and offer major advantages to large corporations as competition intensifies.

Autonomous vehicles are another major innovation. Stronger, faster and more durable than humans, they can fulfil many of the physical demands of warehousing, saving companies significant labour costs while reducing risk of bodily harm to employees.

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Sustainability

Smart analytics and other tech solutions promote social and ecological stewardship, by reducing waste throughout the supply chain.  

• In procurement, managers can leverage real-time metrics to source materials that are less toxic, less resource-intensive, more biodegradable and responsibly sourced.
• In operations, companies can use more accurate data to conduct more energy- and water-efficient operations.
• Organisations can more sustainably retire obsolete goods with upcycle opportunities for reuse, minimising waste.
• Robust tech-enabled data can spotlight opportunities to create safer working conditions for employees and save on costs that allow organisations to guarantee fair wages amidst economic volatility.

JustSolve’s Software Solutions.

Don’t let complex logistics impede efficient, flexible business. Outmanoeuvre chaos, clutter and competition — with JustSolve.

Blockchain, networks, and AI-powered robotics and analytics vastly improve demand forecasting, floor and inventory control, route optimisation and strategic planning. Eliminate bottlenecks, minimise waste, and ensure secure and transparent operations for your organisation or business.

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Ready to cut costs while boosting customer satisfaction with tech-enabled supply chain solutions?  

Book a risk-free consultation with us and discover how we can help you be for more agile and resilient in an age of rapid change

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