Introduction
Effective facilities management can be a tedious task which is why many facility managers are looking for more ways to reduce the manual effort involved. This is where supply chain digitization can help. With an effective strategy, the facility manager can get the job done faster, access real-time data, and ensure that the supply chain process is seamless and easy to manage.
This article will highlight the importance and advantages of supply chain digitization, and how a digital approach to supply chain management can benefit your logistics strategy.
What Advantages Does Supply Chain Digitization Have?
The digitization in supply chain management enables organizational efficiency. It also allows business process automation, which is useful in optimizing manufacturing, and selling processes that are integral to the organization. In addition to this, digitizing the supply chain process, can help circumvent issues like warehouse management.
Some of the main advantages of supply chain digitization are that:
- It allows centralization of all processes and functions across various locations which increases organizational efficiency.
- Logistics managers can make informed decisions based on real-time data and measure performance accurately and efficiently.
- It improves data accuracy and reduces the chances of human error when it comes to aspects like shipping, schedule, time, and speed.
Blockchain
This ledger-based technology creates an immutable record of events and transactions using individual time-stamped records known as blocks. Simply put, a blockchain supply chain can ensure that information is transparent, while making it straightforward to manage the supply chain.
The Internet of Things
This ground-breaking technology provides wireless connectivity to a variety of objects so that they can transmit data about their location and status. IoT can help improve a business through utilizing collected data to provide supply chain managers better materials to create demand forecasts.
Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
This is a field that is allied to robotics, enabling physical and software-based bots to perform programmed instructions. Floship’s award-winning logistics tech platform has used the RPA method to create an automated process enabling you to select the optimal courier shipping option from the right fulfillment center, based on the exact customisations of your customers’ order. You can learn more about our Advanced Shipping Option Mapping (ASOM) here.
Data Science
This involves the acquisition and processing of data for insights, especially where it is noisy. Data science in the supply chain has shown to make the supply chain greener as it minimizes the impact of global sourcing, allowing logistics to be more sustainable.
How Do You Digitize Your Supply Chain Process?
Implementing digitization in just one area of your operation can transform the productivity and growth of your business. Competitors already realize the benefits of digitizing key processes and transactions in their supply chain, and with the digitization set to continue, delays in adapting to digitization could mean lost opportunities and efficiency for businesses. The process to create a good digital supply chain strategy are:
Define Goals and Vision
This is the first step to implementing a digital strategy to your supply chain management. Ensure that the goals and aspects of your supply chain are digitized and are aligned with organizational goals and objectives. You can look at your existing systems to ensure that they are compatible with what you are aiming to achieve.
Unify Data and Processes
To gain a complete idea of how the digitized platform will work, you need to unify data and processes to ensure enhanced transparency for all the processes you wish to streamline. The main objective is to increase visibility and ensure smooth transitioning from process to process. Floship offers an all-in-one logistic management platform. With their award-winning logistics technology, it allows e-commerce businesses to operate their entire supply chain on one platform, with crystal clear visibility and full control.
Automate Processes
With automated processes, you can simplify tasks and analyze large volumes of data to ensure that you are meeting your goals. You can also deal effectively with partners and give them access to relevant data if required. Here is a blog about how automation rules can simplify your fulfillment process in a few clicks.
Analyze Data and Align People with New Processes
Once you have the data, you can analyze it effectively and then use it for different functions as and when you need to. You also need to ensure that your team is aligned with the new processes and is aware of how the digitized platform works. Here are the 10 key metrics for e-Commerce that would indicate the business’s short term and long term success.
Supply chain digitization is not an easy process, and involves many new aspects like blockchain, and big data. It requires thought and business process organization to help effectively and work side by side to be able to achieve this. Not every business has the bandwidth to hire a full gear army to manage logistics processes, but that should not be a factor affecting growth. The key to success is to outsource and find help. With an Industry leading global fulfillment and logistics solutions provider like Floship, businesses can leverage their global network, get better shipping rates and smarter technology, and focus on scaling up their business with no restriction.
Schedule a call with one of their logistics Fulfillment experts to find out more about the services today.
Ready To Upgrade Your Logistic Solution?
Speak to Floship ecommerce logistic consultant about improving your global support chain today
