How can you improve supply chain management through effective management consulting strategies?

Supply Chain Management must be based on a Strategy to Digitize as much as possible in order to optimize the processes. You need lots of Internet of Things (IoT) technology devices and AI applications. As well, you can then set up a Digital Twin process to allow remote management.

One possible alternative to SWOT analysis is SCORE analysis, which stands for Strengths, Challenges, Options, Responses, and Effectiveness. This tool is more action-oriented and proactive than SWOT, as it considers the current and future states of your organization, the impacts and returns of your actions, and the ways to make your initiative work efficiently and reliably.

I completely agree! Making decisions and putting improvement ideas into action require a thorough understanding of your present supply chain management (SCM) landscape. Benchmarking, gap analysis, SWOT analysis, and value chain analysis are all useful techniques for understanding your opportunities, threats, weaknesses, and strengths. Furthermore, collecting and analyzing appropriate information offers a data-driven method for identifying problem areas and evaluating the success of your supply chain management strategies.

In my opinion the most important thing is to know exactly what you want to achieve with the assessment. There are a lot of tools which are cross-disciplinary and can be unconventionally applied to remedy the situation. In the assessment process one must seek various goals: means to get price reduction, diversification, alternatives, etc. and that by all means also requires different approach to the situation.

Implement technologies like IoT, RFID, and advanced analytics to provide real-time visibility into the entire supply chain. Use data analytics to track and analyze key performance indicators (KPIs) throughout the supply chain.

Defining your SCM Strategy is a crucial task. The following steps can assist in this process: Immediate Actions: These are the most critical as they set the initial tone for change and demonstrate the value being added. Promptly addressing common customer complaints should be a priority. Utilize the Six Sigma DMAIC process to Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control. Identifying the root cause of problems is key. Collaborate with your team members for diverse perspectives before finalizing decisions. Short-Term: Develop strategies that progressively build on immediate actions, focusing on enhancing customer satisfaction and streamlining processes. Long-Term : Plan for sustainable growth and continuous improvement in your supply chain.

En la industria automotriz, es una práctica habitual hace muchísimo tiempo, el fortalecer la cadena de abastecimiento. El concepto es tan simple como que los productos de los proveedores (insumos) impactan en la calidad del producto final. Además hay cuestiones como tiempos de entrega, cumplimiento con órdenes de compra, manejo de cambios de especificaciones y muchas más, que si no hay una buena gestión del lado del proveedor, complica la producción inevitablemente. Una buena estrategia es crear checklist con los requisitos que se espera que cumplan los proveedores, enviárselos y luego auditarlos. También sirve ayudarlos a desarrollarse desde lo económico (préstamos a tasas blandas) o asegurando compras planificadas.

SCM strategy and design have been traditionally approached for robustness and fool proof , incident proof , disruption proof functioning. To the contrary SCM strategy and design based on baked in instability on every major function can be effective , resilient and responsive as a system- one that’s a distant possibility otherwise.

Another step is to embrace digital transformation, which is the integration of advanced technologies such as IoT, AI, ML, blockchain, and 3D printing into your SCM processes and operations. You should leverage these technologies to enhance your supply chain capabilities, such as visibility, agility, resilience, and sustainability. You should also explore new business models and opportunities that these technologies enable, such as predictive maintenance, localized production, and circular economy. Your digital transformation should be aligned with your customer needs, business strategy, and competitive advantage. You should also foster a culture of innovation, collaboration, and learning among your supply chain stakeholders.

As I already mentioned it is always important to define what is the most important for the company's competitive advantage. I clearly has to be integrated with production and even sales strategy. For example if Sales strategy is oriented towards customer service which requires immediate product availability and production is prepared to serve every customer order to go - most likely your supply strategy must be based on supply channel diversity, not the lowest price.

Focus on QUALITY & RELIABILITY as underlying minima for all functions of SCM and build tradeoff scenarios for the functions for an effective , resilient and responsive supply chain management system.

Other important step is foster a culture of innovation, which is the mindset and behavior that encourages and supports creativity, experimentation, and learning in your supply chain organization. You should cultivate a culture of innovation by empowering your employees, rewarding your innovators, collaborating with your partners, and engaging with your customers. You should also leverage advanced technologies, such as IoT, AI, ML, blockchain, and 3D printing, to enable and enhance your innovation capabilities. Some examples of SCM innovation outcomes are developing new products or services, creating new business models or revenue streams, solving complex problems or challenges, and achieving operational excellence or differentiation.

The most important Improvement initiatives within SCM is defining customer response time. The main reason behding inception of SCM is centralize response. 1. When customer call or send email asking order satus check how response is given and how much time we are taking 2. When Vendor call or Send email asking Quotation , Order or Payment status how response is given and how much time we are taking 3. When project call or send Email asking RFQ,,Material status how response is given and how much time we are taking. How Data, Document and Communication are being managed Define how SCM is managing the operation.

You have to establish solid KPIs to measure the performance of your SCM. The key is mechanisms in place to assure that you can have zero backorder wait time, this is the equivalent of six sigma (6 defects per million parts). You want to ensure that your customers are not waiting cause you are waiting, so you must constantly review the metrics of order points and refine that so that you hit the sweet spot where inventory (and expected outflow in peak times) are in synch and your replacement inventory is ordered with enough lead time to ensure you are not "stocking up" nor running out unexpectedly.

Innovate and transform your SCM capabilities, which is the process of leveraging advanced technologies to create value and competitive advantage for your supply chain organization and to enhance your supply chain processes and operations, such as visibility, agility, resilience, and sustainability. You should also explore various business models, such as predictive maintenance, localized production, and circular economy, to generate new revenue streams and customer satisfaction for your supply chain products and services. Based on your innovation and transformation, you should monitor and evaluate the impacts and returns of your initiatives, as well as the risks and challenges that may arise,to ensure your SCM is future-ready and adaptable.

Establish KPI for collecting crucial data. But do not stop with that, as there can be many kinds of data, in my opinion, it is also helpful to implement analytics. Data visualization not only helps to see information at a glance, bit also a picture is quicker to grasp.