Staying on Track of the Supply Chain

Aug 26, 2019 • Features • service supply chain • supply chain • Parts Pricing and Logistics

Kevin Little from logistics firm PiVAL International outlines three ways to keep on top of your supply chain.

It seems that as every day goes by, the supply chain becomes immensely more complex to understand. It could be due to the rise of technology increasing visibility to the supply chain, the fact that it’s more process-driven due to the need to minimize the costs, and that it has become the highest priority to ensure successful business management.

So with all of these factors creating the supply chain complexities, how do you go about it?

three ways to stay on track of the supply chain

First and foremost, understanding the supply chain’s efficiency is difficult to master, which is why there are service industries that assist with some of the distribution of services. But how can you stay on track of the supply chain? Here are three tips that we use, that are beneficial when wanting to stay on top of the curve.

#1. Adapt to Your Customer Demand and Go Mobile

To ensure you are staying on track of the supply chain, make sure you are able to adapt to customers' demands. Living in a digital world, customers now demand that all technologies associated in the field are intolerant of failure. Technology is one of the greatest liberators when it comes to your sales force. Utilizing this advancement means your company has more time acquiring and retaining customers instead of focusing on paperwork and waiting for responses.

#2. Outsource an External Partner

When your company decides to outsource an external partner, you are allowing yourself to focus more on your company’s core strengths and values. Thus, remaining ahead and on track of any trends relating to the supply chain. Instead of maintaining in-house infrastructure and expertise to manage every operation in your business, companies should consider outsourcing supply chain partners. By outsourcing a third party logistics company, you will be improving your business by speeding up service and improving your customer service. Additionally, the business will be saving both time and money.

#3. Increase or Maintain Your Visibility

The term ‘Supply Chain Visibility’ refers to your company’s ability to track every component and touchpoint the product has undergone, from the suppliers’ hands to yours.

You can obtain good visibility to your customers by giving your suppliers the ability to check your inventory in real-time, in order for them to gain a better understanding of current stock and plan ahead for future demand. Having a supply chain partner that presents good visibility and allows your team members to access details about your counts allows them to strategize freely, without risking too much distraction back-and-forth.

Allowing colleagues, customers and suppliers the power of visibility relieves pressure regarding communication and inventory planning for the future. Your supply must be responsible to stay optimized for many different market and supply conditions. Think redundancy and multi-channel supply chains.

Kevin Little is VP, Sales and Marketing at PiVAL International.