Supply chain optimisation can be a difficult endeavour for manufacturers and distributors. Changes in trade and capital policies, currency volatility, competition for raw materials, environmental regulations – all of these create uncertainty and risk. Yet optimising your supply chain is one of the most important keys to profitability.
Whether you operate a single factory or a multinational network, you need all of the cogs in your supply chain to work at peak efficiency to realise maximum profit. How can you minimise overall costs to produce and ship your products, while at the same time staying flexible and responding quickly to demand?
Supply chain optimisation connects your entire manufacturing or distribution value chain, from R&D and materials sourcing through production and delivery. Rather than focusing on individual suppliers, you gain a holistic view so you can look at your entire system and find ways to improve delivery speed, while reducing costs and risks.
If you’re serious about finding ways to streamline your supply chain operations, here are some keys to success.
Benefits: What you can do
6 ways to optimise supply chain management with SYSPRO ERP Software.
Evaluate supplier performance
How mature are your suppliers? What is their typical lead time and capacity? Do you have next-tier suppliers as backup? SYSPRO ERP Software gives you tools to measure performance and identify where you might have gaps. It also helps you identify which suppliers meet your goals for sustainability, such as use of recycled materials – and which ones might partner with you to share incentives. Finally, ERP solutions like SYSPRO’s offer you automated alerts so you can identify supplier issues and resolve them quickly.
Master risk management
How vulnerable is your supply chain to issues like seasonality, government or market forces, or other risks? Supply chain optimisation in partnership with your ERP software should give you the visibility to identify constraints in the system, such as spikes in fuel costs or even the potential for climate-based disasters. That way you can mitigate and hedge against risks.
Keep inventory levels low
It’s simple: inventory costs. That’s one reason why so many firms are moving to Lean manufacturing and just-in-time delivery. With an ERP platform that combines advanced scheduling, demand inventory forecasting and Materials Requirements Planning (MRP), you can stock just what you need, in response to demand, reducing both costs and waste. You can also purchase raw materials wisely taking into account issues like seasonality. And, SYSPRO ERP Software empowers you to model stock levels and do “what if” simulations that show the trade-offs of time and money.
Simplify returns and ensure lot traceability
Managing your supply chain well means handling reverse product flow, too. SYSPRO ERP software helps streamline return logistics with visibility back through to R&D. And, if you operate in an industry like health or safety, SYSPRO enables you to track quality data on both products and their ingredients from purchasing through inspection, manufacturing, stocking and sales. Traceability of lots helps you stay in compliance and respond quickly to recalls.
Get control over logistics and transportation
Supply chain optimisation includes finding ways to reduce delivery and storage costs. For example, ERP solutions like SYSPRO’s feature container management, so you can optimise shipping costs and gain schedule predictability. Should you move your warehouse location to be closer to customers? SYSPRO ERP can help you decide, with tools to model and analyse your total landed costs across the supply chain.
Evaluate products to balance resource investments
Do you have a good handle on which products are slow-moving, excess, active or static? SYSPRO enables you to analyse stock codes (SKUs) at a granular level, so you can see each item’s historical demand behaviour and impact on profits. Then from a supply chain perspective, you can balance materials ordering based on product roles – basic, seasonal or safety stock – and analyse where to invest resources.
