A well-organized, efficient supply chain is one of the most effective ways to build your brand. Your customers get the correct deliveries on time. You build a reputation for being a reliable, trusted supplier and attract more customers with a strong brand image.
Following supply chain best practices also maximizes your budget. This is because you can offer a high level of customer service while saving money on warehousing costs, transportation costs, and operational efficiency. Learn which supply chain management best practices to follow to transform your business.
1. Leverage Automation and Technology
Piles of paperwork aren’t just annoying, they slow your supply chain. Relying on paper and other manual processes delays operations. Your warehouse managers have to wait for orders via email. Paper systems and spreadsheets don’t always have updated data on inventory. Your team has to waste time manually counting and logging inventory when they could be space planning or fulfilling orders.
A warehouse management system will automatically generate and process purchase orders, generate shipping labels, and route orders to the right warehouse. Technology that automates processes speeds up the whole fulfillment process and gives your customers visibility into each order.
2. Enhance Supply Chain Visibility
Supply chain visibility is as important to your management team as it is to your customers. Your customers appreciate the ability to track their shipments. You get so much more. You know exactly how much inventory is in your warehouse and how much is coming from suppliers to fulfill orders.
End-to-end supply chain visibility showcases bottlenecks and parts of your supply chain you can improve. For example, if you know a certain supplier is slower to deliver goods and raw materials, you can order these items earlier so you don’t run out.
Supply chain management software also lets you collect and analyze data. Historical data from customer orders and asset tracking helps you develop contingency plans for potential supply chain disruptions. For example, if you lose a package, an asset tracking system can help you retrieve it faster or process a new shipment and contact your customer with an updated estimated time of arrival.
AI-powered systems will also analyze market trends and conditions that inform contingency plans.
3. Cost Reduction Strategies
Technology has also helped multiple businesses like yours cut costs without cutting corners. You can start by eliminating paper and manual processes that drain your employees’ productivity. Shipping software can also compare rates between various carriers and calculate your average shipping costs.
Cost savings can be as simple as optimizing a delivery route so your drivers aren’t traversing the whole city between deliveries. They get home sooner, and you don’t have to pay as much fuel.
Warehouse management systems and other supply chain technology can also compile data into useful reports that inform your planning efforts. Look at every part of your supply chain to identify where you’re spending the most and determine why. For example, you might notice that your materials costs are rising because of labor shortages, inflation, or geopolitical issues. In this case, you can try negotiating with your suppliers or finding other suppliers in different areas.
4. Embrace Sustainability in Supply Chains
Sustainability is slowly transforming from something that’s “nice to have” into a “must have.” Many customers want to do business with companies that consider their environmental impact. Organizations are also creating new requirements for green business certifications. If you have a green business certification, check in with your organization regularly to see what has changed before you apply for recertification.
When planning your supply chain, prioritize eco-friendly materials or recycled materials where possible. Choose carriers taking steps to reduce their carbon footprint. Partner with sustainability-focused vendors and suppliers that improve water efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in their manufacturing processes.
Supply chain sustainability goes beyond environmental impact. Choose suppliers who source raw materials ethically and treat their workers well. Look for companies that pay living wages and offer safe, humane working conditions.
5. Build Agile and Resilient Supply Chains
Natural disasters, geopolitical tensions, regulatory changes, and other factors are a fact of life when managing supply chains. Agility helps you navigate the ever-changing conditions that cause supply chain challenges.
Start by identifying your weak spots. Maybe you lack visibility into all aspects of your supply chain or you’re working with outdated technology. Fix these weak spots. Then do a risk assessment and identify potential points of failure, bottlenecks, and anything else that could impact your operations.
Next, diversify your supplier base. Work with multiple suppliers and vendors in different countries or in your home country. Having suppliers in various regions helps you pivot when a natural disaster or other event impacts one of them.
Use different shipping methods and map out your delivery routes. This enables you to plan the fastest and most cost-effective shipping route for each order. Use historical data and analytics for accurate inventory forecasting and plan accordingly. Keep enough inventory on hand to avoid stockouts while not paying extra for excess inventory.
6. Harness Data-Driven Strategies
Data is not limited to inventory management and trend forecasting. It’s important, but a robust supply chain management system offers much more data. Use your supply chain planning software to set goals and track metrics that showcase your progress.
Monitor your suppliers’ performances to negotiate better terms or switch if you see that a supplier is becoming unreliable. Optimize shipping and delivery routes to reduce costs while offering exceptional customer service.
Measure analytics such as average cost per delivery and average time to deliver to benchmark your performance year over year. Once you know how your supply chain strategies are working, you can make changes when needed.
Surgere offers IoT solutions for inventory management, warehouse management, operations planning, and much more. Our solutions give you end-to-end visibility and use the power of AI to generate valuable insights that improve your business.
Incorporate these best practices into your supply chain with our planning tools and solidify your reputation as a trusted supplier.
Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you optimize your supply chain.
