Page 16 - Logistics News Oct Nov 2020

Supply Chain

Bringing B2C digital

capabilities into your B2B

manufacturing supply chain

Courtesy Perficient

Complex supply chains have struggled to keep pace with the demands placed on them in 2020.

EVEN BEFORE an unprecedented global similar problems to varying degrees.
pandemic crippled suppliers and halted Large global companies now find
shipments, an international trade war and themselves struggling to overcome weaknesses
an unexpectedly steady stream of natural in their supply chains that have been
disasters in recent years have created ongoing
How to Find the Right Supply accentuated by the coronavirus pandemic,
challenges for supply chain managers. In
retaliatory tariffs and other disruptive events.
response, supply chain leaders realised the
Chain Management Consultant These organisations are increasingly seeking
importance of improving agility through
expertise outside of their companies that can
digitising their supply chain and order not only help identify the solutions required to
management capabilities, and 80 percent lead an organisation into the future, but also
expect that the digital supply chain model will source and implement them.
Supply chain management is rarely a core competency for manufacturers. considered a viable model,” said Yemisi Bolumole, associate professor of
become predominant within five years.
For example, a 2018 study showed that more than half of B2B supply chain management at Michigan State University’s Broad College
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Manufacturers adapt to the B2B channel
From manufacturing to healthcare, many
shift
sellers lacked the people, processes and technology to implement an of Business. “The advisory model has evolved into a partnership where
businesses failed to overcome disruptive
omnichannel sales strategy. obstacles in recent years – in part due to The lack of agility in traditional manufacturing
the consultant comes along on the journey because what they advise on
manual supply chain management capabilities, models left many organisations unprepared to
paper may not execute the same way in practice. If Step Two doesn’t pan
which are notoriously rigid. By design, adapt their supply chains to meet the order-
As such, the first step in a business transformation is finding the right out the way your white paper said it would, then what’s the pivot? Who
centric demands of the modern B2B arena. B2B
traditional B2B models scale up and down
business partners. When an organization’s supply chain fails to keep pace else do I turn to for new templates?”
transactions are commonly still facilitated by
accordingly based on relatively predictable
shifts in demand. Manufacturers across critical
with industry demands, it may be time to seek outside help from vendors fax machines, emails, phone calls, paper orders,
industries now need to learn how to break out
manually filled spreadsheets and field sales
or consultants who can analyze your end-to-end supply chain and provide The ability to provide end-to-end analysis is key to success, as it ensures
solutions to your pain points. of their traditionally inflexible supply chain reps. Digital supply chain solutions are often
that addressing challenges in one area of the business won’t cause
models and quickly gain the ability to pivot in
secondary for manufacturers if they have the
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capability at all.
the face of disruption. a ripple effect that causes other issues upstream or downstream.
“Telling me what to do without putting in place a realistic, However, the ability to offer practical system integration and process
With a traditional ERP background set-up,
The COVID-19 pandemic brought these
data is not nearly as fluid and dynamic as it
problems to the forefront of the supply chain
boots-on-the-ground implementation pathway can no longer be support during the journey is also essential.
sector as demand for medical devices, PPE could be and you’re not getting data from
and other essential goods put the medical multiple sources and AI. That causes stagnation
supply chain’s inability to adapt in the face of and processing capabilities that are much more
unexpected surges on display for the world rigid.
to see. Manufacturers and logistics operators Procurement buyers are consumers in their
across industries ranging from food production personal lives, and consumer habits have led
to electronics to consumer goods all faced them to expect a certain level of service on
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