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…)
SCM Insights There is no future without integrated production and logistics networks Much has already been written about flexible production and logistics networks, especially in economically turbulent times. However, the reality in many companies is still that production program planning and logistics planning run side by side in a non-integrated manner. Supplier integration, too, is usually only partially implemented. (more…)
SCM Insights Optimize your procurement with online auctions Buyers in the manufacturing industry face a variety of challenges, such as volatile markets, high competitive pressure and ever shorter product cycles – catchword time-to-market – to name a few. Adding to that, manufacturing companies primarily source production components, placing high demands on quality and delivery time. But also the so-called indirect material offers a great potential for optimization. Many are asking how to optimize the entire purchasing process in such times. A promising approach is online auctions. (more…)
SCM Insights · Technology Exploiting the potential of Smart Logistics with Production-to-Supply It' s nothing new that considerations of optimization focus on excessive inventories and overly high planning or disposition costs. This is all the more true in tougher economic times.This is where the new opportunities of digitization come in: the continuous provision of data from supplier production to transport logistics and even in-house intralogistics is no longer a vision of the future. Even minimizing process costs is now a reality thanks to automation. (more…)
SCM Insights Survey: How to benefit from electronic invoicing Despite all the buzz over catchwords like Industry 4.0, automation and digital transformation, when it comes to invoicing, we still live in a mainly analogue, non-electronic, non-automated world. Even today, at the close of 2019, the majority of invoices is sent in paper or unstructured formats. Formats that cannot (or hardly) be processed electronically. This has considerable consequences for companies, locking up resources, time and money. To gain a clearer picture on the real effects of e-invoicing, we conducted a scientific survey. (more…)
Industry News · SCM Insights · Technology “Get the future before it gets you”: full-stack Industry 4.0 solution ONCITE launched Finally a feasible and scalable digitization solution for industry 4.0One is almost tempted to twist the eyes and simple go on mute it whenever one hears the terms "Industry 4.0", "Internet of Things" and "digitization" as repeatedly as they are mentioned in media and technical discussions. Much has been and is being said and written about it. However, we are finally seeing very practical developments in our industry. (more…)
Industry News · SCM Insights Interview: “Standardization and automation create huge opportunities for the rail industry.” The railway industry is getting more and more digital, using new, innovative technologies in many fields. We spoke with André Truszkowski-Jonas, responsible for Business Excellence at Siemens Mobility, about current trends, the benefits of a rail community and the importance of standards for the industry. (more…)
SCM Insights A close-up experience of e-mobility made in China SupplyOn has its roots in the European automotive industry. This makes it all the more exciting to closely observe and support the dynamic developments in China. China is considered a forerunner in the field of electromobility, with numerous start-ups in this space. One of them is Seres, a subsidiary of the Chongqing SOKON Industry Group, one of the largest Chinese OEMs. During his recent trip to China, our CEO Markus Quicken had the honor to visit this company, including a factory tour and test drive. (more…)
