“If you can’t see it, you can’t affect change.” This is true for every aspect of global supply chains. The fact of the matter is, even in today’s digital world, most supply chain executives don’t know what is happening in their global operations. The simple truth is that most of the global supply chain information is spread out across disparate and siloed technology systems or processes.
In many cases, these systems are external systems owned by third-party logistics providers like freight forwarders or customs brokers. When this information is decentralized, even simple questions are hard to answer. It takes too long to get answers and even then, the information is generally not complete and perhaps inaccurate. Without access to timely and complete information, your business is essentially flying blind.
Barraco Says... |
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| Supply chains are going digital and now data is being created from a wide-range of sources, and we are flooded with data. |
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You find yourself in a Catch-22 situation; you have tons of data. For example, you know how much product your customers have ordered to the kilowatts per hour your factory in China is using to the GPS location of a carton on the way to your store in Saskatchewan. But you need to harness all of the bits and bytes of digital data and make it useful for your supply chain.
Data, data everywhere.
The industry has been complaining about data quality for years and the research says the same. A 2017 Deloitte study1 found 49% of procurement officers believe data quality is a major barrier; but 42% blame maladies on the lack of data integration. This data quality issue isn’t news to anyone, but it has continually limited many companies.
The tide is turning. Supply chains are going digital and now data is being created from a wide-range of sources, and we are flooded with data. This is the trend called Big Data – more and more data pouring into information systems that need to store and normalize larger and larger amounts of data. With all this data, companies are looking for technology providers to house and structure information so it is usable.
This is where a robust Global Trade Management (GTM) platform that not only provides the ability to help execute the functions of cross- border trade like sourcing, logistics, and trade compliance, but is also a consolidated repository of the historical data, a canonical record of all global trade transactions. This is rich information indeed.
You can now leverage supply chain analytics – the process of structuring and filtering data in ways that allow your organization to execute key actionable decisions. Analytics will help you understand the past so you can predict the future with greater accuracy and avoid the myriad of risks that are ever-present in global trade.
Putting Analytics to Work
Supply chain analytics are a means to improve business-critical strategies. When this data, combined with dynamically changing tariff and regulatory information and product master data, is normalized and structured within an analytics tool, it becomes a powerful competitive differentiator.
- Supply chain analytics are frequently used to reduce costs by analyzing total landed cost that includes all of the elements that are part of that equation.
- Analytics tools are often used to estimate supplier lead times based on production timelines and historical shipping information.
- They can also be used to identify the best location from which to fill an order today to meet your immediate sales demands, or to find a sourcing region where you can optimize duty programs for future orders.
The supply chain industry is changing as fast as the technology that can help keep companies above water. Best-in-class leaders have mandated a data-driven future. To remain competitive and agile, your company has to leverage data and analytics. Traditional systems that keep data siloed and compartmentalized aren’t going to keep up with the speed of change.
Through the digitization of data, a technology solution platform enables better collaboration, automation, and analytics. These capabilities result in increased efficiency, reduced risk, and a faster, more agile supply chain.
Digitization itself is a means to an end; the end goal is to derive the most value from a supply chain. Unfortunately, the majority of companies are still struggling to transform their global supply chain into a competitive advantage. Don’t be left behind in the digital era, start now to lay the foundation for your company’s global supply chain future.
1. Growth: the cost and digital imperative, The Deloitte Global Chief Procurement Officer Survey 2017 - www.deloitte.co.uk/cposurvey2017
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