Is Your Supply Chain As Efficient As It Could Be?
Save time and money with a little tweaking…
A supply chain is basically the links between vehicles, people, technology, information and managers that connects a supplier to a buyer. Think about where all of the products you use every day come from: these have all travelled along a supply chain to get to the shop or wherever it is you got them from.<br/><br/> An inefficient supply chain will include unnecessary steps that that end up delaying the arrival of goods or cost the supplier more than it should. Without a proper supply chain audit problems with supply chains can go unchecked for years and end up costing a great deal more than they need to.<br/><br/> Imagine your business was a restaurant and you found that customers kept complaining that food was cold. A supply chain audit would discover that it was because the food had to be carried up 2 flights of stairs to reach the dining room. This could be solved by installing a heated lift that can quickly carry food upstairs and keep it warm, resulting in happier customers and more return business. There is almost always a way to make your supply chain more efficient which should naturally save your business time or money or both.<br/><br/> So what can you explore to see if your supply chain is working efficiently?<br/><br/> Local Sourcing<br/><br/> Where do you source your supplies from? If you order your products or components from the others side of the world you can be assured that this significantly slows down your supply chain thanks to the travel time and incurs a greater cost for fuel. By ordering from a local supplier you may have to pay more per item but you will cut costs elsewhere and it will be easier to order replacements if the supplier is located nearby.<br/><br/> Logistics Technology<br/><br/> By taking advantage of supply chain execution software or distribution solutions software you will be able to track your supply chain accurately and easily see where improvements can be made. You can normally use this software to track vehicles as well as individual pallets or units. You can also produce reports which give you an easy way of looking at the efficiency of your supply chain down to the last percentage.<br/><br/> Supply Chain Manager<br/><br/> The only way to really keep on top of your supply chain is to employ a full time supply chain manager. Their job will be to keep a constant eye on every part of the chain, be always testing the way things are running and to make regular recommendations on changes you can make to increase efficiency.<br/><br/><br/><br/>
About the Author
Sam Qam is a supply chain execution designer. He provides distribution solutions to a number of major transportation companies in the UK.
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