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RouteiqueOct 24, 2022 2:59:37 PM5 min read

What is Supply Chain as a Service?

What is Supply Chain as a Service?

A new take on supply chain management, Supply Chain as a Service (SCaaS), is a method of supply chain management where many portions of supply chain management are outsourced to one or more third-party partners. Processes that can wind up being outsourced under this model include inventory, order fulfilment, production, storage, and dispatch.

 


Key Takeaways:

  • Supply chain as a service (SCaaS), is when supply chain management is outsourced to one or more third-party partners.
  • Inventory, order fulfilment, production, storage, and dispatch can all be outsourced.
  • The benefits of SCaaS are decreased costs, safety, growth, stock control, and optimization.
  • Barriers to adoption might include the loss of control, trust, change, investment, communication, thinking that change simply isn’t needed.

 

Employing SCaaS can allow a lot of supply chains to easily fill the gaps in their current infrastructure. Today's blog will explore the challenges and benefits of establishing and using a SCaaS model to help you evaluate if SCaaS is right for your business.

 

Challenges of adopting SCaaS

 

Loss of Control

Implementing SCaaS requires letting go of some aspects of your supply chain and handing control over to the appropriate outsourced partner. This can be difficult for some managers and businesses because it's not unusual for people to place value on control and thus be unable to see the bigger picture. 

Handing over some of your operations to an outsourced partner comes with challenges, which will be detailed below, but it can also allow your staff to focus on optimizing the parts of your business that they know best. 

 

Trust

Picking the right partner, or partners, is the most important part of setting up a successful SCaaS operation, finding the right fit that you can trust with your livelihood can be difficult and a process but will in time be well worth it. 

The best way to do this is to do your research before committing and to have detailed, in depth conversations with potential partners. No query is too insignificant, like we said, this is your livelihood on the line. 

 

Change

Some businesses and managers can be slow to adopt the newest trend because they are content with the way that things are. 

The routine is safe, and new things are uncomfortable to many. Breaking past this bias is a crucial step to business improvement and certainly an important step in adopting SCaaS. Monitoring changes early in the process or using predictive tools to determine if changes are beneficial can help to quell the concerns associated with change. Another way to evaluate the value of change is to look at your peers. If similar-sized businesses are making the choice to adopt specific 3PL partners then it may also be in your best interest to adopt the same or similar 3Pl partners.    

 

Investment

Like with any new business adaptation there is bound to be a cost barrier to entry. Outsourcing multiple facets of your business is sure to include a few startup costs while restructuring is occurring. 

Once restructuring has occurred and funds are allocated appropriately, SCaaS optimizes your budget by getting the most out of your money. Non-optimal processes cause businesses to hemorrhage money. By p the process in the right hands, in the long term, your business will save a significant amount of funds. 

 

Communication

Perfect and seamless communication between a business and its partners is vital in order to make Supply Chain as a Service effective. 

If any of your partners is not on the same page as you about what you would like to accomplish with your outsourcing then the results could be unwanted and costly.

 

Everyone's an Expert

Some managers and businesses simply don’t want to make the switch because they think they can manage every aspect of their supply chain the best, even if this belief is not necessarily true. 

Outsourcing partners are often incredibly specialized and therefore have cutting-edge technology and industry-first experts, overlooking his type of experience could be an incredibly costly oversight.

 

 

Benefits of SCaaS

Decreased Costs

The most significant reason for outsourcing to a SCaaS model would be to cut costs and increase profits. 

The best way that SCaaS does this is by diversifying various sections of operation. This means that instead of attempting to save lots of costs in only one section of your supply chain by focusing there you attempt to save a small amount of cost in multiple sectors by outsourcing to professionals, this then increases your profits and raises your bottom line.

 

Safety

Having a partner or partners gives you a safety net for your data. When backend and timely processes are digitally converted and saved across multiple data centers or clouds, accidental losses of information are less likely to occur.

 

Growth

The supply chain industry is arguably one of the fastest-changing and developing industries in the world. Adopting a SCaaS model allows businesses to fill or fit into market openings whenever possible. By having the right partners, your business utilizes the best technology available from your specialized partners. This makes growth and scalability easier as you worry about what your business does best and leave the more specialized processes to your partners.  

 

Stock Control

Digitizing processes allows businesses to have real-time insight into their stock levels. Keeping an eye on stock changes and inventory levels allows you to avoid shortages which can be costly both to business relationships and overhead. 

 

Optimization

With SCaaS you have the best people working on the best possible process, this by default will optimize your workflow and reduce any errors.   

 

 

What Kind of Partner Can Routeique be?

At Routeique we strive to make your supply chain seamless with our easily integrated solutions used to connect all facets of the supply chain from end to end. The concepts of 3PL and ScaaS often go hand in hand, as a strong 3PL partner can be the heart and soul of your SCaaS operation.

Routeique has the ability to be that exceptional 3PL partner, adding efficiency, visibility, and convenience with our supply chain solutions designed to fit any business needs and size.

 

Some things that Routeique can offer you as a 3PL partner include:

  • integrates with your customers' e-commerce platforms
  • allows you to import orders into your fulfillment system easily
  • enables you to manage products and inventory effectively
  • provides real-time reporting on order adjustments and inventory shrink
  • provides visibility to your customers through their dedicated Routeique account
  • offers home and retail deliveries with optimized routes and proof of delivery

With any new supply chain trend, adoption can be the most difficult part of the process. Using the information provided about the benefits and challenges of Supply Chain as a Service you can best determine if it's the right fit for your supply chain.

 

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