Benefits Of Supply Chain Solutions

The modern day business today is a global platform that compels organizations, irrespective of its location or primary market base, to consider the world in their competitive strategy analysis. The firms cannot ignore external aspects such as competitive situations, economic trends and technology innovation in other places. Today most organizations are truly becoming global with their supply chain management strategy and are changing their ways in which they used to monitor their operations and logistics practices. Modifications in trade and modernization of transport infrastructures and the competition intensification have upgraded the significance of flow management to new levels.

Supply chain solutions can be described as a set of three or more organizations associated directly with one or more than one of the upstream and downstream flow of goods, services, data and finances from the source to the consumer. It comprises of all the levels involved, indirectly or directly, in catering to a consumer’s demand, it not only comprises the suppliers and manufacturers, but also the warehouses, transporters, retailers and the consumers themselves. Within an enterprise the supply chain comprises of every function included in catering to consumer demand. These functions include components such as:

• New product development
• Marketing
• Operations
• Distribution
• Finance
• Customer service

Therefore, it is essential to partner with a supply chain consultingfirm so that you can leverage its experience and expertise. Companies specializing in supply chain solutions help you to minimize your operational expenses, enhance the speed, elasticity and bring down the level of risks.

If you have assessed your company’s supply chain and evaluating its weaknesses, strengths and want to see the scopes of possible solutions and improvements then its best to invest in a supply chain solution. Today service providers of reverse logistics have come with up advanced supply chain solutions with a supply chain consulting team that helps companies to reshape and restructure their operations in order to increase speed, efficiency and the flexibility. Some of these service providers specialize in last-mile interventions that help in adjusting over-offshore supply chains. Owing to the fact that every business has its own unique need and demands, the supply chain consulting team has the expertise to customize the systems that is provided rather than taking on a “cookie clutter” approach.

Service providers of supply chain solutions work by understanding the business requirements first and provide solutions that are practical and attainable. The service providers will straight away not suggest you to re-establish your operation but rather suggest the much needed solutions. 

Trends and Features of SCM Solutions

Today in this era of globalization, where organizations are partnering and collaborating with other companies regularly in different parts of the world, the capability to monitor the supply chain cycle efficiently has become necessary to carry on business, as per a report in the Financial Times. Enterprises are putting added importance of supply chain solutions, for instance B2B business integration, to foster collaboration with both customers and partners. 

According to Mr. Rick Blasgen, CEO of Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals “Supply chain logistics used to be viewed as a cost-cutting mechanism; now they are being used as growth drivers to open up new markets, particularly emerging markets”. As per the other marketing reports, the factors that have speeded up the use of supply chains and the requirement to manage them comprises the high accessibility of internet connectivity and the increase of global markets. 

Recently, a survey conducted by Aberdeen Group that was done in 62 small and medium scale businesses, revealed that 75 percent opined that they view B2B as an essential component of the organization’s future growth. The report concentrates on business integration solutions for enabling ongoing maintenance, trading partner recruitment and other performance measurement associated practices. 

With advanced supply chain management solutions companies are able to package goods for installing and store shelves, ship the goods directly to the distributor, retailer or to any other destination. Furthermore, they can fill orders directly and track the progress right from the inventory to the delivery phase. All this can be monitored and managed from your desktop. Other services offered by the SCM solutions include:

• Material Planning and Procurement
• Turnkey Materials
• Consigned Materials
• Domestic and Offshore Sourcing
• Supplier Qualification and Certification
• Vendor Managed Inventory
• Kan/Ban
• Lifecycle Management
• Web Based Inquiry and Reporting

Simultaneously, innovative SCM solutions helps in configuring your product from the electro-mechanical assembly (box build) as well as a retail pack out i.e. RF sealing, shrink-wrap, clamshells and many more. This is done in order to custom labeling in order to ensure a comprehensive supply chain management. All these activities are managed by a group of trained professionals who make sure that you deliver only the best quality products every time to the consumers. Furthermore, these solutions also offer a complete reverse logistics solutions, right from the labeling, serial number capture to dock merge phase and all of this is personalized to cater to your requirements. 

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Services Offered By Supply Base Management Programs

Suppliers play a crucial role in assisting manufacturers to attain accelerated performance. Effective supplier base management can help in taking costs out of the supply chain. In various industries the management of suppliers can result in as much as 60 to 80 percent of the manufacturing expenses. However, cost reduction is not the only advantage. There are other benefits as well, that includes end-to-end improvements in service and product quality by implementing instant and timely delivery systems, quality enhancement programs and electronic data exchange. Simultaneously, process and product designs can be improved by including chosen suppliers in the early stages of new product development. Furthermore, a streamlines supply base management enables partnerships to be established with the remaining suppliers.

Keeping in mind all the above mentioned aspects, today companies need efficient supply base management solutions that will offer them a wide selection of material models, such as full consignment programs, full turnkey programs or a combination of the two. The main objective in obtaining this is to stay ahead of the market changes and fluctuations and respond fast with the new options.

Today leading supply chain solutions providers have introduced innovative supply base management programs that offer the organizations and other end users complete access to inventory levels through their proprietary online interface round the clock. Selected supply base management services include the following:

• Material planning and procurement

• Domestic and offshore sourcing

• Turnkey and consigned materials

• Supplier qualification along with certification

• Vendor managed inventory

• Kan Ban and other models

• Complete materials life cycle management

Leading market players of supply base management solution with their partnerships and associations cover a worldwide spectrum of suppliers and industry verticals. These associations are well established and ensure best cost quality and delivery on time. Furthermore, they have the capacity to help in an organization’s engineering staff in component qualification.
However, selecting an appropriate supply base management solution provider is a crucial task. Prior to partnering with one it is essential that companies analyze their requirements and budget capacity. Post this they can select a solution provider who can cater to their requirements, suit their budget limits and has a favorable market feedback from other clients and end users.

Also read more about : Rack and stack , reverse logistics

Reduce Costs and Add Efficiencies with Reverse Logistics

Reverse logistics, as the term implies, is the reverse of logistics. The Council of Logistics Management defines logistics as “the process of planning, implementing, and controlling the efficient, effective flow and storage of goods, services, and related information from point of origin to point of consumption for the purpose of conforming to customer requirements.” Reverse logistics would mean the same except the fact that it operates in reverse. Hence,reverse logistics can be defined as “the process of planning, implementing, and controlling the efficient, effective flow and storage of goods, services, and related information from the point of consumption to the point of origin for the purpose of recapturing value or proper disposal.”

Today reverse logistics is an important part of supply chain management. There was a time when reverse logistics was considered a sheer waste of time, money, and efforts. However, today it has evolved to become an important entity in the world economy. This transformation was the result of the realization that reverse logistics could reduce costs, add efficiencies, and improve the customer experience. Here is a look at some of the advantages of reverse logistics.

·         Retrieve value out of defective parts by salvaging and refurbishing defective equipment’s and parts

·         Create scrap value for the enterprise by recycling packaging and defective materials

·         Recognize out of date revisions and components immediately

·         Save the cost of warehousing stock that has gone stale

·         Transform old assets into valuable investments by remarketing complete systems, major components, and  achieve partial or full recycling

·         Discover reusable solutions for unutilized assets

·         Monetize depreciating assets

·         Extract more value from used or returned goods compared to the costs involved in the original supply chain

·         Improve customer satisfaction and enhance customer retention by addressing issues associated with product  returns effectively

Today enterprises have understood the hidden value of returned assets and the benefits of streamlining return, repair, and product reallocation processes to the enterprise’s bottom line. However, instead of executing logistics activities (both reverse and forward) within the enterprise itself, enterprises can outsource some or all of the activities to the industry experts. These logistics solution providers offer a variety of services such as

·         Order Management & Supply Base Management

·         Business-to-business (B2B) contract management

·         Customer care, both call center and on-line support solutions

·         eCommerce Solutions ,Fulfillment and Distribution

·         Transportation Management

·         Global Logistics ,Warehouse/Inventory Control

·         Retail Configuration (hardware and software pack out: retail box, RF sealing clamshell packaging, blister pack, shrink wrap, etc.)

·         Systems Integration, Assembly and Test (build-to-order or build-to-stock)

·         Kitting (build-to-order or build-to-stock)

Entrusting the industry experts with reverse logistics responsibilities helps enterprises to focus on their core competencies.

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