Optimizing the supply chain process with SAP SCM

For the notorious chassis shortages leading to congestion at ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, Intermodal Equipment Providers and truckers blame bottlenecks at marine terminal gates.

They want ports to make it mandatory for ocean carriers to exchange advance shipment information, which would increase cargo velocity across the supply chain.https://materialhandlingsystems.weebly.com/blog/ports-of-la-and-long-beach-challenging-supply-chain-essentials-at-west-coast 

Started a new small business and thinking to take the benefit from Logistics Warehousing and Distribution for your business.

Initially focused on the transportation component of the supply chain, Logistic Group of America offers a range of services to support warehousing and Distribution.

Supply chain management is a complex medley of processes in which even a slight lack of visibility or synchronization can lead to enormous losses and overheads.

But with the recent developments in AI & machine learning, we can now harness historic and real-time supply chain data to discover patterns that help us understand what factors influence the different aspects of the supply chain network.These insights help companies in getting a competitive edge, streamline processes, cutting down on costs and increasing profits, and leveraging recommendations to enhance the customer experience.

According to Gartner, at least 50% of global companies would be using AI-related transformational technologies such as Machine Learning in supply chain operations by 2023.5 Ways In Which ML Acts As A Game Changer In Supply Chain Management 1.

With big data analytics, manufacturers can analyze different types of data including past sales demand, chanel performance, product returns, POS data, promotions data etc.

Unexpected and extended downtimes can result in out of stock situations and lost revenue.In order to avoid these situations, companies are replacing the reactive and inefficient break-fix service model with proactive maintenance approaches – predictive and preventive maintenance.This involves using machine learning to analyze data from smart parts and sensors and predicting when a machine/part will fail and determining the right time for repairs and  replacements.This allows companies to reduce excess inventory, mitigate the costs and disruption caused due to unscheduled downtime and ultimately improve customer satisfaction and brand loyalty.In addition, machine learning can also help understand how to extend the life of the existing assets, determine common reasons for failure and take necessary proactive steps.3.

Logistics Last mile logistics in supply chain management is prone to operational inefficiencies and costs upto 28 percent of the total cost of the delivery.Some common challenges in this area include:Not able to find a parking spot for large delivery trucks near the customer’s destination and having to carry the package to its destination by walkCustomers not being at home to sign the receipt of items and thus causing a delay in deliveryDamages to the package during this last leg of deliveryIn most cases, it’s very difficult for companies to identify exactly what’s going on during this last mile.

Are you searching about supply chain management?

We will then discuss the concept of is Sourcing and Purchasing.Then we discuss the 5 easy steps of supply chain management.

Let’s start!What is supply chain management (SCM)?Are you wondering what is supply chain management?

Let’s look at them:Supply Analysis for Supply chain managementThe very first step for the supply chain management is the Analysis of Global Supply/Demand Figures for product.

It is marketed in a range of degrees depending on purity (color and the lack of alien matter), viscosity, viscosity stability, oxidation resistance, and cure rate due to its natural derivation.Firstly, the natural rubber industry is comparatively divided by producers with regard to industrial structure research, although clustered by regions.

Secondly, by the end of 2016, the global rubber supply hit 13030,2 K MT, with annually growth rates of approximately 2-3% in recent years.Thirdly, according to our report, the world’s natural rubber industry is worth more than USD 26,6 trillion in 2016.

 What is COC:-A document certified by a competent authority that the supplied good or service meets the required specifications and comply with the regulation of the importing country.

It is a mandatory document that is necessary for Customs clearance of exports to many countries around the globe.WHY it is required- Many countries are apprehensive about the quality of some imported goods.

To ensure the safety and wellbeing of their citizens, some countries insist that, before goods are imported, they must be inspected to ensure that they meet international standards.

Consignments that meet the standards are given a Certificate of Conformity which is presented to the customs authorities in the importing country to be cleared for importation.Unsafe and unreliable imported products can result in injury, death or damage to property.

This is the reason why most countries around the world have stringent requirements in place to ensure their consumers are protected from sub-standard products and goods.When It is Required: -The certificate has to be obtained before shipment.Issuing AgencyGovernments have relationships with the international agencies that inspect and issue Certificates of Conformity.

Some of the popular certification agencies are:IntertekCotecnaSGS (Societe Generale de Surveillance)Countries That Require Certificates of ConformityAlgeriaBangladeshBotswanaCameroonEgyptEthiopiaGabonKenyaKurdistanKuwaitLibyaNigeriaMozambiqueQatarRussiaSaudi ArabiaUgandaUzbekistan   Features of a certificate of conformity are:Protection of public healthConsumer safetyNational securityProtection of religious and public moralsProtection of environmentPrevention of deceptive practicesSASO CoC Benefits.Unsafe products cannot be imported and so are eliminated from the national market.Dumping of poor quality and sub-standard products is prevented, helping domestic manufacturers to compete fairly.Programs are usually paid for by exporters.

Consumer Packaged Goods or CPG are goods that are consumed and replaced regularly by customers.

The items that make this list include, but are not limited to, food, beverages, cosmetics, household, and cleaning products.

In comparison, durable goods or DG are those that do not require frequent replacement—automobiles, appliances, and furniture fall into this category.CPG can typically be found in brick and mortar stores, all of which are designed differently to attract customers.

This is a highly competitive market because shelf space is finite and though the internet is changing this, e-commerce channels are still fairly new players in the game.

Locus serves as a single platform to optimize sales, reduce freight costs and increase sales productivity for secondary and last-mile retail fulfillment.

It also automates retail fulfillment operations, reduces freight costs for distributors, and optimizes sales beats.With the help of Locus, CPG deliveries can be made faster and with ease.

If your company is in the distribution business, the distribution software functionality of an ERP will be of great interest to you.

While this is a standard functionality for ERPs, you can find that it is not robust enough especially if your distribution practice is complex.Choosing the right application can help you solve all your problems and introduce greater efficiency in the business.

Let us see about the major problems and solutions for distribution firms.Aligning with demandAs a distributor, the main challenge that you face is aligning all your business resources towards the demand that you have.

You need great agility in your company to scale your operations up to meet the increasing demand or scale down at times when there is a lull in the market.This nimbleness is possible only when all your supply chain partners and managers are empowered when the latest and complete information is available to them at all times.

A web based ERP software solution allows access to this information from anywhere and at any time.

If you are not aware of your inventory status, you cannot make informed purchasing decisions and run a proactive sales operation.When you have multiple store locations it becomes tougher to maintain this visibility over a period of time.Selecting an ERP application that has automated inventory management features with support for multiple inventory locations will help you manage your inventory better.Such an automated environment will be a boon to you if you assemble your products before distributing them as the kitting process is faster and accurate without any material issues.

Blockchain in Supply chainThe blockchain is a technology that, applied in logistics, has an important impact on traceability and other aspects of the supply chain.The blockchain is a decentralized way to share information reliably and securely thanks to its blockchain system verified by consensus.

Each exchange of information or encrypted transaction is thus recorded in the copy of each agent and, therefore, cannot be modified once made.The blockchain had its origins as the shared database behind the Bitcoin cryptocurrency, launched in 2008, but soon the utility of its application for other uses was detected.Applied in logistics, for example, it allows to register and authenticate product bar codes throughout the develop blockchain in supply chain to track goods in real time, in this way, if there is an attempt to modify or falsify the data of the products or orders, the actors participating in the blockchain can detect it immediately.Blockchain and logisticsGoing deeper into its uses in logistics, blockchain is designed to provide solutions to the complex ecosystems of the logistics chain where there is no major participant, where collaboration among those involved is often unreliable, where information must be centralized and where the Security of this information is a matter of high priority.

With the use of the blockchain in logistics, these ecosystems can be united by alliance to foster the necessary trust among all the collaborators in the chain, whether they are partners or competitors, guaranteeing protection, traceability and confidentiality in the processes.Blockchain offers visibility from start to finish when it comes to the shipment of goods; Each event related to a given product (whether in production, processing, transportation, storage or delivery) is recorded in the form of a blockchain transaction , also monitoring the documentation and packaging associated with that product.Using a platform enabled with this technology in logistics guarantees that:It is easier and safer to coordinate the important documentation to discover and validate the load,disposing of paperwork.You can enter into "smart contracts" whose validity and compliance can be verified in real time, which makes import and export procedures quick and efficient.The data exchanged between the logistics actors are reliable, and this allows for timely and accurate decisions to accelerate the transit of goods through warehouses and customs posts.The system offers scalability and this results in immediate solutions as the demand for fast order deliveries increases.The confidence given by the veracity of the information eliminates the need for constant audits to confirm it.

In sum, all this helps to eliminate bureaucratic processes, long waits and, therefore, the obstruction of the flow of goods.In collaboration, the technology company and consultant IBM and the Danish transport company Maersk are using this technology to streamline information flows and financial transfers, and to reduce the time spent on bureaucratic procedures during their logistics processes.According to a study conducted by Maersk in 2014 and cited by IBM in the announcement of its 2017 Hyperledger Fabric system , generally, the transfer of refrigerated products from Africa to Europe requires the participation of some 30 companies or officials, and It represents the generation of 200 proof of interactions.

Both leading companies in their respective sectors expect to significantly reduce time and costs with the use of the blockchain .In the Dutch port of Rotterdam, the largest in Europe, more than 15 public and private companies created a consortium two years ago to start experimenting with blockchain technology .

Its purpose is to test its applications in logistics, and it has found more and more benefits by integrating it with the Internet of Things (IoT) and modern supply chain management systems.