A look at how supply chains can bring together data, planning and execution, with Christine Barnhart, head of industry engagement with Miebach, and Andrew Driscoll, commercial lead-life sciences with OMP.

For years, says Barnhart, companies managed their data, technology and business processes in silos. Even artificial intelligence couldn’t address the problem — “it allows you to get to the wrong answer faster.”

What’s needed now is for companies to step back and view the big picture. What kind of a strategy and plan are they devising “that works in real life”?

Driscoll says companies are moving from breaking down process silos to doing the same for data. The goal is to acquire real-time updates from physical facilities, in order to properly plan and execute.

Barnhart says that holistic approach might require help from outside specialists, if companies lack the skillsets, experience and knowledge to tackle the problem at that level.

How, then, to begin bringing data planning and execution together? “You can’t just snap your fingers and solve the problem,” says Barnhart. Multiple managers from across the organization must come together to draw up a roadmap of the company’s present state and where it wants to be in the years ahead. “You’re not going to go from zero to the most mature and productive organization overnight.”

The combined effort must include a comprehensive look at key performance indicators, both at the macro and micro level, Driscoll says. The key is to facilitate communications and process improvement at each stage of the supply chain, so that operations in the warehouse don’t negatively impact the manufacturing plant, and vice-versa.

Barnhart and Driscoll both recommend, however, that companies start small, and avoid making massive investments in technology and process change that affect all aspects of the organization simultaneously.