Innovative Solutions Trumps Tech in Supply Chain

In a world riddled with unprecedented challenges and a race to satisfy customers that borders on the extreme, it is innovative solutions that would get your supply chain over the hump.

We have all been led to believe technology is the answer, and with good reason. More businesses than ever are leveraging technology; it is even more pronounced in logistics and supply chain operations. If you think about it, why won’t they?

Technology has done wonders for the modern logistics and supply chain era.?

Despite rising complexities, businesses can leverage tech solutions to streamline and optimize supply chain operations. The outcomes have been incredible. However, in a world where supply chains are now competing with themselves and leveraging the best tech solutions on the planet, it is clear that some innovative thinking is necessary.?

Innovative solutions are more broader, encompassing novel strategies, processes, and mindsets that can shape your supply chain for success.

In this newsletter, I will share seven reasons why you should embrace it.

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1. Tailored to Specific Needs

We all know supply chains sometimes have problems, but that doesn't mean technology is always the solution.

Don't get me wrong, you would probably need technology to resolve the problem, but when you have carefully analyzed it, you can better develop custom solutions. This way, you can milk the tech for all it is worth. For example, leveraging a scheduling software would only help automate vehicle planning and coordination, but if the driver’s mindset is wrong, you will end up right back where you started with late deliveries and missed deadlines.

In that case, it is hard to argue that the technology worked for the supply chain.

With innovative solutions, you want to identify the problem. But more importantly, you want to identify how you can customize the generic tech solution to suit your current needs. Doing it this way ensures the supply chain actually improves.

Don't waste money on tech if you have not identified the uniqueness of your problem and how you can manipulate the tech to change it.

2. Integrating Human Expertise and Technology

For all the talk of technology taking over, people keep forgetting that customers are humans, not machines.

Only humans can effectively serve humans. Yes, technology can make it much more interesting, but the two must be integrated. That means leveraging human expertise, critical thinking, and creativity alongside technological solutions.

For instance, while a supply chain leverages technology solutions to capture relevant insights such as quality control, lead times, and working conditions, it still needs people to interpret the data and make the decisions.

Sounds simple enough, right? But if you have ever encountered a situation where different people draw different conclusions from the same data or, worse, do not understand the insights, then you would realize the necessity of having trained professionals with an adequate understanding of the business's background to make such decisions. It is easy to dismiss people and innovative solutions until no one can make sense of the technology's data and insights.

3. Agility and Adaptation

The business climate is constantly changing. Today, demands are down because inflation is up, and tomorrow, there are Houthis on the Red Sea.

Technology solutions will not just make the supply chain more adaptable to market fluctuations. It will take strategic thinking and positioning aided by technology. Through innovation, a business can easily spot strategies for continuously improving various processes across the supply chain, making it less susceptible to the volatile market.

An example of this would be leveraging third-party logistics providers to reduce investments in logistics infrastructure and improve the business's scalability.

Other strategic moves supply chains have taken to navigate the fluctuating market are collaborative procurement, adapting lean strategies for streamlining the supply chain, and improving sustainability practices across the board. This way, many supply chains have been able to reduce cost of operations, become much more flexible, and gain a competitive edge with customers.?

4. Holistic Problem-Solving

Although there have been many advancements in technology, it is still largely focused on automating and improving individual tasks.

However, as supply chain professionals, we know that the root of most problems is not task inefficiency. Supplier relationships, for example, can be quite a drag under the wrong circumstances. However, with the right approach and integrations of unique models, especially those built on the foundation of other successful models, they can be improved.

Technology would have very little to do with it.

When trying to solve a problem holistically, it is important to think beyond the technological advancements that will help. Think about how to combine the relevant tech solution with operational adjustments, process optimization, and collaboration between stakeholders involved in the supply chain. This way, the solution is much more balanced and impactful.

5. Sustainability and Resilience

Did you know that, on average, logistics and supply chain operations account for 92% of an organization's greenhouse gas emissions?

That is a lot and makes the supply chain a significant contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions. In a climate where stakeholders are increasingly alarmed about such numbers, the solution will not lie in merely leveraging technology solutions. Each business, even those within the same industry has unique processes, therefore requiring unique solutions.

Although there are basics such as using sustainable fuel and better packaging materials, one organization's sustainability strategy will rarely work on a much larger scale for another.

This is why innovative solutions are necessary. With it, more supply chains can drive sustainability and resilience. Some examples of innovative sustainability solutions include circular supply chains, waste-reduction programs, or demand forecasting.

Always remember that the balance integrates creative thinking and technological advancements

6. Cost Effective and Resourceful

Technology can be expensive, and more advanced solutions can be more complex, necessitating expertise that costs money.

The truth is that not all supply chains can afford that, especially those of a smaller nature. Yet they have to compete, and that is when innovative solutions become so much more important. These supply chains can leverage it to accomplish more with less, relying on creativity to stretch resources, improve processes, and reduce waste.

Every day, supply chains find cost-effective ways to improve various processes without heavily investing in technology.?

However, as supply chains become more complex, this might become more complicated to manage. The trick is to continuously focus on innovatively approaching the smaller stuff. They can pull more weight than you imagine.

7. Enhanced Collaboration and Culture

It is true that technology has improved collaborative efforts through the use of various solutions, such as IoT, blockchain, ERP, WMS, and TMS, among others.

But do you know what is also true? All these solutions would contribute very little if the culture of collaboration wasn't already present. Through innovative solutions, more stakeholders (internal and external) can imbibe the culture of communication, leading to more seamless collaboration between the two fractions.

By focusing on innovative solutions, more of these stakeholders can think beyond technological tools and adopt a problem-solving mindset and continuous improvement, which is infinitely more interesting for supply chain management.?

This can also foster collaboration between competitors, an example of which is collaborative procurement.?

Final Thought

Innovative solutions and technologies are not enemies.

The article clearly demonstrates that they implement each other. The only problem is that with technological advancements, especially those of the AI kind, more businesses are clamoring for tech integrations into the supply chain under the premise that it will solve their problems. But technology is a tool that is only as strong as the wielder.

Don’t you know that the same tech and process will produce different outcomes for different organizations?

Innovative solutions trump technology, but always remember that the trick is to integrate both.

P.S: it is clear that supply chain management is a moving train. Subscribe here for earlier insights on how you can optimize it. It is free!