Supply Chain Control Towers for Resilience Flashcards
Digital Supply Chain
supply chain that leverages digital technologies and data analytics to guide decision-making, optimize performance, and quickly respond to changing conditions
Challenges with IT Diversity
Various different ERP systems so integration is very hard
Sustainability Measurement
Tracking the enormous category of Scope 3 emissions - those upstream and downstream of the factory gates is the most difficult area to master, and most have not started.
Building Resilient Supply Chains
Weaknesses of many supply chains: the inability to react to sudden, large-scale disruptions
Reshoring alone does not necessarily create resiliency
Mapping and stress testing are a much more effective approach
Government involvement for essential commodities – pharma
Methodology:
Time to recover (TTR) – time for a node to be restored to full functionality
Time to survive (TTS) - the maximum duration that the supply chain can match supply with demand after a facility disruption
Control Tower
A supply chain control tower is a centralized hub or platform that provides real-time visibility, monitoring, and management of the entire supply chain network. It serves as a command center where organizations can gain insights into their supply chain operations, collaborate with partners, and make informed decisions to optimize performance and respond to disruptions effectively.
Key features and functions of a supply chain control tower typically include:
- Visibility: The control tower aggregates data from various sources across the supply chain, including suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, and logistics providers. It provides real-time visibility into inventory levels, order status, transportation movements, and other critical metrics.
- Analytics and Reporting: Advanced analytics capabilities enable organizations to analyze historical data, identify trends, forecast demand, and predict potential disruptions. Reports and dashboards provide stakeholders with actionable insights to improve decision-making and performance.
- Event Management: The control tower monitors events and alerts in the supply chain, such as delays, disruptions, quality issues, or capacity constraints. It automatically triggers alerts and notifications to stakeholders, enabling proactive management of exceptions and rapid response to problems.
- Collaboration: Collaboration features facilitate communication and collaboration among supply chain partners, including suppliers, carriers, and customers. They enable real-time communication, document sharing, and issue resolution to improve coordination and efficiency across the supply chain.
- Decision Support: The control tower provides decision support tools and capabilities to help organizations make informed decisions in areas such as inventory management, transportation planning, network optimization, and sourcing strategies. It may include simulation tools, scenario planning, and optimization algorithms to evaluate alternative strategies and assess their impact.
- Supply Chain Orchestration: Control towers often serve as a platform for supply chain orchestration, allowing organizations to dynamically adjust operations and resources in response to changing demand, market conditions, or disruptions. They help streamline processes, optimize workflows, and synchronize activities across the supply chain network.
- Risk Management: Control towers support risk management initiatives by identifying, assessing, and mitigating risks across the supply chain. They enable organizations to monitor and evaluate risk factors, develop contingency plans, and implement risk mitigation measures to protect against potential threats to supply chain performance and continuity.
Overall, a supply chain control tower plays a central role in enabling organizations to achieve greater agility, resilience, and efficiency in their supply chain operations by providing end-to-end visibility, collaboration, and decision support capabilities. It helps organizations proactively manage supply chain risks, optimize resources, and deliver superior customer service.
Supply Chain agility
the ability to respond to external influences, the ability to respond to marketplace changes to gain or maintain competitive advantage
Platform solutions as an approach for supply chain agility.
Platforms absorb demand and supply shocks.
Businesses gain access to multiple, diverse customers and suppliers that were not previously accessible.
Unilever changed its sales and operations planning from a 4-week cycle with a 13-week horizon, to a weekly cycle with a 4-week horizon. That helped Unilever respond and adapt swiftly with the changing consumer buying patterns
Supply Chain Transformation
Inventory management
JIT - STocking critical parts
Supplier visibility
Tier 1 - entire ecosystem
Globalisation
China- regionalisation
Digital Supply chain:
supply chain segmentation, smart planning and execution - supply chain integration woth digital tech
Cybersecurity:
enterprise - vendors
Factories:
Central and remote - microfactories
Vertical integration:
Outsource- inhouse
Generative AI for Supply Chain Management
Plan: Convenience store chain Seven-Eleven in Japan has planned to employ gen AI for product planning - use AI to generate texts and images for new products based on analysis of store sales data and consumer feedback through social media
Source: Walmart has deployed generative AI to automate vendor negotiations with its suppliers. Walmart tells the software its budgets and needs and it is the software that communicates with human sellers to close each deal.
Make: Siemens - plans to generate PLC code through natural language inputs for a reduction in time and probability of errors.
Deliver: Infosys and Google Cloud gen AI recently helped a consumer goods company to successfully launch an AI twin to assist in real-time planning of marketing spend, promotion, and product supply across markets. DHL is pioneering the adoption of gen AI in its delivery process and logistics, through route optimization and surveilling supply chain process
