Written by Dr Ayokunle James Adeyemi
Using supply chain innovations like artificial intelligence (AI), lean inventory, and other strategies, stakeholders in a business should move quickly to reduce the impact of inflation on their supply chains.
Demand forecasting, collaboration portals, analytical and reporting, security features, digital supplies, revisit and reuse, negotiate amendment ,save costs strategically, exercise flexibility, and with these supply chain can be strengthened in a variety of ways with the use of intelligent procurement software that produces superior results, from a thorough evaluation of current contracts to full-scale digitalization.
• Artificial intelligence (AI): AI can assist companies in avoiding inflation. It has aided in process automation, cost savings, and improved operational effectiveness. 92% of manufacturing executives who outperform their peers claim that AI and cognitive computing would improve performance, according to a recent IBM Cognitive Computing Study..
• Lean Inventory: This method to inventory planning focuses on systematically getting rid of waste and inefficiency in the supply chain system.
• Analytical and reporting: Analysis tools give complete visibility not only into the location of the physical inventory but also into the wellbeing and efficiency of the business. This supply chain analytics solution analyzes data from every step of the supply chain. It gives information on the business as a whole.
• The web-based platform known as the Collaboration Portal offers complete end-to-end assistance for teamwork and information sharing throughout the product lifecycle. The Collaboration Portal manages and shares all the product data, documents, agreements, and regulations required for project execution and collaboration, such as video conferencing, a two-way interactive communication that is essentially like a phone call but over video.
• Security Features is to make sure users are who they say they are and have authority to access firm data, access control for supply chain databases was created. Access control, at its most fundamental level, is the selective restriction of data access. While the process of authentication serves to confirm that the person is who they claim to be.
• A digital supply chain is one that uses data analytics and digital technologies to help in decision-making, improve performance, and react swiftly to changing circumstances. A digital supply chain includes technologies like wireless sensor networks, radio frequency identification (RFID), barcodes, smart labels, GPS tracking, and RFID.
• Examine and reuse clauses from current contracts: Review your current contracts with your suppliers and put in place processes to deal with inflation and reduce prices to improve win-win situations.
• Negotiate contract amendments: It’s critical for sellers to rewrite contracts in order to change pricing in accordance with their input costs, or it may involve enhancing delivery timing and quality. Businesses must motivate their customers in order to accomplish this.
• Strategic cost reduction: Construct alternate plans in lieu of contract review and amendment procedures. To reduce costs without compromising product quality, streamline the processes and examine inventory management and labor inputs. To ensure that you have the adaptability and sustainability to face challenges during inflation, diversify your supply chain.
• Flexibility: Create fresh designs for your products, locate dual suppliers, and establish alternate logistical networks to add flexibility to your supply chain. This will provide quick adaptation in the event of supply chain disruptions. .
Agility is essential for firms going through a digital transformation because it allows them to adapt to a business and technology environment that is continuously changing. With a strong digital mentality supported by innovation, it is more important than ever to deliver and surpass organizational expectations. Business excellence will depend on enabling organizations to detect, learn, respond, and evolve like living organisms. This is being accomplished by a broad yet flexible portfolio of services. Live Enterprise is creating connected organizations that are innovating collaboratively for the future by giving organizations the tools they need for intuitive decision-making automatically at scale, actionable insights based on real-time solutions, anytime/anywhere experience, and in-depth data visibility across functions.