The more suppliers you have—and the more data—the more critical visibility becomes. In a recent Forbes article, Lora Cecere of Supply Chain Insights said, “Don’t make the mistake of thinking that improving supply chain visibility happens through implementing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and conventional planning applications. Two decades of IT investment clearly supports that this is not the answer.”
A new approach to a complex problem
Everyone who works in the organization can play a role in helping to make it more agile and adaptable. Facilitate collaboration, both internally and externally, by sharing supply chain data your company has access to, and ensuring that everyone understands that you’d like their assistance in building backup plans. The most successful companies have contingencies in place to adjust their supply chain needs. However, food and beverage brands must also be ready to improvise when unexpected situations arise.
While data collection and measurement processes are essential to preparation, we understand that they’re also time-consuming. To streamline these as much as possible, many companies are choosing to automate a multi-step approach that allows them to digitize the traditional paper trail that has long been a part of the industry.
Confidence in continuous improvement
Realistically, the process of creating supply chain agility is one that never ends. You must continuously improve your operations and create a more robust ecosystem. To get to the point where you’re confident that you can adjust to supply chain shocks, download this eBook and start implementing these steps in your organization.
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A Sneak Preview: Step 1
Collaborate with Others
A common trait among brand owners is a sense of independence and the drive to accomplish great things. In many ways, going it alone is how many entrepreneurs find success. However, to paraphrase, no business is an island. Collaboration is a necessity in today’s interconnected world.
Supply Technologies offers validation for making collaboration a priority:
“Transparency and collaboration can be difficult to execute, but well worth the effort when you consider the potential reduction in risk and costs and improvement in customer satisfaction and loyalty. A recent survey of roughly 1,000 supply chain executives found that organizations that engaged with suppliers at any of the levels described above were 38% more likely to achieve or surpass their expectations and have their initiatives result in cost reductions.”
If you insist on putting up walls between your company and others, you’ll find out quickly that you’re far less efficient than you could be. Also, you open yourself up to greater risk. For example, if you don’t collaborate with others, one supplier going down or facing a disruption could present significant challenges.
Learn more from this resource:
Including tips to boost visibility and agility, such as how to:
- Identify potential threats to your supply chain as early as possible
- Obtain status reports on your current supplier partnership structure
- Diversify your supplier base and optimise onboarding processes
- Create collaborative spaces, either virtually or in person
- Leverage the world’s only networked ingredients marketplace to support organizational goals
