Comprehensive SCM Review & Evaluation

So, 2019 now lies ahead – brand new year, brand new challenges and opportunity, brand new budget. Have you thought about using some of your logistics budget to have your supply chain reviewed and assessed by experienced and qualified industry experts?

Why should we have our Supply Chain Assessed?

A properly optimized and managed supply chain can serve as a major competitive advantage for your organization. Many businesses place a lot of emphasis on the cost advantage they have over competitors (e.g. lower prices and production/procurement costs) but fail to also look at the potential value advantage created by good supply chain management.

Effective SCM reduces wasteful expenditure on slow-moving, damaged, lost, or stolen goods, and creates a lot of customer goodwill by having the right goods in stock, locatable, and delivered quickly and accurately.

Elements of a Supply Chain Review and Assessment

To highlight areas of potential improvement, a variety of factors should be thoroughly investigated, analyzed, and evaluated, including:

• The design and layout of warehouse(s), including receiving and dispatching facilities, as well as any other company/industry-specific materials-handling areas.
• Current materials-handling equipment
• Automation systems and technology solutions
• Processes and workflows, i.e. receiving, put-away, storage, picking, packing, dispatching, and any other relevant processes, including benchmarking and employee efficiency management
• Training processes and standards
• Overall inventory management processes
• The use and management of third-party service providers (e.g. transport contractors)

The Benefits

Some of the many benefits of having seasoned experts assess your supply chain, recommend solutions to problem areas, and suggest ways to make working systems and processes even better are:

• Greater overall efficiency
• Cost savings
• More up-to-date equipment and technology solutions (to keep the logistics function competitive)
• A better value proposition for the company, its customers, and other stakeholders