What Are Your ‘23 Supply Chain Digitalization Plans?
Spoiler: If you don’t have one, you’re already behind!
Supply chain leaders are well aware of the immense potential that digitalization can bring, but struggle to see how it can be effectively applied and measured in their organizations. An article recently published by Gartner provides a framework for supply chain planning leaders to make sense of the various data sources available and determine how best to utilize digital tools to achieve agility and resilience.
The 2020 Gartner Future of Supply Chain Survey revealed that supply chain professionals identified the ability to maintain harmony between cost-efficiency and risk mitigation as one of the biggest obstacles to agility and resilience. Through digitizing the supply chain planning process, it's possible to effectively balance cash flow, costs, and services as it increases visibility within the organization, helps identify possible impacts, and allows for more flexible planning.
In an article written titled “Understand Digital Practices in Supply Chain Planning for Better Results,” Gartner Anaylst, Ingrid Gonzalez McCarthy, seeks to give supply chain planning leaders a practical comprehension of digital planning, its influence on their planning function, and advice about what foundations need to be established for them get started on their journey.
McCarthy emphasizes the importance of developing a Digital Strategy for each area of the supply chain planning process, beginning with defining business goals and metrics. This strategy must then be broken down into smaller, manageable tasks and key performance indicators (KPIs) that are regularly monitored to measure success. McCarthy suggests using a combination of data sources such as historical analytics, trend analysis, customer segmentation and predictive analytics to create an actionable plan.
Digitalization of the supply chain can seem daunting, but by following McCarthy and Gartner's advice, breaking down the process into manageable tasks with defined goals and KPIs, it is possible to successfully make the transition. By turning to Critical Risk Solution, we can help you effectively leverage technology to improve communication and efficiency within the organization, and help you develop a Digital Strategy that will help maintain harmony between risk mitigation and cost-efficiency.
