Looking to Implement a More Efficient Supply Chain?– Here’s What You Can DoSupply chains play a key role in making or breaking an organization’s success and profitability. Thanks to

the ever-increasing competition and the need to maintain cost efficiency, more and more businesses are

realizing the importance of revamping their supply chain process.

The better optimized the process; the greater would be the chances of boosting productivity,

eliminating process inefficiencies and meeting time-to-market goals. A well-managed supply chain also

gives businesses tremendous visibility in planning, forecasting and business strategy.

That said it becomes extremely critical for businesses to choose supply chain management software that

is more in sync with their business needs.

Outlined below are some tips you could use to move towards a more robust and efficient supply chain

management system.Time to Dump the Old School MethodFor most businesses, especially the small and mid-sized firms, a spreadsheet is still the preferred tool to

manage procurement and other supply chain needs. Now using a spreadsheet is in no way inferior or

imperfect, but think of the lost opportunities in terms of losing out on a better way to manage stuff.

We are talking about a complete solution that takes care of all the aspects of a supply chain process and

offers much more than a traditional spreadsheet. And yes, it’s entirely a myth that supply chain

solutions cost a fortune. There are a variety of solutions that are fairly affordable and easy to

implement and manage.Choosing the Right Kind SolutionOnce you have decided to opt for a supply chain solution, the next logical step would be to choose the

package that best fits your need. You can find several turnkey supply chain management solutions with

most of them requiring varying degree of customizations during implementation. When looking for a

solution, make sure you pick the one that’s specifically developed for your niche or industry. Choosing

the wrong solution can result in incorrect implementation or incurring additional costs. For instance, a

wholesale distribution software with limited functionality doesn’t make sense for a manufacturing firm

looking for 100% integration all of its internal and external supply chain processes.Monitoring and Measuring MechanismsThere are several solutions in the market today that provide data that is critical to maintain a supply

chain’s efficiency. While most companies do have the requisite infrastructure, most of them struggle to

make good of the tools at their disposal. A good tactic to tackle the issue is to develop modules from

ground up and let the respective stakeholders determine the data points that need to be tracked. This

can include system-wide score cards, management dashboards and detailed insights on other key

elements driving the supply chain. The system can then be allowed to gradually mature and evolve.

Again, in today’s world of shrinking timelines as well as cost and productivity pressures, it’s also critical

to monitor vendor performance in your supply chain. A holistic study of what the key performance

indicators show for the respective vendor partners is quite helpful in determining process dependencies

and ways to put in place backup mechanisms. This can be extremely useful in the event of breaks or

temporary disruptions in the supply chain.Understanding the Supply Chain ProcessIt is a commonly held notion that supply chain begins at the warehouse and ends at the stores. You

might have installed the best warehouse management system that efficiently takes care of delivering

goods from point A to B. But what’s becoming seemingly more important is to understand why certain

products are being requisitioned more than the others. While it’s good to keep shelves full, it’s also

important to understand the kind of products that are in demand versus the ones that are sluggish or

stagnant. Again, the metrics and measuring mechanisms play a key role in determining what’s working

versus what’s not and accordingly adjust your business strategy.