Supply chain processes happen around you all the time. If your company makes a product, procures a product, or does both, and wants to sell it to a customer, you will need to end-to-end supply chain optimization. But how do you know if your supply chain needs optimizing? The method is simple. Are you are getting your customers what they want when they want it, and spending as little money as possible accomplishing that goal? If so, you are on the right track. Unfortunately, this is not the case for many businesses. If you cannot clearly answer that question with an affirmative response, you have some work to do. In most cases, you could be spending less and making better use of your resources. But where do you begin? Keep reading to find out the importance of supply chain optimization and how you can improve your process.

What Does Optimization Improve?

Inventory Control

Inventory management is one of the most important parts of the supply chain. It informs other parts of your processes, including order fulfillment and production planning. This applies to all the items that you have in your warehouse, from raw materials, to finished goods, to extra parts. With a solid supply chain optimization process, you will be able to maintain control of your inventory management. It will also help you fulfill orders for your customers, as you will know at all times if you have enough goods to fill each order on time.

Order Fulfillment

The delivery of your orders on time and accurately is just as important as producing the goods for them. Supply chain optimization makes order delivery more efficient. This includes finding ways to load your trucks or transportation vehicles faster and choosing the best delivery routes to save on costs and present orders to customers on time. These items also fall under the category of logistics planning.

Demand Planning

In addition to inventory control and order fulfillment, accurate demand planning is also an important part of supply chain optimization. By improving demand planning, you can achieve more accurate results, which increases the chances that you’ll have enough goods to meet demand. Additionally, you can avoid producing too many goods that would take up warehouse space. Accurate demand planning also helps you reduce costs. If you have an idea of how much demand you expect to see, you can create a plan based on that demand. If your demand planning is off, you may need to make sacrifices, including extra costs, to reduce lead times to fulfill that extra demand.

Customer Service

It may not be obvious, but customer service is a worthwhile area to improve. Orders that arrive on time make your customers happy, and this is a form of customer service because you’re providing something that they requested and paid for. If you are constantly delivering orders late, optimization can help improve your customer service. A good optimization plan will send you alerts for times when an order may arrive late. This system can also highlight when a customer receives their orders late. With real-time visibility of your delivery processes, you can prepare to offer apologies and discounts to keep your customers happy and loyal.

Decision-Making

One of the most overlooked areas that can be improved by supply chain optimization is the ability to make better decisions. The more your processes are optimized, the more well-informed you will be. As a result, you will be able to make decisions that have a more positive impact on your supply chain. Real-time data is one of the many features supply chain optimization can offer you. It allows you to make decisions on the go, especially in cases of emergencies that need your attention. It also ensures that your data is always current and up-to-date, so you are never making decisions based on outdated information. It has the benefit of informing other of any changes you make to your tactical planning, so everyone involved is in the loop.

How to Optimize Your Supply Chain Process

Of the most important components of any business is supply chain management. It involves almost the entire company; deals with suppliers and customers; and creates the product and services that make up the core of the business. This is why supply chain optimization is vital to ensuring you get the most out of your supply chain. Here are some methods of how you can optimize your supply chain process.

Strategic Optimization

The guiding precept for supply chain management is brand strategy. Supply chains are designed to align assets to meet objectives that support the brand strategy. About 80% of transportation costs are predetermined by network design, which is why optimization solutions provide value. There are many types of solutions available including distribution center (DC) network design, and strategic sourcing. These solutions answer important questions for decision-makers such as what suppliers to source from, what their capacity is, and where to make capital investments.

Tactical Optimization

Once you’ve established strategic optimization, it’s time to put it into action. This step involved improving annual sourcing decisions and product flows, which allows buyers to meet constraints while using the lowest total landed cost. Tactical optimization allows buyers to make informed choices that make the best use of resources, costs, and time.

Continuous Improvement

Since supply chains are dynamic, demand will change over time. New items will be introduced to the system, and geographic locations may expand or evolve. It’s important to continue evaluating optimization techniques to be ready for improvement at any time. By adding this discipline to your strategy, you will experience better product flow through the supply chain, and develop a business mentality that makes evidence-based informed decisions.

Experimentation

Being agile and flexible are huge assets as an organization. Optimization techniques allow companies to use analytical optimization models to replicate current product movements and cost structures. You can test scenarios in this step such as, “What if demand grows by 20% in a specific market?” and analyze responses.

Improve Your Supply Chain with Lean Supply Solutions

Now that you know the importance of supply chain optimization, you may be wondering how exactly you can achieve it. A fool-proof plan of action is to begin with a robust supply chain management software, which is one of the many advantages of working with a third-party logistics provider. The 3PL provider can help you manage every step of your operations so you can focus on improving other important areas of your business such as sales and marketing. They can help you respond to unexpected challenges so you can save time and money without slowing down your speed and success rate.

If you’re looking for the right company to partner with, Lean Supply Solutions is the answer. We arise to the challenge of meeting our clients’ needs through our services which include product fulfillment, warehousing and distribution, e-commerce fulfillment, warehouse pick and pack, order fulfillment, and more. To learn more about outsourcing to our 3PL distribution team, or to ask any questions, contact us today.

Today’s manufacturing supply chain operations are impacted by efforts to modernize the manufacturing process. These initiatives include automation, integrating cloud-based technologies, incorporating data management tools, and more. Depending on your individual needs as a business, you may need to work with a third-party provider to provide you with these new supply chain management tools and services. Whatever decision you make to scale your business growth, here are some different ways you can optimize your manufacturing process.

Tips for Modernizing the Manufacturing Supply Chain

Focus on Areas that Need Work

There’s no point in spending time improving a process that already works well. Instead of focusing on minor improvements, spend time on innovations that are advanced enough to make a big difference in terms of efficiency and savings. Be prepared for overhauls that will impact your future, instead of inventing solutions that aren’t needed.

Don’t Buy More Than You Need

You may think it’s safer to purchase more materials than you or your customers need, especially if the price is right. However, the cost of storing these extra materials will increase over time. If your customer demand happens to shrink, you will be stuck with inventory you cannot use.

Keep Customer Satisfaction a Priority

As you focus on production rate, don’t forget about customer satisfaction. Speed is very important, but not at the expense of quality. Fast production without a control on quality will impact your customer reputation, branding, inventory flow, and goodwill across the supply chain.

Embrace Flexibility and Ask for Help

Forecasting and budgeting are important, but so is the marketplace. Talk to your vendors and customers about how you can improve or what they appreciate about your business. Monitor your social platforms online as customers write reviews. Read reviews on your products, and check comments on related articles, too. Do what you need to do to get a better understanding of what your customers think of you and how you can do better.

Developing and Optimizing the Supply Chain

Invest in a Cloud ERP

Cloud technologies have been implemented into the supply chain to manage processes better. Cloud enterprise resource planning, or cloud ERPs can make manufacturing operations more efficient, especially when your supply chain works from multiple locations. You can reduce IT and related expenses by outsourcing this element of the supply chain. There are many benefits to incorporating cloud ERPs. It provides increased visibility and standardization, provides real-time supply chain oversight, and makes planning shipments and inventory levels simpler and more accurate.

Focus on Customer Satisfaction

Today’s customers’ decisions are increasingly influenced by the how competitive the price of offers is, the desire for a seamless experience across all channels, an easy returns process, and the ability to receive the product as soon as possible. They also expect real-time visibility into the order cycle and tracking to know where their shipment is at all times until it reaches their door. By offering them multiple purchasing methods and delivery flexibility, you can meet their needs and make your customers happy. To keep your customers shopping from you and trusting you, you will need a supply chain network that is flexible, fast, and profitably responsible.

Improve Inventory Management

By optimizing your supply chain, especially by working with a 3PL provider, you can improve inventory management, fulfillment rates, and product availability. The technology available from these providers allow for more opportunities to collaborate, record and analyze data, and test for optimality in all areas.

Monitoring the Processes

Monitoring your supply chain processes may be too much to handle on your own as your business quickly grows from your focused marketing and sales efforts. In a case like this, a 3PL provider can help you and provide you with full visibility into their services to give you peace of mind and insight. They can provide the technology and software you need to have control over your manufacturing processes. This kind of relationship with your 3PL provider can provide you with the following benefits:

• Improved efficiency in operations by implementing automation
• Increased accuracy by reducing human errors
• Improved quality of products and reduced costs associated with rejects, returns, rework, and defects
• Visibility to understand and control processes before they become expensive problems
• Better use of resources with predictive performance modelling

Get Help Managing Your Manufacturing Process with LSS

There are endless benefits of using either a single software system or a 3PL provider with their full inventory of services to manage all your supply chain operations. More brands have achieved higher operational improvements from working with a 3PL partner than those who haven’t. In fact, the high standards and expectations of customers’ demands means 3PLs need to make a better effort on behalf of businesses like yours to meet their needs. Working with a 3PL partner who provides these solutions can be a time and cost-saving way for you to reap these benefits.

Lean Supply Solutions can help you if you are looking for a 3PL company with the latest technology. We make ourselves aware of the rising trends in the logistics industry and always strive to stay up to date. We commit to being aware of our clients’ operational challenges as they arise and help them get the most out of their supply chain processes. Our 3PL, packaging, and supply chain management can streamline your processes for better success, and by striving to ensure that the right products are provided to the right customers at the right time, we can offer consistent, accurate, and quality results. To learn more about outsourcing to our 3PL distribution team, or to ask any questions, contact us today.

Any business that works in logistics knows of the supply chain transformation that technology has caused. Technology provides unparalleled access to information about what makes supply chains run efficiently, and how optimization and automation can give suppliers a competitive edge in their industries. This incredible level of innovation has led to the creation of the digital supply chain, which is managed by automated system and web or cloud-based solutions. This new supply chain gives businesses the advantage of better collaboration with their suppliers, shippers, and other third-party resources for success. Here’s what you need to know about the evolution of digital supply chain management and how you can get started.

What Is a Digital Supply Chain?

A digital supply chain is built upon Internet-enabled capabilities that improve system integration, connectivity, and information management. Unlike the hybrid model, which uses a mix of paper and IT-enabled processes, digital supply chain management is strictly online. The goal of this system is to enable better insights into the supply chain to boost efficiency, do away with waste, and gain better profits. Companies that use the digital method can move resources, assets, people, and inventory where they need to be faster and make transportation proactive and reduce manufacturing risks. The digital supply chain can monitor data such as inventory levels, consumer interactions with products, carrier locations, and equipment in real-time. GPS tracking, radiofrequency identification (RFID), barcodes, smart labels, wireless sensor networks, and location-based data are all parts of this next-generation supply chain solution.

Technologies That Support Digital Supply Chain Transformation

IoT & AI

The Internet of Things (IoT) has changed how companies can ship materials from the factory to the customer. Sensors are used along with a specific software to track shipments and their conditions at any point in time. This technology remedies problems such as delivery time, climate change, supply and demand, and more. As for artificial intelligence (AI), it can increase profits and productivity, streamline processes, and manage supply chains.

Big Data Analytics

Data comes in from every possible source, but big data needs to be analyzed to be understood and communicated. Various models of analytics provide valuable suggestions to vendors and manufacturers about how customers purchase products. The supply chain is therefore streamlined to avoid many supply chain conflicts.

Blockchain

This distributed database holds records of digital data and makes them resistant to tampering. It secures the supply chain process by tracking a product at each point from manufacturing to the customer. As it tracks all the events in the chain, potential roadblocks can be checked and resolved quickly. Blockchain provides purchase process automation, improved customer engagement, streamlined operations, connectivity, security, transparency, auditability, and more.

Globalization

As manufacturing demands increase around the world, the need for better connection and communication increases. Technology has allowed businesses to connect with others around the world to reach scale and efficiency at a lower cost. Products are now developed for global markets and materials are sourced from global suppliers. This access and flexibility makes the supply chain smoother and works in favour of both the vendor and the consumer.

Robotics

Smart robotics can eliminate low hanging manual processes in distribution centres such as picking and packing. This technology can enable businesses to automate certain processes individually to reduce the complications that come with company-wide automaton. Individual areas of automation will improve warehouse management and lead to a more productive supply chain.

Visibility

Seeing and understanding the activities and events of your partners is one of the advantages of the digital supply chain. End-to-end visibility allows for optimization with multiple key partners.

Cloud Computing

Cloud-based transportation management systems (TMS) allow vendors to connect with the systems of other companies within their transportation network. This allows both parties to see what factors affect the success of their deliveries, costs, and overall performance. This visibility allows companies like yours to create strategies that eliminate or reduce waste (money, resources, time, etc.) and create a system that is efficient.

3D Printing

3D printing is changing the supply chain industry. It works by printing materials or product pieces, layer by layer and combats situations like demand-supply mismatch. Originally, this technology was extremely expensive but the increased accessibility to hardware, software, and raw materials has driven down the cost. Today’s suppliers are now better able to use this technology to maintain their inventory and meet customers’ needs.

Outsource Your Digital Supply Chain Management with 3PL Provider, Lean Supply Solutions

A growing business cannot be properly managed on your own. Most companies who excel with the digital supply chain outsource their processes to a third-party provider while they continue working on sales and marketing. A 3PL provider can help you manage your operations so you can focus on making your business and brand more accessible to your online shoppers. They provide many, if not more, of the advantages above, so you save time and money and speed up your success and revenue. If you’re looking for the right company to partner with, Lean Supply Solutions is the answer. We rise to the challenge of meeting our clients’ needs through our services which include product fulfillment, warehousing and distribution, e-commerce fulfillment, warehouse pick and pack, and order fulfillment. Lean Supply Solutions can offer consistent, accurate, and quality results. To learn more about outsourcing to our 3PL distribution team or to ask any questions, contact us today.

Supply chain risk management is more than a helpful addition to your operations—it is essential to your success in events like natural disasters, unpaid bills, transport disruptions, etc. The purpose of risk management is to prevent issues and provide loss mitigation if risk events do occur. Whether you have no risk management system, a poor risk management system, or a limited risk management system, here’s what you need to know about the benefits of this addition and how it will transform your supply chain for the best.

What Is Supply Chain Risk Management?

The need for supply chain management has never been more popular as more companies are handing over their manufacturing processes to external supply networks that operate on a national or global basis. Working with a third-party logistics (3PL) provider can provide you with shorter production cycles, timely strategies, new technologies, and much more. With a growing network of prospects and increased global dependencies, there is a higher risk that if you slip in one area, you could risk losing customers. These risks can include a shortage of raw materials, production plant failures from natural disasters, strikes, or miscommunications within the supply chain. A reputable 3PL partner can help you navigate these risks and properly manage your supply chain to achieve success. Supply chain risk management benefits the supply chain in the following ways:

• Ensures production and deliveries are functioning optimally
• Avoids profit losses by detecting risks early
• Quick ability to respond to unexpected events
• Safeguards the image of your corporation
• Boosts and maintains customer satisfaction
• Provides useful technology that enables live updates
• Meets and exceeds rules and regulations, and safety standards

New Aspects of Supply Chain Risk Management

More businesses are realizing that risk management creates a strategic competitive advantage and promotes an agile supply chain that works better than ever before. With supply chain risk management, you will be able to outperform your competitors and boost market share when a common risk occurs. You will also be able to reduce uncertainty and strengthen relationships and trust with your prospects. Risk management also continuously detects, optimizes, and reduces risk exposure and cost.

Supply Chain Risk Management Benefits

Stimulates Many Supply Chain Best Practices

Risk management is key in eliminating waste and stimulating other best practices within the supply chain. Wasting resources can add risk to the organization and supply chain, so by planning ahead with a good risk management system, materials can be repurposed to avoid waste.

Early Detection of Risk through Fluid Communication

Preventing a crisis can be done through proper communication. Since 3PL providers integrate technology and management software, visibility and communication are enhanced to keep everyone aware of the flow of materials and products.

Ability to Respond to Unexpected Events

Risk management can help you reduce the complexity of a problem and prevent problems altogether. For example, it begins by identifying what risks might prevent you from getting your products to your customers on time, understanding how badly each risk would hurt your operations, and finding quick solutions to manage the situation.

Maintaining Business Operations

Risks vary from business to business but by considering the worst-case scenario for each situation, solutions can be brought to light in the event they should occur. That way, when risks present themselves, you can continue to run your operations smoothly, without going into panic mode. A 3PL can help you with this, as they have systems in place to ensure everything runs smoothly and that you’re aware of potential risks.

Trust Lean Supply Solutions for Supply Chain Risk Management

Maintaining the delivery of essential goods and services and preventing issues before they occur is a lot of work. It takes time and energy to constantly monitor operations to ensure everything is working at optimum potential. As global markets increase and the supply chain becomes more complex, the need for risk management is stronger than ever.

Lean Supply Solutions can help you if you are looking for a 3PL company with the latest technology and risk management solutions. We make ourselves aware of the rising trends in the logistics industry and always strive to stay up to date. We commit to being aware of our clients’ operational challenges as they arise and help them get the most out of their supply chain processes.

We also monitor operations 24/7 to seek out risky situations and prevent them from occurring. Our 3PL, packaging, and supply chain management can streamline your processes for better success, and by striving to ensure that the right products are provided to the right customers at the right time, we can offer consistent, accurate, and quality results. To learn more about outsourcing to our 3PL distribution team, or to ask any questions, contact us today!