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Thursday, September 8, 2016

Important Information On Supply Chain Optimization

By Rebecca Jones


The supply chain is the system by which information, financial resources and products move from the supplier or manufacturer to the end consumer. There may or may not be intermediaries depending on the nature of goods or services involved. Such intermediaries include retailers and wholesalers. Proper management of this chain is needed for the business to realize maximum benefits. The process of getting the most out of it is known as supply chain optimization.

The complexity of a supply system depends on a number of factors. These include the nature of the business, the size of the market, the processes involved and the technologies on which it runs. Modern businesses have to consider a wide variety of both internal and external factors unlike in the past when internal systems were the main concern. Advancement in technology have increased the collaboration between the various players such as suppliers, manufacturers and consumers.

One has to use a various tools and process to achieve optimization. Some of them include tools that minimize operation costs (manufacturing, transport, storage and so on), inventory management tools and monitoring and evaluation processes to determine the progress being made. Regardless of what is done, the aim is to have products delivered to the end consumer by incurring the lowest costs possible while reaping as much profit as possible.

The utilization of mobile-based technology can improve various aspects of the chain. Such will include field sales, marketing as well as provision of direct services to consumers. Through the mobile-based technology specific product information such as item origin, contents and manufacturing methodology can be obtained by prospective consumers. Since some consumers are quite sensitive about sustainability, information on the same can be easily communicated through the same platform.

One of the most important things that you need to do if you intend to have successful optimization is to predetermine product demand as accurately as possible. This is achieved by studying historical demand for the product and anticipating future events. If possible, attempt to get information relating to aggregated data such as groups of customers and types of products.

Before you undertake the optimization exercise you first need to thoroughly analyze your company to determine its strengths and weaknesses as relates to the supply chain. For the areas that you notice that you have no capacity to handle optimally it is a good idea to outsource the same to more specialized companies. Companies that are specialized in these areas will spend less in achieving desired results than those that are not.

The process of optimizing is often long and quite frustrating. You need to think globally and act locally with regard to how you plan on implementing your strategy. A single decision in one area (such as manufacturing) is likely to affect other areas as well (such as marketing, transportation and distribution). Once a change has been implemented, regular reviews should be undertaken to find out whether progress is taking place.

Optimizing a supply chain is associated with a number of benefits. The most important is the fact that operation costs are markedly reduced. Customer service improves due to better predictability by the suppliers and retailers. An improvement in collaboration among the entities reduces inventory which is the desired end result.




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