• 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 » Blogs » Think Tank » Why Automation Belongs in Your Post-Pandemic Strategy

Think Tank
Think Tank RSS FeedRSS

Technology / Data Management (Big Data/IoT/Blockchain) / Artificial Intelligence / Global Supply Chain Management / All Warehouse Services / Robotics

Why Automation Belongs in Your Post-Pandemic Strategy

January 24, 2021
Ray Grady, SCB Contributor

The effects of COVID-19 have forced many companies to reimagine their operations. Between increased orders, customer inquiries, shipping delays, government regulations and remote workforces, supply-chain disruptions are becoming commonplace in the new normal.

How can business leaders restore stability? One powerful method is supply-chain automation. 

A Less-Is-More Approach

In a crisis like COVID-19, there are many outcomes well beyond business leaders’ control. However, when it comes to the supply chain, leaders can impact one critical area: the end-to-end order experience. By implementing supply-chain automation, distributors and wholesale manufacturers can ensure this section of the supply-chain process runs as smoothly as possible. 

Our new normal thrives on an organization’s ability to do more with less — regardless of the industry. For distributors and manufacturers, this means creating more efficient, more effective operations. By modernizing the supply-chain process with the power of A.I., machine learning and applied analytics, companies can cut costs and maximize workforce productivity. A complete digital transformation is a lengthy process — and one that shouldn’t be tackled all at once — but improving traditional operations with technology-driven processes will help organizations quickly reap the benefits of a less-is-more approach. Improving the supply-chain process with automation is a great first step.

Better Customer Service

By far, one of the most trying supply-chain challenges during the pandemic has been customer service. Since the outbreak, many distributors and manufacturers have been struggling to operate with a remote workforce and an onslaught of government restrictions, which has not only created widespread delivery delays, but it has also generated an overwhelming number of customer inquiries. 

As a result, customer service representatives (CSRs) are under a lot of pressure. They are relying on their usual tools to handle this influx of inquiries while, unfortunately, still attempting to tackle the repetitive, manual tasks on their plates. When CSRs in the manufacturing and distributing sectors typically spend three or four hours manually keying in purchase orders, it leaves little time in their workdays for customer-facing activities. During a crisis, it is nearly impossible for CSRs to function effectively with this workflow. This tedious, time-consuming process drastically hinders CSR productivity and slows down supply-chain efficiency. 

With a fully automated sales order process, this section of supply-chain operations can be significantly improved. Instead of having your CSRs waste time trying to manually input orders, the right software can automatically convert emailed purchase orders into sales orders without the need for human intervention. Having sales order automation on hand frees up hours of your CSRs’ time and allows them to focus more on interacting with your customers. Replacing manual processes with automation accelerates supply-chain operations. With thousands of staff hours freed up, organizations can allocate them to high-value activities focused on generating revenue.

Guaranteed Stability

According to Visual Capitalist, warehouse automation was the top investment for retail, management and logistics professionals last year — followed closely by predictive analytics. While supply-chain automation has traditionally been associated with the warehouse floor, it is just as important in handling critical documents like sales orders and improving customer service. When day-to-day business operations are running efficiently, thanks to improved processes, supply-chain stability is a guaranteed result. 

If the pandemic proved one thing, it’s that business leaders in every industry must upgrade their outdated and inefficient processes. To ensure you’re as prepared as possible when the next crisis hits, the time to become an agile, efficient organization is now. By enabling distributors and wholesale manufacturers to keep customer service standards high and optimize business processes, supply-chain automation helps them boost supply-chain stability. 

Implementing high-impact and high-ROI supply-chain automation allows distributors and wholesale manufacturers to maximize their cost savings and revenue opportunities, while cutting out the need for additional expenses and resources. With the power of automation, the supply-chain process flow is stable and fully prepared to handle any future disruptions.

Ray Grady is president and CEO of Conexiom.

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED VIDEOS

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

  • Semiconductor

    Why Shortages of a $1 Chip Sparked a Global Economic Crisis

    Coronavirus
  • U.S. Manufacturing

    How COVID-19 Will Cause Permanent Changes in Manufacturing Strategies

    Coronavirus
  • Retailers Seen Closing Thousands of Stores

    Retailers Seen Closing Thousands of Stores Even After Pandemic

    Coronavirus
  • What Will Biden’s Executive Order on Critical Supply Chains Achieve?

    Watch: What Will Biden’s Executive Order on Critical Supply Chains Achieve?

    Coronavirus
  • EV battery

    EV-Battery Rivals Race to Sway Biden on Import Ban

    Technology

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

Yang Ming 6 River Systems ArcBest
Armada aThingz BluJay
Burris Logistics DSC Logistics DCSA (Digital Container Shipping Association)
DHL Resilience360 Flash Global Genpact
Geodis GEP GreyOrange
Honeywell Corporate Honeywell Intelligrated Infor
Inmar Kibo Commerce Kinaxis
Logility Magnitude Software MPO
Old Dominion Oliver Wight OpenSky
Paccurate Ports America Purolator
QAD Precision Red Classic Riskmethods
S&H Systems Snapfulfil TGW Systems
Tradepoint Atlantic Transportation Insights Watson Land Company
Westfalia Technologies Workjam
  • 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