But is this beautiful business symphony just wishful thinking? Most organizations have an overwhelming amount of data in their IT systems. And even effective software can occasionally create more data and functional silos rather than eliminate them.
A successful supply chain orchestration system can power an entire digital supply chain ecosystem and ensure every part of a business is operating at peak performance levels, no matter how messy an organization’s data might be.
Is your business functioning efficiently? Here are five questions to ask:
- Are all of your supplier relationships organized in a single place?
When a company has a siloed focus, the relationship with trading partners is typically defined within the constraints of the silo. This puts the relationship at risk of being more transactional and commoditized – it is much harder to build a successful partnership. Opening up the relationship and sharing information and metrics across all critical departments gives trading partners insight and allows them to understand where they can best improve the quality of their products and services. And in most cases, that is exactly what they want to do. - Is collaboration with suppliers increasing?
The optimum supply chain orchestration systems encourage collaboration with suppliers of varying volume, technology and integration levels. They provide better access to critical decision-making data. Companies, in turn, benefit from a more coordinated supply chain planning and execution strategy. - Can you see and manage your entire global supply network from one single source?
Be sure the supply chain “management” portal enables and encourages all stakeholders to document their actions and communicate with one another in real time, in one place, online. This end-to-end visibility and cross-function collaboration will instill confidence in your stakeholders. - Are workflows automated from purchasing to payment?
In a perfect world, there is a single web and app-accessible portal through which warehouse workers and supervisors alike can immediately capture, share and analyze operational data across a number of different mobile and desktop devices. It is the only “system” workers have to log into during their shift – no matter where they’re working or what they’re working on. It provides a continuous data flow between all workflows. We call it a single source of “data truth.” - Have you eliminated manual data entry, data duplications and the possibility of mismatched/out-of-sync data across every business function?
Manual data entry can lead to costly errors and data duplications. Supply chain orchestration eliminates human error and syncs data in an all-inclusive way.
Following these five guidelines not only makes your organization more efficient, but can also increase revenues and reduce expenditures from purchase to payment. OneSCM is your key to complete supply chain orchestration. Contact us to dive deeper.
