• Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Supplier Directory
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Logout
  • My Profile

  • CORONAVIRUS
  • LOGISTICS
    • Air Cargo
    • All Logistics
    • Express/Small Shipments
    • Facility Location Planning
    • Freight Forwarding/Customs Brokerage
    • Global Gateways
    • Global Logistics
    • Last Mile Delivery
    • Logistics Outsourcing
    • LTL/Truckload Services
    • Ocean Transportation
    • Rail & Intermodal
    • Reverse Logistics
    • Service Parts Management
    • Transportation & Distribution
  • TECHNOLOGY
    • All Technology
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cloud & On-Demand Systems
    • Data Management (Big Data/IoT/Blockchain)
    • ERP & Enterprise Systems
    • Forecasting & Demand Planning
    • Global Trade Management
    • Inventory Planning/ Optimization
    • Product Lifecycle Management
    • Sales & Operations Planning
    • SC Finance & Revenue Management
    • SC Planning & Optimization
    • Sourcing/Procurement/SRM
    • Supply Chain Visibility
    • Transportation Management
  • GENERAL SCM
    • Business Strategy Alignment
    • Education & Professional Development
    • Global Supply Chain Management
    • Global Trade & Economics
    • HR & Labor Management
    • Quality & Metrics
    • Regulation & Compliance
    • SC Security & Risk Mgmt
    • Sustainability & Corporate Social Responsibility
  • WAREHOUSING
    • All Warehouse Services
    • Conveyors & Sortation
    • Lift Trucks & AGVs
    • Order Fulfillment
    • Packaging
    • RFID, Barcode, Mobility & Voice
    • Robotics
    • Warehouse Management Systems
  • INDUSTRIES
    • Aerospace & Defense
    • Apparel
    • Automotive
    • Chemicals & Energy
    • Consumer Packaged Goods
    • E-Commerce/Omni-Channel
    • Food & Beverage
    • Healthcare
    • High-Tech/Electronics
    • Industrial Manufacturing
    • Pharmaceutical/Biotech
    • Retail
  • REGIONS
    • Asia Pacific
    • Canada
    • China
    • Europe
    • Latin America
    • Middle East/Africa
    • North America
  • THINK TANK
  • PODCASTS
  • VIDEOS
  • WHITEPAPERS
Home » Using IT to Elevate The Supply Chain Organization                

Using IT to Elevate The Supply Chain Organization                

March 26, 2008
From Manufacturing Insights Theory & Practice/Kim Knickle

Three professors from Florida State University and North Carolina State University recently released a report on findings from focus groups with top executives at 41 companies. While many of the conclusions seem obvious, they draw attention to the changing nature of the supply chain and supply chain managers, a trend that is magnified in particular segments of the manufacturing industry.

The report begins with the premise that traditionally, supply chain managers acted as the purchasing department for a small, well-defined set of suppliers, with the primary focus on reducing cost. Although the comment doesn't hold true for many supply chain managers, we can back up their statement to some extent with results from our supply chain innovation survey (MI207169 and MI208941), where reducing cost was the first or second priority for the supply chain. And we do agree that supply chain managers are facing tremendous pressures from globalization and the resulting challenges, as we emphasized in our predictions (MI209914). Calculating transportation costs by profitable proximity; re-defining the requirements of the supplier base; learning the ins and outs of global trade, industry regulations, cultural differences, supply chain logistics, and currency fluctuations in other countries; and increasing emphasis on evaluating their company's environmental impact--are all factors raise the level of complexity supply chain managers must address in a global market.

The survey identified the skills or approaches that supply chain managers must use to adapt to new challenges created by globalization:

1. Increasing skills in understanding and applying information technology (IT), both in terms of sharing supply chain information into the company, such as inventory, cost, and date of arrival, as well as sharing information with to partners. The IT approaches identified were electronic procurement/reverse auctions (39%), followed by collaboration and integrated systems with suppliers (38%), and internal systems integration (36%).

2. Global sourcing of products and services, including materials, components, manufacturing,
transportations, and more, with skills prioritized in outsourcing services (40%), global sourcing strategies (23%), and training approaches for global environment (21%).

3. Increasing management and team building skills to take full advantage of a company's partners' skills and capabilities, not just for cost savings , but for new product development, and to support the supply chain organization's more critical role in the overall corporate infrastructure. The skill most often cited in the university research was strategic relationship management (85%), followed by cross-functional or virtual teams (43%), and customer relationship building (33%).

4. Keeping the company's "big-picture" strategy in mind, with skills in strategic cost reduction (63%), greater focus on total cost in supplier selection (46%), differentiating between strategic and tactical orientation (42%), broader general business skills (35%), and supply chain business process focus (34%).

From Manufacturing Insights' perspective, we have no doubt that IT can be the support structure that the supply chain organizations need. It goes without saying that the amount of information supply chains deal with is escalating, and spreadsheets aren't enough to manage the increasing complexity and dynamics of that information as companies operate in a globally competitive market. In the software market, we see signs that the supply chain applications from Oracle and SAP are improving to address these challenges through new integration and new functionality, and services are expanding into new capabilities for outsourcing and global reach, including IBM's new Beijing Supply Chain Innovation Center. But for companies to take advantage of these capabilities, they must acknowledge supply chain's role in transforming their businesses and give their organizations the tools and training they need.
http://www.idc.com

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED VIDEOS

Technology
KEYWORDS Technology
  • Related Articles

    Using RFID to Scan the Manufacturing Supply Chain

    Using the Supply Chain to Chase After Cash

    Using Metrics to Improve the Supply Chain

From Manufacturing Insights Theory & Practice/Kim Knickle

Using IT to Elevate The Supply Chain Organization                

More from this author

Wake up to Coronavirus Updates and the latest Supply Chain News!

Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter

Timely, incisive articles delivered directly to your inbox.

Popular Stories

  • Coronavirus-watch-Armada

    Virus Update: Biden Sees Fast Rollout of J&J Vaccine; Astra CEO Defends Delivery Shortfall

    Coronavirus
  • West Coast Port Congestion

    Shippers Need Alternatives to West Coast Port Congestion

    Logistics
  • Mexico

    The Near-Shoring Trend: Will China’s Loss Be Mexico’s Gain?

    Logistics
  • Robotic automation

    Autonomous Supply Chains Are on the Horizon

    Coronavirus
  • Drugmakers

    Research Lays Groundwork for More U.S.-Made Drugs

    Coronavirus

Digital Edition

Scb feb 2021 lg

2021 Supply Chain Management Resource Guide

VIEW THE LATEST ISSUE

Case Studies

  • Remote Implementation: A Dose of the Right Medicine for B2B Pharmacy

  • LSP Saves Customer $1.5 Million a Year With MPO Global Inbound Management

  • Auto Supplier Wows Key Client Using riskmethods Supply Chain Savvy

  • Integrating Shipping and Compliance Saves Conglomerate Millions

  • How a Consumer Goods Giant Upped Its On-Time Delivery Performance

Visit Our Sponsors

6 River Systems ArcBest Armada
aThingz BluJay Burris Logistics
DSC Logistics DCSA (Digital Container Shipping Association) DHL Resilience360
Genpact Geodis GEP
Honeywell Intelligrated Infor Logility
Magnitude Software MPO Old Dominion
Oliver Wight OpenSky Ports America
Purolator QAD Precision Red Classic
Riskmethods Snapfulfil TGW Systems
Transportation Insights Watson Land Company Westfalia Technologies
Workjam Yang Ming  
  • More From SCB
    • Featured Content
    • Video Library
    • Think Tank Blog
    • SupplyChainBrain Podcast
    • Whitepapers
    • Webinars
  • Digital Offerings
    • Digital Issue
    • Subscribe
    • Manage Your Subscription
    • Newsletters
  • Resources
    • Events Calendar
    • SCB's Great Supply Chain Partners
    • Supplier Directory
    • Case Study Showcase
    • Supply Chain Innovation Awards
    • 100 Great Partners Form
  • SCB Corporate
    • Advertise on SCB.COM
    • About Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact Us
    • Data Sharing Opt-Out

All content copyright ©2021 Keller International Publishing Corp All rights reserved. No reproduction, transmission or display is permitted without the written permissions of Keller International Publishing Corp

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing