Preparing Your Supply Chain for Disruption Through Digital Transformation

A supply chain disruption can have a significant impact on your consumers, your organization, and your supply chain, as we learned during the last two years. Natural disasters, global health pandemics, political unpredictability, economic upheaval, cyber and terrorist assaults, supplier threats, and fast swings in customer preferences and demand can all cause supply chain disruptions. Because it is simultaneously ubiquitous and unexpected, it is no longer a matter of “if” supply chain disruptions will occur, nor is it really a matter of “when” they will take place.

To create an effective supply chain management system, the complexity and uncertainty must be reduced. We provide the necessary steps to ensure ongoing capacity issues are properly planned for and maintained up to date through proper analysis, positive feedback, and targeted adjustments.

When we were all impacted by the recent global supply chain disruptions, natural disasters, global health pandemics, political uncertainty, economic turmoil, supply chain attacks, supplier threats, and fast-paced customer preferences and demands. Because disruption is both widespread and unexpected, there is no longer any question of whether it will occur in the supply chain. No longer is the issue of “if” and no longer is the issue of “when”. What we must now focus on is how to mitigate its potential impact.

Creating a supply chain map

Once the supply chain has been mapped out and visualized, it is easier for the organisation to get a sense of the upstream activities that contribute to value creation. At its core, it involves collecting information that is already available in the company and preparing it for the materiality assessment that follows. All phases of the supply chain, including those that are not direct suppliers, will be displayed in sequence, with additional information on those phases’ activities and suppliers.

Choosing where to act based on the importance of the sustainability impacts identified

The company can investigate and rank the risks to the environment and people based on the assessment and determination of sustainability factors and impacts. The identification of negative consequences and risk mitigation is dependent on the stakeholder’s perspective on issues such as harm and safety. The need for sustainable supply chain management is based on the precautionary premise that the organisation should seek to preventively act.

Process re-engineering and internal restructuring

Materiality analysis and inventories are used to set up or modify new and current business processes inside the corporation. The organizational foundations for sustainable supply chain management must be laid as well, which include providing the necessary financial, human, and technological resources.

Specifying supplier requirements

Throughout this stage, the company asks for a self-assessment of its implementation abilities and directs suppliers according to the requirements. The results of supplier evaluation are used in conventional supplier evaluation. The supplier’s code of conduct is included in the contract with the supplier, making it enforceable on both the primary and, if required, the secondary suppliers.

Prioritize setting up a firm framework before you even start your business

Even if you name your plan whatever you like, create it. Reduce as much as possible your business’ procedures to create a plan. Once your plan is put into action, look for areas of success, that you can build out to create changes.

Forecasting is critical to setting shippers up for success. It’s critical to spend time creating a playbook for what will happen in your network when there is a disruption or seasonal event. Make sure you know about the seasonality, spikes, and holiday schedule of your business and supply chain before you do anything. Check these as often as possible and adjust your strategy based on the data and predictive analytics that are best for you.

Digital transformation of the building supply chain is required to improve its resilience.

After COVID-19, the supply chain was severely disrupted, necessitating the right-sizing of operations and the adoption of digital capabilities that protect supply chains from future disruptions. Financial investment in emerging technologies like blockchain, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and intelligent automation have proven to be the lifeblood of companies in all sectors.

ProConnect Integrated Logistics for your Business

You’re not the only one thinking of outsourcing part of your operations to a 3PL, many companies and shippers agree and rely on us to efficiently support them. Optimizing supply chain is not easy, it requires tying lots of activities and ends together, opting for an experienced 3PL like ProConnect Integrated Logistics can offer many benefits – thanks to their expertise, experience, resources and of course, their network, which can reduce your supply chain risks marginally. You may or may not have a supply chain department of your own, but you still need a trusted team to identify and avoid potential risks and problems that can affect your supply chain operations. Therefore, a 3PL is often turned to and appointed by large companies as well as SMBs.

For any questions or evaluation, get in touch with us.