SCM Insights How to successfully steer your supply chain through a crisis: Quick response measures Recently, in the first part of my blog article series "Supply Chain Risk Management - far more than just a way out of the current crisis", I highlighted the importance of linking the two disciplines of Risk Management and Supply Chain Management when managing crises. There is another important aspect to not just surviving times of crisis, but to come out of these strengthened. And that is the time factor.For this reason, the second part of this blog article series is dedicated to the following questions: Where do I start? What ad-hoc measures can I implement to mitigate impact? What can I quickly do to protect my supply chain? (more…)
SCM Insights How to better cope with demand volatility The coronavirus crisis has revealed a long-standing challenge for suppliers even more clearly: How reliable are the demand forecasts they receive from their customers? High volatility and uncertainties in demand forecasting are not limited to pandemic times. Even in the "normal state", the originally reported requirements can differ considerably from the materials actually called off. The decisive question is therefore: How can you improve forecasting and thus also achieve a higher level of planning accuracy? (more…)
SCM Insights · Use Cases Collaboration made easy: feasibility studies with Technical Review Continental and ZF Friedrichshafen's customers include numerous automotive manufacturers (so-called OEM). In this industry, the demands on logistics, feasibility, quality, quantities and compliance are particularly high. Both companies therefore need absolutely reliable partners.Until recently, however, they were faced with a challenge: How can they check with both known and, in particular, new suppliers to see whether they can produce newly developed parts in the required quality and quantity, deliver them on time and on the right terms and conditions? (more…)
SCM Insights Supply Chain Risk Management – far more than just getting out of the current crisis The current coronavirus crisis clearly shows how vulnerable and susceptible to disruption supply chains are today. It also shows how important it is to anticipate disruptions of any kind in order to minimize their impact. In this context, supply chain risk management plays a major role. Essentially, it is a matter of finding answers to the following questions:What risks is my supply chain exposed to?How can I identify problems in my supply chain as quickly as possible, catchword early warning system?What do I need to do to minimize loss and to be even stronger in the end?As well as the lessons learnt: Which measures should I implement to ensure that I can effectively respond to any future risks? (more…)
SCM Insights Is your supply chain ready to navigate towards the new normal? Covid-19 has kept big and small players across all industries in check. Given the high levels of interdependence among customers, suppliers and other value-adding partners throughout the supply chain, the domino effect is not yet over. And recovery will be even harder. (more…)
SCM Insights How you benefit from a central procurement solution when having various ERP systems in place Many companies operate historically grown multi-backend system landscapes. Mergers and acquisitions, international expansions, new sites and plants, different update cycles, etc. have multiplied the number of ERP systems within the organization over time. This in itself is not a problem. However, if you wish to use a central procurement system for all your plants and locations at the same time, things become tricky. Today's Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) systems often support only a single ERP as a backend system. So, what to do? (more…)
SCM Insights Restarting production: How to ensure the flow of materials The coronavirus pandemic has turned everything upside down: Plants around the world had to shut down production. As a result, supply chains and thus transport networks often collapsed across the board. This is precisely what is now confronting companies with a major problem when they re-start production: even if suppliers are producing the required materials again, how do these get from the supplier's premises to their plants?Transportation problems are not limited to shipping and air freight, but also to road transport, which has so far been easy to manage. The transport networks that companies could previously use no longer exist for the most part. As a result, the processes with the carriers that used to work well are no longer functioning. So, what to do? (more…)
SCM Insights It’s high time to tap the potential of the 4th Industrial Revolution COVID-19, its effects on the industry and the restart of production currently dominate on the agenda. Everyone is longing for a return to normality and this will be the case in a few months' time. The world will not stand still and it is certainly not standing still at this very moment. (more…)
SCM Insights Visibility, Analytics & Intelligence: Get full transparency on your supply chain, not just in times of crisis! Planning, purchasing, logistics and transport management are traditionally separate processes, typically located in different departments. The material planners determine how many parts production requires and order these from the supplier, considering safety stocks. The suppliers operate in their own systems, as does the transport service provider. What, when, in what quantity and at what time is to be delivered usually remains unclear until goods receipt. (more…)
SCM Insights In times of Corona, how can Track & Trace help to solve the challenges ahead? The Corona pandemic took us all completely by surprise. Few people expected a "black-swan" event like this. And even the boldest risk scenarios have not foreseen or dealt with the scale of the problem we are currently experiencing.Supply chains have been severely disrupted or even completely collapsed within a short period of time, especially in the automotive and aviation industries. If important suppliers stop producing, warehouses are not working and transports out of "red zones" are not possible, then production cannot be maintained, or only with great difficulty.But not everything has come to a standstill. Where production is still going on, it is now particularly important to know what is happening during transport, how long are the waiting times at the borders, where are the restrictions and what time effects will this have on the delivery. (more…)
