Supply chains are complex and changeable. If they’re neither sufficiently flexible nor adaptable, warehouses can find themselves struggling to keep up.
Real-time supply chain visibility is about unleashing the potential of technology to support warehousing operations.
The Importance of Data in Supply Chains
Data is core to a successful supply chain. How different organisations collect, interpret and act on this data determines the efficiency of the movement, storage and delivery of goods.
Modern supply chain operations, from inventory to logistics, depend on efficient processes.
Access to data in real time can help identify problem areas and bottlenecks in all parts of the supply chain that can cause inefficiencies to creep in.
This informed interrogation of data applies at different stages, such as:
Identifying buying trends and calculating forecasts is no longer dependent on looking at older data from previous quarters or years. With dedicated software, this can now be up-to-the-minute.
For stock inventory and logistics, data provides a similar snapshot of current supply levels and customer demand.
Customer expectations are that they can order goods on demand and expect prompt reliable delivery. Data enables these things too.
This data is all connected and interdependent. Buying trends help in decision-making for storage, logistics and order fulfilment, for example.
Integrated information is central to real-time supply chain visibility. This visibility should be at the heart of modern, efficient supply chain management strategies.
This includes warehouse management systems and operations.
Supply Chain Visibility in the Modern Warehouse
The warehouse is a crucial link in the supply chain. It ensures that the customer receives their goods on time and in excellent condition.
The role of the warehouse has become even more critical with the growth of online ordering and shopping. There is now an established expectation from many customers that they will receive goods they order in shorter timescales.
It follows that warehousing requires the same sort of high-level visibility and data management as other parts of the supply chain.
Not only does this increased visibility support optimised warehouse management, but it also supports better, more efficient inventory management across supply chains.
The well-managed warehouse needs this visibility to extend across all its operations and infrastructure. This includes vital audits for health and safety and other indispensable processes and procedures.
The Warehouse Auditor app gives warehouse staff a set of advanced tools for managing both workspace and workflow.
The app enables them to incorporate these tools into a single handheld device such as a tablet or smartphone.
The immediate and long-term benefits are:
Supply chain visibility can only be truly effective if it includes warehousing alongside other stages in the supply chain.
Operations management in Manufacturing and Warehousing is at the forefront of change, utilising modern technologies as well as disciples to not only address the latest string of operational challenges, but also keep organisations running like a well-oiled machine, all the while maximising both productivity and profitability.
The main goal of any businesses engaged in manufacturing, warehousing, and logistics is to improve the accuracy of order fulfilment, minimise operational costs, and optimise resource allocation. The advent of digitalisation and other disruptive technologies in warehouse management and logistics, which we’ll be discussing shortly, have paved the way for businesses in the sector to increase revenues and improve operational efficiencies across the board – among other things.
Paperless manufacturing is revolutionising the way factories now manage, coordinate, and report various activities through the use of digital tools. Digitalisation or digital disruption has proven to be an effective strategy for more streamlined work order management, for example, helping organisations maintain quality standards, all the while ensuring that they are on top of compliance matters.
Supply chain sustainability refers to effectively managing the social, economic, and environmental factors within an organisation’s supply chain. A very important aspect of this sustainability initiative is recognising and acknowledging the link between a manufacturing company and the broader ecosystem they may be impacting – and then coming up with responsible business practices to make all aspects of the supply chain sustainable.
As we eagerly look to a bright and productive year ahead, the UK’s logistics sector is at a bit of crossroads, so to speak, poised for disruption amid a backdrop of regulatory shifts, technological evolution, and global economic dynamics.
In a recent report released by The Manufacturers’ Organisation, half of the companies surveyed are upping their investment in automation technologies, especially AI and ML, with almost ¾ of companies now spending more openly on automation across multiple technologies and functions – from product design and development to manufacturing and warehousing operations.
Organisations working in high-risk industries like manufacturing, warehousing, supply chain, and logistics, are well aware of the risks and potential hazards their workers face each day. Unfortunately, despite their best efforts, many businesses do not have the appropriate health and safety controls to minimise risk and hazards at the workplace.
According to an HSE report, around 54,000 workers are involved in non-fatal accidents in the manufacturing sector each year. Most of the injuries they suffer are a direct result of manual handling accidents, trips, slips, and falls, contact with moving machinery, and being struck by moving objects.
It is estimated that the logistics industry will grow at a CAGR of 10-12%, reaching a value of $380 million by 2025. A large driver of this growth will be technology and automation – from robotics and the Internet of Things (IoT) to artificial intelligence (AI), better integration of the various ecosystems involved, digitisation of processes, and more.
Supply chain inspections often prove to be a challenge, even for leading, well-established companies. However, standardisation has now become one of the chief methods of optimising the greater supply chain and ensuring that all managers, departments, and teams are on the same page.
Interested in simplifying your health and safety inspections, enhance compliance and boost efficiency?
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