Is it Time For a Supply Chain Evaluation?

According to Cornerstone’s Founder, Brian Carlson, the key challenges facing Cornerstone customers today are the same challenges everyone in the supply chain space is facing.

“Capacity is tight, products are stuck in ports around the country, transporting goods from said ports to their final destination is increasingly challenging, and there never seems to be enough time or labor to get everything done.”

Over the past two years, most companies have experienced tremendous changes in terms of customers, suppliers, and product assortments. Carlson states, “Many of our customers’ businesses look nothing like they did 5 years ago, or even two years ago.” This has left many companies with logistics networks full of blind spots or redundancies which makes now?a really good time for a Supply Chain Evaluation.

What is a Supply Chain Evaluation?

A supply chain evaluation is a process that gives you a chance to determine what changes, if any, are needed to best optimize your supply chain network. At a very high level, you’ll discover:?

• How effectively your network is operating
• If your costs are moving in the right direction
• If your customer service is working for or against you
• And much more.

A supply chain evaluation will examine inventory positioning, your distribution facility footprint, and the transportation that links your facilities to both customers and suppliers.

What do you get with a Supply Chain Evaluation?

With a Supply Chain Evaluation, you’ll get a well-defined set of suggested improvements and actions to apply those improvements to your operations. We’ll use your data to conduct an extensive review of your supply chain with a focus on a variety of categories, like:

• Current and future supply chain demands: We’ll provide a birds-eye-view of your current supply chain structure highlighting strengths and weaknesses to create a guide for an updated structure that aligns with your growth goals.???
• Long-range planning and forecasting: We’ll analyze the data available to determine what plan works best for you today and present different scenarios of what to expect in the future.?
• Strategic analysis: We’ll assess your current strategy, vet the various alternatives available to you, and make a recommendation based on what our experts believe to be the right path to your success.???????????????
• Inventory allocation and flow strategies: We’ll perform a distribution network analysis to determine the impact of relocating or closing facilities in your current network.
• Shipment optimization: We’ll look at your shipping costs and present options to reduce them while still meeting business needs.???????
• Transportation analysis: We’ll analyze supplier density, shipping frequency, shipment characteristics, current-carrier mix, rate structures, service metrics, and asset availability to uncover opportunities to lower transportation costs while improving service.
• Supplier audit: We’ll look into whether your suppliers are filling purchase orders on time and efficiently and make recommendations for improvements.

What are the benefits of a Supply Chain Evaluation?

For starters, when done correctly, a Supply Chain Evaluation will help you manage a stronger and healthier supply chain, one that is better aligned with your overall business goals. The data obtained will provide insight into improvement opportunities, deliver a roadmap for making recommended changes, and equip you to track your progress along the way.?

Depending on the changes made, you can expect to see lower inventory and infrastructure costs, improved customer satisfaction, and in some cases a decreased carbon footprint. Doesn’t that sound good? With a new year right around the corner, now is a great time to focus on making your supply chain a competitive differentiator. Take the first step by contacting us to learn more about a Supply Chain Evaluation.?