Managing a resilient supply chain is about more than planning and logistics. To drive greater efficiencies, today’s organisations need to use new technologies to deliver maximum business objectives.
Despite the various types of supply chain crises that have hit the headlines in the last 20 years, the recent disruption caused by the block in the Suez Canal seems to have proven once again that supply chains are still not prepared for such disruptions. “It’s another wake-up call for companies that have set up their business to rely on supply chains with little room for error,” said William Lee, Chief Economist at the Milken Institute.
Global supply chains are already under immense pressure as the full effects of the coronavirus pandemic are still being felt. Temporary trade restrictions and shortages of pharmaceuticals, critical medical supplies and other products highlighted their weaknesses. The strict temperature controls required to store the Pfizer vaccine also drew attention to supply chains in late 2020. These events all highlighted the difficulty supply chains can have in reacting and adapting to unprecedented changes, at times, resulting in stock interruptions, highly affected service levels, increased lead times and the suppression of services.
An adaptive supply chain
Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management is Microsoft’s enterprise-scale supply chain solution for operations leaders to transform their manufacturing and supply chain processes.
In the past, the high cost of supply chain management systems might have contributed to the lack of investment in these types of solutions. Businesses were forced to stick with manual processes because the cost to implement a replacement was prohibitive. Cloud-based solutions like Dynamics 365 Supply Chain has changed this – the price and flexibility of the licensed based solution allow small and medium businesses to easily implement a supply chain management software solution.
Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management provides a single source of business intelligence and uses predictive insights and intelligence from across planning, production, stock, warehouse and transportation management to maximise operational efficiency, product quality and profitability.
Without supply chain management, manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers each perform activities like forecasting and business projections independently. Supply chain management seeks to streamline every part of the chain and the processes involved. By doing this, profits are maximised and product defects are minimised.
Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management enables organisations to:
Innovate with intelligent manufacturing operations – No matter the manufacturing process Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management allows you to perform production planning in real-time with Planning Optimisation. The benefits that are associated with the Planning Optimization functionality include improved performance and minimal impact on SQL database during master planning runs. Quick planning runs can be done even during office hours so that planners can immediately react to demand or parameter changes.
Modernise warehouse management – Utilise machine learning enhanced guidance to resolve out of stock or overstock situations for more effective stock management.
Optimise production performance – Using IoT intelligence businesses can increase product quality and yield before issues occur.
Maximise the life of your assets – Extend the life and performance of your equipment. Use IoT and mixed reality to plan, predict and perform asset maintenance with Asset Management.
Automate and streamline your supply chain – Improve the fulfilment, material sourcing and logistics of your supply chain with predictive analytics. Enhance the delivery of products and optimise planning.
Cloud services – Get real-time information on almost any device. Simplify and accelerate business process changes, seamlessly integrate with legacy systems, simplify global compliance and scale elastically.
Having a resilient, adaptive supply chain management system allows your business to react effectively to future issues no matter how unexpected. Unexpected issues that occur within your business and global crises are inevitable. Avoid being left with little room for error, invest in a supply chain management solution today. To find out more contact us today.