Because it integrates processes, technologies and people, a supply chain is extremely complex for most companies. Despite this, many managers do not give due importance to its management or use data to support their decisions.
New, data-driven strategies need to be created to prevent crises, such as the one companies have faced in recent months, from further affecting their businesses. In other words, achieving excellence in supply management is essential to maintain sustainable growth with reduced risks of disruptions.
While eliminating bottlenecks, responding quickly to problems with suppliers and identifying vulnerabilities are still major challenges, there is good news on the horizon: innovative technologies and new data sources can make supply management more efficient.
Principles of a data-driven supply chain strategy
New data sources are helping to make supply chain management more assertive and intelligent. In addition, innovative companies are already using artificial intelligence coupled with data analysis to capture insights from more complex sets of information that can be both traditional and unconventional data sources.
In the case of traditional data, capture is carried out through shipping or sales information which, when integrated, detail the ways in which the company acquires inputs, serves customers and takes care of logistics.
Non-conventional sources include information from IoT sensors or other resources that monitor information about humidity, acceleration, temperature, among other factors, according to the movement of goods. This information is essential to reduce delays and identify possible problems throughout the supply chain.
Of course, the effectiveness of a data strategy is entirely connected to the quality of this information. No matter the source of this data, if it is not reliable or related to the business objectives or needs of the company, the strategy simply will not bring the expected results.
Precisely for this reason, the company may need to seek new information related to the supply chain, information that feeds the system and allows for safer predictions and analyses.
How to adopt a data-driven strategy?
Planning is the watchword here. In the early stages of creating the business strategy, supply chain management, the company needs to identify what data it has in its possession and list its objectives and goals, what information is needed to achieve these objectives and which KPIs should be monitored.
It is important to understand that it does not matter what this objective is, as long as it is clear, because only then will it be possible to monitor your progress and evaluate how the data contributed to optimizing the supply chain.
In addition, this information also allows us to identify suppliers who are facing problems that could cause interruptions in the supply of raw materials. In other words, data helps to make the supply chain more resilient to crises.
The next step is how this data will be collected and analyzed. Here, the company can seek support from an external provider specialized in data strategy, who will collect, store and analyze this information, or develop an internal system that meets its needs.
With the results of the analysis in hand, this information can be used to detect gaps in the management of the supply chain and make the necessary adjustments so that the objectives are more easily achieved.
The role of the consumer
A good customer experience is based on the principle that the company is meeting its needs with quality and agility, and this is linked to the supply chain's ability to quickly meet input purchase orders.
Thus, the ability to capture and analyze supply chain data, optimized by innovative technologies, becomes essential to maintain sustainable business while making the supply chain more resilient.
COSTDRIVERS has a data strategy platform aimed at improving decision-making. Discover our platform and learn how it can make your supply chain management more efficient.