4 Supply Chain Solutions For Global Brands

Supply chain managers often read supply chain news and yearly trends in order to remain competitive and to determine how they can implement best practices. As we analyze these trends we often look towards global brands and to the way in which they manage their supply chains to achieve their goals. It can be hard and expensive for larger companies and organizations to quickly implement new strategies and adopt new processes in order to stay on top. To remain globally competitive there are particular strategies that are implemented to achieve those successes. In this blog post, we look at what supply chain solutions can be used to create more transparency, collaboration, and efficiency.

Supply Chain Management Challenges

Supply chain managers face a host of challenges and pressures to constantly keep up with all the moving and evolving parts. Here we list three of the biggest challenges that brands currently face that without being able to manage these effectively can have detrimental effects for you and your brand.

• Managing Suppliers – As a supply chain manager you are responsible for knowing all there is to know about your suppliers, from how many suppliers you have to how many are needed specific to your brand. As with any supplier-related problems you need to be able to handle delays, this goes with the territory. Every interaction you have with the supplier needs to be effectively planned thought out in order to create consistency and a smooth running procedure.

This can be done through clear communication, a set of agreed upon objectives to work towards, ensure that regular meetings are held in order to address any complications and progresses that are being made. Following these steps may seem obvious, but this can also be a time consuming until you are able to integrate this effectively into your strategy. This helps to build a stronger supplier relationship and will have long-term benefits for all involved.

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• Risk Mitigation – Adopting a supply chain risk mitigation strategy may be the way to go to avoid the risks that arise. Risk mitigation strategies can include anything from supply chain flexibility to requesting internal supplier related processes to ensure all systems, procedures, and potential risks may be flagged with ample time to rectify if needs are.

If we take a look at Targets mistake of launching the toddler sized Barbie SUV country-wide, the problem they faced was that their distribution centers were receiving inventory faster than they were distributing it to stores across the country. This meant that there were Target stores that had empty shelves with none of the promised items in store. They attributed this to inconsistencies between actual inventory and the computer records. A mistake like this will have cost millions in revenue loss, but also detrimental to both Target and Barbie. As a supply chain manager, it is up to you to ensure you suppliers and distribution centers operate on the same system to mitigate risks like this occurring.

• Supplier relationship management– (SRM) works on a set of processes that drive consistent, clear interactions between the supplier and buyer, SRM programs build new capabilities that enable strategic sourcing and procurement to make the most of the supplier relationships. Effectively applying SRM as a part of your strategy can help achieve greater quality in your product, faster time to market and results for your bottom line, this owing to the successful implementation of an SRM system.
• Management Inventory – Managing inventory is all about balance, always ensuring you have enough inventory on hand to be able to account for any unforeseen delays so that you do not go “out of stock”. On the other hand, you also do not want to have too much inventory, whether your product is perishable or your product goes out of style, a mismanaged inventory can have vast implications for both brand and supplier. Therefore an efficient inventory control system is crucial.

If we take a look at Walmart, despite the precision and technologically advanced supply chain management system, they are continuously failing to restock popular products creating a disruption between the customer and their brand, also resulting in revenue loss. They have attributed this to a shortage of staff within their distribution centers, with not enough people to manage the vast amounts of inventory coming and needing to go. Implementing these supply chain solutions effectively will assist in alleviating some of the challenges and pressures that are experienced on a daily basis. These solutions should enable you to keep up with global trends and remain a strong competitor within the industry. Do you have any thoughts or experience on specific supply chain solutions that have had impact on your supplier relationships?

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