We are living in times when the customers’ needs change and increase at a rapid pace. Enterprises involved in supply chains might already feel this pressure and the importance of satisfying the growing consumers’ needs. On the other hand, when living in the digital era automation is key in maintaining a competitive advantage. Thus, automation has already become a game-changer in almost all industries, with the supply chain being one of them. In the following lines, we are going to briefly discuss some of the benefits that supply chain automation and integration bring.
There is a saying that supply chains are rather complex and when you consider all the different parts that they consist of, it is clear that it is the truth. A supply chain consists of many different operations, which can be grouped into the following categories, with their subcategories respectively:
1. Demand management
- Demand planning
- Merchandise planning
- Trade promotion planning
2. Sales and operations planning
3. Supply management
- Supply planning
- Production planning
- Inventory planning
- Capacity planning
- Distribution planning
4. Product portfolio management
With so many time-consuming and complex processes happening at the same time, the chances for errors significantly increase. And in times when speed, flexibility, and accuracy are some of the most important aspects for clients’ satisfaction and enterprise success, automation is inevitable and it can be applied in almost every aspect of the supply chain.
What are the benefits that you will get once you automate and integrate your supply chain?
- Seamless communication and data flow among the systems involved in the supply chain process (purchasing, manufacturing, packaging, transportation, reporting)
- Automation of time-wasting manual processes and allowing employees to focus on planning, forecasting, and other more important tasks
- Reduced costs and minimized human errors
- Increased customers satisfaction as a result of improved delivery process and speed
- Improved employees’ productivity and overall enterprise operational efficiency
The benefits that you will experience of having your supply chain automated are endless. We can talk about it in length and depth specifically for each of the phases that the supply chain includes. But, that would be one long post. Optimizing and automating supply chains is one of the focus solutions that we tend to provide to our clients. If you are interested in learning more about how enterprise integration and supply chain automation can make you dominant on the market, you can register for the annual Enterprise Integration Summit, organized by our partner SnapLogic, where we will be talking about the power of integration and automation in the supply chain.
