Optimized Supply Chain processes -Tobi Abimbola
Description
Without Supply Chain, it is near impossible to achieve globalization. Improvements in Supply Chain processes have helped manufacturers and industries expand, increasing profit by enabling access to low cost raw materials and supply of finished products to global markets. As the world becomes increasingly smaller, Supply Chain is the connecting force bringing the world closer together, promoting industrial growth. enabling industrialization and facilitating globalization.
As Supply Chain management stretches through the entire manufacturing process from material sourcing to product delivery, optimizations at different stages of the Supply Chain process will invariably lead to a more efficient manufacturing and can ultimately change the way we produce things. Designs to make Supply Chain efficient can affect where Plants and industries are located, which material is easier to process or readily available. Types of materials available can affect how plants are designed and how manufacturing is done.
Other factors like warehouse location and lifecycle of products can also after where goods are manufactured and stored. Decisions to reduce carbon emission in the Supply Chain processes can also affect manufacturing, giving rise to planning the most efficient supply chain route and factory and warehouse locations. In some cases plants will be located in areas with cleaner energies, designed to be more energy efficient and even located in regions with cleaner and greener raw materials.
As discussed above, the supply chain process is the heart of manufacturing, it starts, stays through production and also ends production lifecycle. Optimizing supply chain is invariably optimizing the manufacturing process. It can significantly change the way we produce things.
Enablers
Increased global demand and population: Growing demand will require improvement in supply chain if the demands are to be fully met. Continually expanding supply chain processes to accommodate market growth and expansion will ultimately lead to optimization of the supply chain processes. Increase in population also leads to increase in demand of goods generally which also makes industries optimize the supply chain to meet the growing demands.
Improved global spending power: The average middle class family is growing globally especially in developing countries. This growth is contributing to the increased number of global population with money to spend, which means more consumers and more demand for products and services from manufacturers and consequently leading to push to optimize the supply chain process.
Advancements in technologies: Technological advancements like supersonic aircrafts, faster ships and modernized railway infrastructures can accelerate the optimization of supply chain processes. Reducing cost and time, and enabling more products to be shipped per trip which will help improve efficiency of the supply chain process. Also, automated warehousing is getting more popular, reducing the lead time
Optimized transportation: Improved transportation connectivity can lead efficient transportation which is one of the cores of supply chain. Hence, a good transportation network will aid the optimization of supply chain process.
E-Commerce: with current explosive boom in e-commerce, more and more people globally are having access to products produced all over the world. Items are procured and received online irrespective of the product location. Warehouses are strategically located to aid increasing demands. Ease of access to online stores means more and more people are buying and demands are increasing, making manufacturers re-invent the entire supply chain processes.
Inhibitors
War and Conflicts: Conflicts disrupts economic activities and make moat affected regions inaccessible. Demand falls due to conflicts and lack of economic activities. More and more people in those regions will have less access to funds to procure products or services.
Global pandemic: Pandemics disrupts transportation and logistics which in effect causes delays, due to reduced port activities, reduced available manpower in warehouses, factories and ports, leading to uncertainly long lead times. Also, causing backlogs and unfulfilled orders.
Economic issues: Economic depression or meltdowns will lead to reduced spending power and less demands, which will give no incentive for the manufacturers or businesses to optimize the supply chain process.
Paradigm
The world is seen to be more connected and smaller due to efficient supply chain networks. The more efficient a supply chain network is the more connected the world seems and the smaller it is viewed. As timing and cost to produce and move materials an finished product will be greatly reduced.
Experts
International procurement and supply chain management institute https://www.ipscmi.org/ Institute of supply chain management https://www.ioscm.com/
Timing
Advancements in supply chain began with the great industrialization in the era of mass production, championed by the likes of Henry Ford in a bid to get low cost supplies globally. Done mostly by sea freight and detailed planning because of the long sea travel requirements.
Web Resources
https://www.selecthub.com/supply-chain-management/5-areas-supply-chain-optimization-improves/ https://online.maryville.edu/blog/global-supply-chain-management/ https://www.researchgate.net/publication/225778148_Global_Optimization_in_Supply_Chain_Operationshttps://www.omnisci.com/technical-glossary/supply-chain-optimization