Your company’s supply chain management system is a critical component of your business success. It can lower your operating costs by helping your business run more efficiently while at the same time help you to improve customer satisfaction since your customers will be able to count on the fact that you have an item when you say you have it and that the customer will receive on time. When you consider all the benefits of an effective supply management system, it is easy to see how the right system can give you an advantage over the competition.
But just like all systems and processes in your business, you can’t simply set it in place and trust that it is going to be the best thing for your business indefinitely. As technology changes and as your business evolves, your supply management system will need to be upgraded so that it can continue to meet the changing needs of your business.
The following are five signs that it is time to transform your company’s supply management system.
1. You don’t have a supply chain management plan.
A supply chain management plan is different from a supply chain management system, but it is critical to have this plan to know what kind of features and functionality you need in your system. If you don’t have a supply chain management plan, your first step should be to develop one making sure that it is aligned with your overall business strategy as well as with the needs of your customers. In the future, referring to this plan will help you determine if changes to your supply chain management system are needed.
2. You are working with outdated data.
How do you know if the data you are working with is outdated? Well, if that data is more than two years old (often even less), it is outdated! It may be time to upgrade to cloud-based software that has regular automatic updates or to a program that lets all members of your team see and work with data simultaneously.
3. You aren’t customer-centric enough.
Does your supply chain management system adequately meet the needs of your customers or are there items you are under or over-ordering? Not having enough stock, or having too much stock hurt the profitability of your business. If your supply chain management system isn’t responsive enough to the behaviour of your customers, it is time for an upgrade.
4. Not enough collaboration.
With supply chain management, all members of the team must be on the same page from those working at the c-suite level to the order pickers in the warehouse. An effective supply chain management system should promote collaboration by showing every member of your team what actions need to be taken in real-time.
5. You need better communication with your suppliers.
Collaboration isn’t only important within your team but it is also critically important to have with your suppliers. If your supply chain management system doesn’t help ensure that you have excellent communication with your suppliers for order procurement and restocking strategies, then it may be time to consider incorporating another system.
Is your supply chain management system as effective as it can be for your business? If you have questions or would like to learn how you might improve it, contact Royal Supply Chain today.