It doesn’t matter if you are the CEO of a big corporation or the owner of a fledgling enterprise – the success of your company depends on the efficiency of your supply chain management. The demand for products is increasing and managing the supply chain is getting tougher with each passing day.
Looking for Supply Chain Management Software? Check out SoftwareSuggest’s list of the best Supply Chain Management Software solutions.
Companies these days are hiring managers from top universities to solve the challenges that are disrupting the flow of their supply chains. Even a minute flaw in the supply chain can cause product shipment and inventory operations come to a halt.
Managing your supply chain can be time-consuming, with many day-to-day admin and data entry tasks requiring continuous monitoring. Manual undertakings don’t always work out. Giving your supply chain a technological touch that will automate all the phases – from design, production, and procurement to distribution and order fulfillment.
An efficient well-organized supply chain is necessary for the financial success of a business. It gives you better visibility and more control over factories and retailers, as well as increases logistics and financial forecasting.
Why do you Need a Supply Chain Management Solution?
Better Decision Making
A supply chain is complex. But amalgamation of technology with supply chains have made things far better. You can rapidly get access to the insights of the data you need, for any department, at any time. Real-time access to data means you can quickly and accurately respond to any situation such as shifting customer demands.
Don’t fall Behind, Sync with your Customer Demand
SCM software gives your organization an ability to foresee what your customers might demand in future. Meeting that demand might turn the tables for your business.
Governance, Visibility, and Reporting
It’s not only you but a variety of people can also influence your supply chain management. They can be banks, governments, shareholders, etc. All these people access your company financials records for different reasons. Supply chain management significance is to capture, store, and package all these data in an efficient manner so that it can be used effectively by these group of people.
Affordable Enough
Nowadays almost all software is made using the Software as a service (SaaS) model. It eliminates the need for in-house maintenance and expensive installations. The recent innovations in cloud technology have further cut down the cost of installations and maintenance.
Features to Consider
Choosing the right software is not as simple as utilizing it. In fact, it can be much more complex especially when you don’t know what to look for and where to look for. To ease this problem, we have listed down the most basic features your supply management tool should definitely have:
Inventory Management
For effective supply chain management, it is necessary that raw materials, finished goods, additional parts, etc. are stored in right quantities and readily available when needed. Inventory management software will make sure that the company doesn’t have to suffer from understocking or overstocking. Having real-time tools helps you know where your product is at any given moment.
Order and Billing Management
Everyone is aware of the importance of having a robust order and billing management for the success of the supply chain. Your SCM solution should be able to create orders and bill clients from a single centralized location only.
Logistics and Transportation
Wouldn’t it be great if your company is able to transport materials and goods at the lowest possible cost? Dispatch management, yard management, and appointment management should be the important aspects to consider here.
Supplier Collaboration
This will allow employers, customers, and suppliers gather at one place from a dispersed location in real time. It ensures that all key players are actively involved in solving problems and issues as and when they occur. Some software even has the facility where suppliers are free to access the information they want and submit requests through a supply chain management solution.
Warehouse Management
It helps optimize warehouse stock which improves its efficiency and accuracy. This helps companies to process orders from multiple sources within limited time and that too in a cost-effective manner. Not having a warehouse management process can complicate the entire supply process.
End to End Visibility of Supply Chain in Real Time
This one is a must-have feature of a supply chain management software. Because of this capability of SCM, your employees have an immediate, real-time access to your supply chain. This helps to ensure that there is no scope for bottlenecks, goods lost or missing and also unhappy customers. If the data is maintained in real-time, then necessary steps can be taken immediately in case of any changes in the supply chain. Access to real-time information can provide up-to-date analytics that can help make informed decisions.
7 Ways in Which Supply Chain can Benefit your Business
- All major processes like order processing, shipment tracking, invoicing will be automated. This will help save a lot of time and will result in reduced administrative costs
- Identifies all the extra material that is no longer needed and saves money during manufacturing, logistics, and warehousing
- Effective demand planning with better inventory management
- On-time delivery of all activities across your supply chain
- Responsiveness increases when unexpected events come up. These include machine failures, human error, urgent orders, missing goods etc.
- Provides visibility of the network at a glance. The visibility between suppliers, production plants, storage and distribution centers gives you a better understanding of your project
- Supports communication and collaboration between partners, distributors, and suppliers
Bottom Line
Rapid fulfillment of customers requirement in the competitive market is what sets you apart from the crowd. Supply chain management helps you with better warehouse management, inventory tracking, and establishes complete transparency in shipping and logistics. This helps you deliver your orders on time that ultimately will help you gain your customers’ confidence and a hope that they are going to come back for more.
A Backpacker with keen interest in Digital marketing. Responsible and passionate for building a digital culture at SoftwareSuggest. Grabber to implement new competitive ideas to analyze and boost online presence. Could be found in mountains and solo traveler by birth.
