Sajid Mohammed, CTO, Shipwaves Online, makes the case for coordination and the seamless integration of tailored technologies in an integrated supply chain.
Imagine trying to win a game of football without coordination, communication, and strategy among the players; will winning be possible? Quite unlikely!
A supply chain is no different than a game of football with various players working towards a common goal of improving response time, reducing Turn Around Time (TAT), costs, waste, and other parameters. When the same supply chain is transformed using an integrated approach, tangible and visible benefits can be observed.
An integrated supply chain works together as a complete system while its individual functions are performed. Just like a game of football, the success of a supply chain therefore largely depends on each of these functions or players.
The need for integrating technologies in an Integrated Supply Chain
Most organizations have several applications catering to various functions or geographic locations which provide information vital in helping the supply chain run effortlessly. All these applications may be specialized and irreplaceable in their own domain but may not provide end-to-end visibility.
For example, ERP is an integrated business management system for all the basic operational processes related to cash flow, order processing, capacity management, accounting, and other critical functions.
Though they are adequate to manage core business processes, they may lack complete functionalities to manage end to end supply chain operations. The organization may use a separate Order Management System (OMS) and a Warehouse Management System (WMS) that supports and optimizes the management of warehouse and distribution functions.
There is a growing need for the seamless flow of data or information from supply chain functions by bringing together the ERP, OMS, Freight Management Systems (FMS), WMS, logistics, and data visualization applications to provide a truly integrated supply chain. Such integrations would enhance interaction between cross-organizational functions.
To enhance operational efficiency, businesses are aggressively focusing on implementing technologies that enable bringing data and information together in one location.
The Benefits of Integration
Integrating various applications will translate into specific benefits as follows:
Increased visibility across the transportation value chain: Enhanced visibility over shipment locations is important to determine their status. The location data derived can be translated to critical transportation intelligence, which unlocks deeper insights that drive business transformation and affects overall supply chain performance.
Improved efficiency: Pre-negotiated rates, which are stored in rate engines, can be accessed and compared to display various price options and get insights. With functionalities like bid analysis, the financial impact of a carrier selection can be assessed, thus making the choice of a carrier simpler.
Improved transportation planning: Better data quality and analytics achieved by integrating ERP and TMS equate to better planning and forecasting capabilities. Considering factors like capacity and route optimization, better shipment consolidation can be guaranteed.
Enhanced overall supply chain performance: Standardization of processes resulting from an integrated supply chain improves logistics processes and functions across the organization. The integration of systems facilitates the seamless real-time flow of information that helps handle disruptions methodically.
Effective collaboration with partners: A smooth and transparent exchange of information is also facilitated with customers, vendors, and partners, thus enabling a collaborative approach towards business
Cost savings: Through invoice and purchase-sales order integration, invoice audits can be automated. These audits enable significant cost savings for the companies that can be directly added to the bottom line.
The Approach
Although APIs (Application Programming Interface) or EDIs (Electronic Data Interchange) have led the integration of electronic information between systems for a long time, other methods of integration are now catching up.
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is now garnering substantial attention with its advanced capabilities. RPA facilitates a non-intrusive kind of integration that leverages existing infrastructure without disrupting underlying systems. This is also preferred where the organizations look for fast and cost-effective methods of integration.
Some of the new age Digital Supply Chain SaaS companies like Shipwaves have built platforms to bridge the gap using custom integration solutions without replacing any legacy IT applications.
The seamless multi-modal visibility
A good solution provides the multi-modal visibility of shipments moving across the supply chain-from the factory to the destination warehouse through various transportation modes. It aims to provide the seamless flow of information by orchestrating various processes from pre-shipment to in-transit to post-shipment activities.
Carefully defining specific situational goals will help with effective vetting of the systems. Evolving technologies such as Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence will require such integrated systems that communicate with them. An integrated system must match with business needs, therefore carefully listing the business needs will go a long way in identifying the integrations that will help a particular business.
It demands a paradigm shift in conventional business processes and reimagining how technology can play a major role to derive maximum benefits. Integrated supply chains are the next step to guaranteeing more efficiency, versatility, and agility. At Shipwaves we are committed to make it all happen.
