Before we analyze how supply chain technology can provide greater control over various aspects of the supply chain, including inventory, better management of working capital, and outperforming competitors, it’s important to understand what it means for businesses. In its simplest form, supply chain technology is a technology-driven digital device that supports business by driving innovation and efficiency in supply chain management. Tailored to the requirements and scale of each brand, supply chain technology equipment is a one-stop solution to simplify business for brands and customers.
Here’s how technological intervention in the supply chain can strengthen businesses, leaving little room for it.
- Production tracking for technical support
Moving beyond traditional supply chain management tools and manual mapping, technological inventions in supply chain management are improving visibility into the end-to-end process. Unlike manual inspection of an ongoing production cycle, which takes a significant amount of time and has a larger window for error, technical intervention provides a clearer picture of what is ready, what is being worked on, and what needs to be worked on. Feedback is also clearly visible so that individual teams can build their forecasts accordingly.
Driven by an integrated approach, digitization helps prevent leaks from the first mile to the last. This allows brands to map out gaps before the beans spill over.
Enterprises involve multiple stakeholders and suppliers working across geographies. For example, there will be a single supplier for sourcing packaging, different suppliers for sourcing different types of fabrics, sourcing brand labels, etc.
In order to effectively manage so many people and avoid complexity, it is critical to tie all of them together in one system. This is where technology takes the forefront. These technology platforms leverage real-time, actionable data by helping brands subtly automate processes and manage associated costs and other resources.
Not just raw materials, fast supply chain decisions supported by in-depth data analysis and technology to establish the best inventory can allow you to control working capital. Unimpeded inventory cycles ensure high availability of high priority SKUs while still reducing inventory holding and liquidation costs. When doing business, a network of last mile transactions is involved which includes inspection manufacturers, logistics partners and distributors. Manually managing all stakeholders becomes a task and involves a greater risk of error or failure. Vulnerabilities in the system are more likely to go unnoticed, leading to later crises.
To address this, technological solutions for logistics management enable brands to gain a real-time, factual view of what is going on. To avoid multiple rounds of follow-up and bring all stakeholders together in one system, the tools here involve support for extensive warehouse management, shipping management, returns management and real-time order tracking.
Last year, we saw multiple brands spring up. While supply chain technology is important to any brand, it is essential for anyone building a brand house. In trying to build a model that includes the management of multiple brands, there are multiple stakeholders involved in all aspects of the business, but the complexity is most pronounced in the supply chain.
For example, a brand has 100 suppliers and 10,000 customers, and 5 brands has 500 suppliers and 50,000 customers. As the brand grows, the number of people/stakeholders involved grows exponentially. This makes the supply chain of the brand house more complicated. Therefore, technology and technology-driven solutions become a top priority for all brands.
More than just devices that digitize processes, technological interventions in the supply chain ensure that you can effectively manage the back end without leaving gaps unfilled. But it’s not just about making things manageable, technology also allows House of Brands to scale quickly by leveraging synergy in the back-end process – by having the same suppliers work for multiple brands/same factories for multiple brands. brands, but none of these can be done meaningfully without technological intervention.
In short – if you want to build a brand house, start working on tech today.
(Disclaimer: The views expressed are solely those of the author and ETRetail.com does not necessarily subscribe to it. ETRetail.com is not responsible for any damages caused directly or indirectly to any person/organization.)