With global unrest shaking up the international economy, there’s no shortage of potential disruptions facing companies seeking to deliver goods and services to their customers. The advent of new technology, specifically software helping corporations make sense of the endless data at their fingertips, gives supply chain managers new tools to respond to risks and changes in customer demands.
Through William Paterson University’s online Bachelor of Science (BS) in Applied Business Analytics program, rising business leaders learn the ins and outs of supply chain analytics and when to deploy “agile” strategies to ensure their company rises to the top amid a rapidly changing marketplace.
Predictive Analytics and Decision-Making
The COVID-19 pandemic revealed the importance of embracing agile supply chain management principles, as supply chains were quickly disrupted and customer needs shifted at a breakneck pace. Researchers define agile supply chain management as the ability to meet market demands and adapt to new conclusions when demand declines, such as changing order quantities or tapping into an existing network of suppliers to shift where demand is higher.
Agile supply chain management and the flexibility it requires depend on real-time data that offers insight into the current reality and potential future outcomes. To an outside observer, this approach may seem like decision-makers are changing their priorities at the drop of a hat. However, the agile framework comprises four key components that emphasize redundancy and intense planning, according to Taulia: demand forecasting, adaptive inventory management, centralized digital workflows and strong supplier management strategy.
Effective agile supply chain managers carefully analyze demand forecasts based on several variables, including cash flow and seasonal demand. They also practice flexible inventory management by holding a “safety stock” of products to protect against labor or material shortages. In addition, they prioritize communication by using digital workflow tools and maintain a long roster of backup suppliers to call on when other manufacturers cannot meet new demands.
At its best, agile supply chain management can result in greater protection against disruptions, an increased capacity to react to the marketplace and a better understanding of how the entire supply chain works together to allocate resources. To be successful, Vendorful argues that business leaders can’t escape the data challenges their organization faces. They must embrace it as the foundation of their approach.
Mitigating Risks and Visualizing Performance
Agile strategies are not to be confused with “lean” supply chain management, which GEP defines as minimizing waste and eliminating any step in the process that doesn’t add value to the customer. While agile supply chain managers emphasize risk management by building in more backup suppliers and processes to their operations, lean supply chain strategists emphasize the streamlining of processes, resulting in the reduction of costs and faster delivery to customers. Electronics and automotive industries are particularly suitable for lean supply chain management.
However, more and more companies are embracing agile supply chain management practices year-round rather than only in the face of crises, such as natural disasters or international conflict. Executives can create a competitive advantage in the marketplace when they use cloud computing and artificial intelligence to visualize massive organizational change, Deloitte reports.
Tesla is a key example of this. In the face of the pandemic, the company decided to produce computer chips in-house with its own engineering team rather than finding new suppliers amid a global shortage. As other car manufacturers were delayed by longer wait times for chips, Tesla’s electric vehicle production soared by 80%.
Embrace Supply Chain Management Analytics With William Paterson University
William Paterson University’s online BS in Applied Business Analytics program offers a Supply Chain Analytics course that covers everything from elements of effective supply chain management to the latest tools in the field, such as big data and data mining. Graduates gain the hands-on experience they need to achieve ambitious career goals in fields like market research, risk operations research and audience insights.
Learn more about William Paterson University’s online B.S. in Applied Business Analytics program.
