Organizations must realize the importance of deepening visibility across their supply chains

The trail of destruction triggered by the outbreak of Covid-19 has reiterated the long-felt need for organizations to deepen visibility across their supply chains. As we are all aware global supply chains have been consistently bogged down by disruptions ranging from natural disasters to geopolitical issues and the Covid-19 pandemic was a disruption of monstrous proportions, leaving a wave of devastation all around. Indeed, the scourge of the Covid-19 pandemic has brutally exposed how susceptible global supply chains actually are and how this unprecedented situation has resulted in revenue leakage, customer churn, and dwindling market value for organizations. If various industry experts are anything to go by, the impact of Covid-19 was gargantuan simply because of the interconnected nature of global supply chains. These Covid-19-induced troubled times have made it an absolute business necessity for organizations to leverage new-age supply chain technologies that can go a long way in ensuring future-proof supply chains. In fact, the unprecedented times have compelled organizations to introspect their existing supply chain models and undertake adequate measures to accord high priority to core elements of risk management, business continuity planning, and technology innovations in their overall supply chain strategies.

One cannot deny the fact that new-age supply chain technologies can be an enabler for organizations to build resilient supply chains that will not only help survive in case of adversity but also thrive in the future. And when one mentions new-age supply chain technologies the obvious focus is on how organizations can identify risks and threats and build defense mechanisms, in terms of leveraging risk management tools and frameworks to cope with disruptions, develop a risk-awareness culture as well as put effective contingency plans in place. Clearly, new-age supply chain technologies are a crying need for organizations to optimize their supply chains.

Any talk of new-age supply chain technologies cannot miss the mention of Artificial Intelligence and Big Data Analytics. Such supply chain technologies not only provide organizations real-time visibility but also enable them to anticipate demand in advance as well as provide them with the ability to contract and expand production accordingly.

Another supply chain technology that gets organizations excited is IoT (Internet of Things) that can ensure real-time shipment tracking and storage condition monitoring across supply chains. This new-age supply chain technology also improves the forecast accuracy of shipment delivery, thus driving increased end-customer satisfaction, better warehouse planning, and risk mitigation. Besides Artificial Intelligence & Advanced Analytics, and IoT, another supply chain technology that can be handy for organizations is Blockchain.

It is crystal clear that organizations can no longer overlook the importance of enabling access to real-time data in order to ensure enhanced efficiency across their supply chains.