Whether you’re looking to revamp your supply chain or build upon past successes, here are three ways you can improve your supply chain operations in the new year.
Adapting To Change And Building Resilience
2020 has been a year of massive change for businesses around the world. Now more than ever, companies understand that it’s essential to be prepared to adapt to ongoing changes and mitigate the effects of any future shocks and shake-ups.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, supply chain resilience has become a hot topic. According to Forbes, businesses will need to focus on resistance capacity, meaning the ability to avoid shocks. Recovery capacity is also essential--this indicates a supply chain’s ability to return to functionality once there has been a disruption.
To address this, supply chain companies have been investing in IoT, data and analytics, and other tools to enhance their visibility, velocity, and responsiveness.
Gartner’s technology trends for 2021 also note that “anywhere operations” will become increasingly important after this year’s disruptions. The organization predicts that 40% of organizations will use location-independent operations by the end of 2023 to enhance their clients’ and employees’ experience.
Leveraging Technology
Enhancing Cold Chain - With vaccines and medications more critical than ever this year, cold chain compliance is sure to be an essential area. Supply Chain Brief notes that monitoring, track-and-trace, point-of-origin information, and custody information are must-haves.
Invest In End-To-End Tracking - IoT-enabled devices help attain a completely transparent supply network. This helps to increase effectiveness, minimize downtime, react to customer demands, provide you with accurate data for analysis, and overall, improve your ROI.
Supply Chain Brain also speculates that in 2021, companies will use more robust AI capabilities to fulfill tasks that allow team members to reallocate their time more strategically. They also note that “we expect to see wider adoption of blockchain technology across the supply chain” to increase transparency and the flow of information between all steps of the supply chain.
Making Sustainability a Priority
According to Supply Chain Digital, sustainability is “an initiative that almost every organization is striving to meet.” They predict an increase in measures like the extended adoption of eco-friendly vehicles and other tools.
Not only is it beneficial for the environment, but green initiatives can bring benefits for your bottom line. For example, cutting fuel costs during distribution to using lighter packaging can all reduce costs. Manufacturing.net notes that “brands that advocate for sustainability grow 5.6 times faster than brands that don't.”
The right technology can help you achieve your sustainability goals, by, for example, helping you create efficient routes, reduce product waste, and more.
Stay Tuned For More Year-End Roundups
In the coming weeks, we’ll be bringing you year-end roundups, as well as guides to next year’s most significant supply chain trends. To keep up-to-date, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook.
