Maintaining a functional, efficient supply chain can be a never-ending task for some companies. Supply chains are inherently complex and face a myriad of issues and challenges along the way.
Most consumers who experience issues with quality or delivery do not immediately think ‘this is a supply chain problem.’ Rather, they attribute it to the inefficiency of the company, the lack of organization and the issues they face as a result. This is why supply chains must work smoothly and efficiently.
While supply chain inefficiencies may seem like a business problem, it is, in fact, largely a customer problem. To customers, it rarely matters what the cause or logistics of a delay – they know that they paid for express delivery and they did not receive their parcel in time.
There are some industries where this might not necessarily be relevant, such as gold. However, even most gold supply chains eventually become customer-facing.
So, how can we fix inefficient supply chains, and improve our customer satisfaction in the process?
What’s causing the supply chain problem?
There are a myriad of reasons that supply chains may be functioning poorly. Some of these include:
- Inefficient data tracking systems
- Poor supply chain visibility
- Unproductive systems that are cost and time ineffective
Poor visibility into the supply chain means that when something goes wrong, it’s almost impossible to pinpoint the cause. If a product is mislaid, it can be difficult to find out where or how – instead, the data is lost or impossible to find.
Poor visibility and inefficient tracking also means that when there’s a problem, such as wrong measurements or incorrect recording, it can be very arduous to find out where, exactly, things are going wrong.
How can we solve it?
Proper supply chain visibility starts with an organized system, better technology and improved data analytics.
How, exactly, you go about implementing this is largely up to what works best for your company. Many software solutions (such as our platform STAMP Supply) offer efficient data tracking through a variety of technology such as data automation and blockchain technology. However, this is may not work if you do not have the adequate procedures in place.
This means ensuring that vendors and contractors input the correct data, and that it is detectable if there are anomalies in the supply chain. It also means that your company has a plan of action when something goes wrong.
So, you might be able to pinpoint where a delivery has been mislaid through tracking; however, your company must have adequate procedures to tackle and deal with the problem, and implement processes in the future to deter from it happening again.
Unfortunately, technology can’t solve all our problems – but it can definitely help.
STAMP Supply is Blockhead’s blockchain-enabled platform bringing traceability into supply chains. To find out more, click here.