If you need help developing or maturing any part of your supply chain speak to one of our specialist consultants about our business analysis, project management and digital transformation services to help move your business supply chain into high gear.
In today’s demanding commercial environment, timely delivery is key. No business operates in complete isolation, and all have suppliers, partners or vendors they rely upon. Securing your supply chain has never been more critical to ensure your business can deliver quality products and/or services in a timely fashion. Supply Chain Management has become a hot topic since the 2020 pandemic where supply chain resiliency was really put to the test. Since then, businesses have set about to secure their supply chain, and to embark on digital transformation projects to ensure they can endure such an event in the future, but also just to help improve business-as-usual operations through efficiency gains, consistent quality and sustainability.
Supply Chain Management consists of the following broad areas;
- Supplier Management
- Procurement (Direct & Indirect)
- Inventory Management
- Warehouse Management
- Freight & Transportation
- Logistics Management (ports, customs, tariffs, taxes)
- Business Systems & Electronic Data Interface (EDI)
- Commercial & Legal Services
Procurement
Procurement management is the acquisition of raw materials, labour & other resources to create something to sell. Typically, it starts with expressing a scope and/or bill of materials via Requests for Quotation (RFQ), Request for Proposal (RFP), Request for Information (RFI), Tenders, Bids and other methods for soliciting quotes and proposals from prospective sellers. The buyer must review and analyse the quotes and proposals from the seller pool, select a suitable seller and engage them through a suitable contract mechanism. From time & materials to fixed price agreements or do-not-exceed arrangements, the agreement forms the basis for the relationship and the transaction. Use of Purchase Orders is also typical for smaller procurements, but common across all transactions is the need to review and assess quality of the supply and completeness and timeliness of the delivery. Goods Receipting, payments and ultimate closure of the transaction typically follow. Through all of this, management of business risk is a big part of ensuring that your supply chain is robust, and that multilayered mitigation strategies are in place should they be needed. Larger procurements or procurements that are staged or tightly coordinated with other vendors or the customer often require some form of project management. Use of key business knowledge such as supplier rating, supplier history, Lessons Learned register and/or Organisational Process Assets (e.g. contract templates) are helpful in ensuring the procurement is successful in every way.
Supplier Management / Vendor Relationship Management (Developing Trusted Suppliers)
Finding, securing, & onboarding quality suppliers is essential to a solid Supply Chain. In addition, sustaining positive supplier relationships overtime is also important to ensure the relationship is fruitful for all involved, and ultimately delivers quality solutions to your customers.
Topics such as onboarding, performance reviews & watertight commercials are important to ensure the relationship is positive from the get-go, and for the long haul.
Freight & Transportation
From vans to trucks and ships to planes, getting goods from A to B in the most costs efficient & timely manner falls under the category of freight & transportation.
Warehouse Management
Warehouse Management typically involves the management & oversight of warehouse and storage facilities, operations, plus inventory management. More specifically it involves managing goods inward, good outward, and all necessary operations to receive, store, pick, pack and ship goods. Managing inventories and stocktakes are also critical to ensuring the ability to supply on dynamic consumer demands. Many businesses will adopt a inventory methodology that suits their business and customer base, which may include Lean concepts such as Decide Late or Just in Time Delivery.