The point of a supply chain is to provide customers with what they want or need when they want or need it. For example, if you own a toy store and notice a huge demand for LEGO sets, you’d certainly want an adequate supply on hand. When this happens, customers can visit you online or in person and get what they need. The supply chain for equipment manufacturers is much larger and more complex than a toy store, but the goal is still the same—to serve customers and make them happy. From raw materials to the end user, from assembly to distribution, a lot of moving parts have to come together for a successful operation.
This is where technology comes in. In the modern, digital age, technology should be the supply chain’s greatest asset.
In the equipment manufacturing supply chain—where so much is happening at once—you don’t want to be stuck with old software and solutions.
There’s too much risk and cost to remain outdated. You either have to upgrade your current system or implement a new one. And when you do, there are a few things that technology should do to reinforce and support your manufacturing supply chain.
One: Increased Visibility Across The Chain
Technology should provide YOU with a wide range of visibility from beginning to end.
- You should know what type of inventory you have and need.
- You should know what you’re budgeting and spending, and how you can increase the bottom line.
- You should receive strategic data to drive decisions—important data that you can evaluate quickly and with confidence.
When you listen to the radio during morning or afternoon rush hour, you’ll often get reports from air traffic control. Helicopter pilots ascend to get a wider view of all the major roads. This is what technology should do for your company—allow you to get a higher perspective of your supply chain. As a result, efficiency should improve, both internally and externally.
When important data sits together in one solution, you can collaborate IT, sales, marketing, production, customer service, etc.
Two: Increased Ability To Commit To Customers
In business, one of the goals is to make commitments to customers and stick with them. Whatever the time frame of delivery is, it’s always better when it’s communicated up front.
Think about online shopping. Tracking numbers and projected delivery dates are almost always a part of the experience. Whether a package is promised to be on your doorstep that same day or in two weeks, you base your expectations on that projection, right?
If a package has a next-day projected delivery date, but it doesn’t arrive for three weeks, that’s a problem isn’t it? Of course! This is when you get the most frustrated—when you feel like the information is misleading.
Again, the supply chain for equipment manufacturers is more complex than buying shoes or books online, but the goal of creating clear expectations for customers is the same. And most manufacturers have felt the weight of things like late deliveries and inability to get materials shipped in a timely fashion.
This is a place where the right digital solution should make a massive difference. Technology should bring all the supply chain data that matters into one place, allowing you to commit to customers with accuracy, which results in increased customer satisfaction.
A Holistic Solution for Supply Chain Technology
Instead of playing the difficult, risky game of using multiple data sources that are inconsistent, wouldn’t it better to use one holistic solution? The role of Sikich is to assist you in implementing technology that gives your supply chain greater visibility and results!
It’s time to develop a simple and faster approach to implementing a cloud business solution—one that leads to more consistent, reliable, repeatable, and predictable success with benefits like:
- Higher functionality and flexibility.
- Greater speed to understanding and application.
- Lower costs.
- Happier clients and working teams.
Let us set you up with the technology your supply chain needs, all the while helping you keep your project scope, schedule, and budget under control. Contact us today!
