Month: October 2023

Achieving Operational Synergy with Cognitive Supply Chain Paradigms

In today’s fast-paced and interconnected world, traditional supply chain management practices are being challenged like never before. The need to adapt and evolve has become paramount for businesses aiming to stay competitive and deliver exceptional customer experiences.

Amidst the shifting landscape of international trade dynamics, global retail corporations will be left grappling with the aftermath of trade tensions between two major economies. The sudden imposition of tariffs will disrupt their established supply chains, forcing them to confront the daunting task of rebuilding and adapting to a new business reality.

While the supply chain often remains inconspicuous during seamless operations, recent economic events have laid bare the fragility inherent in the existing paradigm. Organizations have learned to swiftly pivot in response to evolving market demands, capitalizing on cutting-edge technologies to attain unparalleled visibility and insight.

However, in the face of this evolving landscape, key questions arise:

How can the system evolve to enable predictive suggestions for real-time problem resolution? How can cognitive technology facilitate the development of a truly interconnected and resilient supply chain?

Before addressing these questions, Let’s examine the root causes and challenges that underpin the need for transformation.

The Challenges of Traditional Supply Chains:

Rethinking Customer Centricity in the Supply Chain

The pursuit of customer-centricity within the supply chain presents its own set of challenges, particularly when it comes to bridging the digital technology gap between small and large businesses.

While larger companies have witnessed a significant 45% increase in digital technology investments, their smaller counterparts have only managed a modest 25% rise. This discrepancy in investment limits the ability of small businesses to embrace customer-centric practices, putting them at a disadvantage in today’s competitive landscape.1

Moreover, the lack of data harmonization poses another obstacle, impeding visibility and timely insights. Information silos created by unsynchronized data across value chain partners hinder organizations’ understanding of the customer journey and their ability to respond promptly to evolving customer demands and preferences.

The onset of the pandemic has further exacerbated the challenges. With more than 60% of global consumers shifting their purchasing behaviors to prioritize convenience and value, the supply chain must grapple with the fragmentation of demand driven by the rapid growth of online commerce. This unpredictability makes it increasingly challenging to gauge the scale of success for supply chain operations.

In the face of these hurdles, businesses must adapt and transform their supply chains to thrive in the evolving landscape. By embracing innovative strategies and leveraging emerging technologies, organizations can forge a path toward customer-centric supply chains that are responsive, agile, and poised to meet the ever-changing needs of today’s dynamic marketplace.

Overcoming Data Silos for Timely Action

In the realm of supply chains, the adage “A chain is only as strong as its weakest link” holds true. The effectiveness of a supply chain relies heavily on the seamless flow of information across its various components.

However, when data is trapped in silos, it hampers timely action and decision-making, hindering supply chain planning and incurring high integration costs.

By proactively eliminating data silos and fostering a culture of collaboration and information sharing, organizations can transform their supply chains into agile ecosystems capable of withstanding the complexities and challenges of today’s business landscape.

Unlocking Demand Planning and Forecasting with Cognitive Computing

Around 86% of top-performing supply chain executives see cognitive computing as a game-changer for demand planning and forecasting. * Consequently, executives across industries actively embrace AI-driven automation to enhance decision-making and operational excellence, enabling them to build resilient supply chains.

Organizations can track and predict supply chain disruptions by leveraging AI and machine learning algorithms, providing unprecedented visibility into daily operations.

The goal is transitioning from traditional shipment demand-based forecasting to real-time demand signals, creating a value network united in this common objective.

For example, a renowned clothing company with a long-standing legacy and a global presence of over 3,000 brand-dedicated stores prioritized data-driven decisions to enhance consumer experiences.

By harmonizing data from various sources and implementing unified processes for collecting secondary data, they achieved a remarkable 99% accuracy in secondary sales data, strengthening their position as a leading omnichannel retailer. *

A Glimpse into the Future: The Networked Supply Chain:

In the relentless pursuit of resilient and efficient supply chains, a new era dawns – one powered by connected intelligence. By fostering seamless collaboration, democratizing data access, and embracing user-friendly technology, the cognitive supply chain empowers businesses to fortify their supply and demand functions, unleashing unprecedented possibilities.

At the heart of this transformation lies comprehensive data integration across the ecosystem, where tangible use cases illustrate the exponential value that can be unlocked. One notable example showcases a global leader in the beverage industry, leveraging a collaborative demand network fulfillment platform to derive data-driven insights from their vast network of distributors.

This disruptive initiative yielded remarkable improvements, including an outstanding 40-50% increase in distributor data accuracy, a substantial 15-20% reduction in stock-out scenarios, and an impressive 8-10% enhancement in case fill rates.* Fuelling these advancements was the platform’s intuitive dashboard, providing enhanced visibility that empowered businesses to proactively identify alternative sources of supply and confidently navigate the ever-changing market landscape.

As the future unfolds, the networked supply chain paves the way for a new era of collaboration, innovation, and resilience.

By embracing the power of connected intelligence, businesses can rewrite the rules of supply chain management, shaping a future where efficiency, agility, and customer-centricity converge harmoniously.

Conclusion:

The future of supply chain management lies in harnessing the power of AI-driven automation. By doing so, organizations can unlock real-time visibility, predictive insights, and enhanced decision-making capabilities. This empowers them to optimize order fulfilment, strengthen market connectivity, and drive effective sales strategies.

With visionary leadership and a relentless pursuit of operational excellence, businesses can position themselves for success in the dynamic and ever-evolving business landscape. By cultivating resilience, fostering efficiency, and embracing sustainable growth practices, they can shape a future where the transformative potential of cognitive supply chains becomes a reality.

Let us step boldly into this future, where innovation and intelligence converge, and together, we can shape a world where supply chains thrive and businesses flourish. The future belongs to those who dare to embrace the transformative power of cognitive supply chains. The future is ours to shape!

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Orchestrating Supply Chains for the Future: The Power of Connectivity, Standardization, and Visibility

Agility and quick decision-making are no more a luxury but rather a need in the quickly changing corporate climate of today. Companies must align their operations to move in the right direction swiftly and profitably. Supply chain technology is at the heart of achieving these objectives, primarily through enhanced connectivity, standardization, and visibility. This blog post explores how businesses can leverage these elements to optimize the supply chain operations and make more informed and better decisions.

Why focus on Business Orchestration?

Effective business orchestration allows organizations to:

  • Make quick decisions.
  • Take the appropriate actions.
  • Achieve internal and external alignment.
  • Act swiftly and profitably.

To meet these objectives, firms must excel in three fundamental capabilities: Detect, Understand, and Act

  • Detect: The Signals

    Visibility: It’s not just about having visibility but the granularity of that visibility. Do you have a clear picture of new ecosystems? How extensive is your visibility across your suppliers and logistics partners when working with contract manufacturers or outsourced logistics?

    Latency: It’s important to comprehend how data is timed. When and why do data arrive?

    Bidirectionality: Merely observing is insufficient. You must also take action and see to it that the parties who must execute are in agreement.

    Noise vs. Insight: Not every piece of information is useful. If properly connected across the supply chain, what could appear to be “noise,” such as a late truck, could instead be “insight.”

  • Understand: The Domino Effect

    Understanding these ramifications is essential because one choice might have an impact on the whole supply chain. For instance, instead of concentrating on local optimization when estimating costs, take into account how that choice will affect the entire supply chain cost.

  • Act: The Consequences

    The end goal is to make decisions that are better and more in line with your business objectives, allowing everyone who has to take action to do so to take corrective action.

Four Key Elements to Enable the Supply Chain Orchestration:

To implement these steps, there are four pivotal elements:

  • Network
    The first is the interconnected network of all internal applications and the external ecosystem of supply, demand, and logistics. You ought to be able to interact, comprehend, and communicate effectively through these channels. Smooth transactions and communications are made possible by effective networking.
  • Data
    Data is the supply chain’s lifeblood. A digital twin model that reflects your supply chain is built using real-time data that was taken from the network as its foundation. Once you have this information, you can use a digital supply chain twin to better orchestrate your supply chain. To effectively orchestrate across different ecosystems, you need this model.
  • Logic/Apps
    Advanced apps can combine this data, lowering the cost of decision-making while enabling better conclusions. These Intelligent apps are always improving, getting quicker and more precise. Though there are many cutting-edge apps on the market, their effectiveness depends on the data they are fed.
  • Unified UX
    The user experience needs to be consistent across all participants. A unified interface ensures that workflows can be communicated uniformly, streamlining operations and decision-making. Having a single interface and analytics system for all participants solves the problem of disparate systems and ensures consistency in communications.

TradeEdge’s Approach to Supply Chain Orchestration:

At TradeEdge, we have always prioritized the Network and Data aspects, laying a strong foundation for more than a decade. The core of everything we do remains the network and data. We understand that while many firms have developed intelligent apps, these apps are only as good as the data they utilize.

For real business orchestration to be accomplished, these are the starting points. The data and connectivity layer include channel customers, retailers, resellers, distributors, warehouses, third-party logistics providers, transporters, co-packers, suppliers, and other supply chain participants. This connectivity enables a reusable mapping to any supply chain asset, improving efficiency and reducing duplication of effort. For instance, to help other firms, we may take advantage of the links that already exist between manufacturers and logistics service providers.

Consider it your supply chain’s version of a social network. It is only valuable useful only if there is discoverability. To make partnerships more discoverable, we want to reuse them.

In addition to this, we can use the data to create an integrated view of the functional supply chain model.

On top of this digital model, TradeEdge offers a variety of applications, such as channel shaping, demand sensing, planning, manufacturing, supplier collaboration, etc. Our platform is designed to be an open ecosystem that can both accept and transmit data to other planning systems. This platform allows data to flow in both directions, ensuring maximum flexibility and usefulness.

Conclusion

Modern supply chains are multi-tiered, dynamic ecosystems rather than simple linear chains. The orchestration of business in the future depends on supply chain technology. Companies are better able to identify problems, understand the ramifications, and take action to align all necessary parties due to enhanced connectivity, standardized real-time data, and granular visibility. For businesses looking to keep up in the competitive business environment of today, this is not just a trend but a necessity. Beyond merely gathering information and facts, these are additional activities like drawing connections, comprehending ramifications, and taking decisive action.

Navigating the Changing Tides: The Power of Demand Sensing in the CPG Sea

Imagine being the captain of a ship navigating treacherous, uncharted waters. Your ship carries precious cargo and is constantly at the mercy of the ever-changing sea – much like a consumer packaged goods (CPG) company. Recent years have seen the CPG sea become increasingly turbulent.

The pandemic-led shift in consumer behavior, fragmentation of demand from a spike in e-commerce, and the fragility of supply chains have put CPG players on high alert. Companies find themselves grappling with surplus inventories of unwanted products, misguided distribution efforts, or, worst of all, an inability to meet consumer demands at their peak.

In this unpredictable environment, one word spells the difference between success and disaster: fluidity.

Why are There Supply Chain Disruptions?

For CPG, fluidity embodies the ability to adapt quickly and effectively to changing market conditions. Gleaning this information quickly and efficiently is impossible with the old navigation techniques relying on historical data. What you need is demand sensing — a method that fuses intelligent automation and predictive analytics to understand market trends and consumer desires in real time.

Charting the Course With Demand Sensing

Just as a seasoned sailor reads the ocean, interpreting the weather and predicting the upcoming waves with a high degree of accuracy, demand sensing provides a real-time snapshot of the market. Publicized as a “prerequisite for an agile supply chain response” by Gartner, demand sensing can improve forecast accuracy by 15-40% and lead to a 10% growth in sales.

Demand sensing harnesses a combination of artificial intelligence-backed sensing and predictive analytics, along with human-directed learning and customization, to decipher market trends and consumer wants. These valuable insights then shape decisions about inventory, distribution, sales, and other aspects of the supply chain.

Today, responding to demand in real-time has become possible perhaps for the first time ever. Armed with the information on where, when, and what products consumers will buy, CPG players can fluidly change tactics and execution plans, activating their value networks to ebb and sway with the demand.

Tales from the High Seas: Real-Life Navigators

A global clothing company used a cognitive, connected demand sensing platform to gain real-time visibility into its wholesaler network. It connected multiple wholesalers globally, automated sell-out data acquisition, and delivered timely, trustworthy, and actionable data for insights.

Over the first six weeks, 20-plus partners were onboarded with over 90% of data visibility at 99% accuracy from all partners. This helped them improve demand forecasting, compliance reporting, and quickly respond to changing market trends.

Another story is that of a global sports merchandise giant. Much like our clothing company, this business was sailing blind with limited visibility into partner sell-out data. They wanted to drive better partner buying for each sales season and improve inventory and stock replenishment efficiencies.

  • What products/SKUs should we stock at each partner store?
  • What would be the optimal quality?
  • Are our promotional campaigns effective?
  • How can we maximize promotions in near real-time?

There were just some questions they couldn’t answer without the right data. An intuitive, intelligent demand sensing platform connected 2.5M-plus retail outlets in 130-plus countries, automating sell-out data acquisition, validation, cleansing, and harmonization. The sports merchandiser was able to get sales and inventory data in less than 5 hours – a speed that transformed their demand planning.

An Approach to Navigating Your Ship

To build a true picture of demand, you need to:

  • Plot Your Course With Data: From sales and channel data to competitor promotions, macroeconomic data, and even the weather, use data to achieve near real-time visibility of demand. This gives you an accurate picture of where, when, and what products consumers will buy. However, getting this data in a fragmented network of distributors has been the biggest challenge for CPG players. In fact, only about 13% of companies have a fully mapped supply chain network; 71% have almost nil visibility beyond Tier-2. Disparate data and technology systems and the high manual effort required to get the data and make it usable for insights have been some of the key challenges to real-time visibility. However, today intelligent technology platforms can automate this data collection to accelerate demand sensing.
  • Use Your Sextant – Advanced Analytics: Predictive analytics can help reduce supply chain latency as demand planners respond to what’s happening on the shelves right now rather than yesterday’s prediction.
  • Adjusting the Sails With Autonomous Planning: Demand sensing, paired with autonomous planning, can lead to an integrated, end-to-end supply chain operation. With real-time, autonomous planning, changes in demand are automatically factored into all processes and decisions along the supply chain, from inventory and production planning to raw-material procurement.

This perfect harmony between demand sensing and autonomous supply chain planning holds tremendous benefits. McKinsey found that autonomous planning can increase revenues by up to 4%, reduce inventory by up to 20%, and decrease supply chain costs by up to 10%.

As you prepare to deploy demand sensing, remember that the navigation tool isn’t enough to sail the stormy seas. You need a resilient vessel — scalable technology, and a skilled crew to navigate successfully. The fluidity of action is not going to be a one-time journey but a continuous voyage of optimization, one that includes process redesign, intelligent automation, and talent transformation.

So, are you ready to set sail?

Originally Published in https://consumergoods.com/navigating-changing-tides-power-demand-sensing-cpg-sea/

Data the New Norm: Embracing a Culture of Data-Driven Innovation

Why is it crucial for organizations to be data-driven in today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape?

In today’s era, where data is paramount for organizations, a “data-driven culture” has evolved from a mere buzzword to an indispensable requirement for businesses aiming to expand and stay ahead in the market. Over 70% of the world’s most valuable companies have embraced data-driven strategies. However, what precisely does it entail to be data-driven, and how can organizations successfully embrace this transformative mindset? Let’s investigate these inquiries and examine the importance of adopting a data-driven approach.

What does it truly mean for an organization to be Data-Driven?

Being data-driven is essentially a fundamental shift in decision-making processes, where businesses strongly emphasize the collection, evaluation, and utilization of data to leverage strategic initiatives. It comprises the orderly use of data to gain critical business insights and strategies and enhance operations and overall performance. In a nutshell, data-driven enterprises heavily rely on the valuable insights data provides to make well-informed decisions. An example of data-driven decision-making is using digital intelligence tools to understand an existing demand in a market for a specific product or service before deciding to enter it.

Why should Organizations Embrace a Data-Driven Approach?

Data-driven organizations have a significant advantage over their competitors. They can uncover hidden patterns, customer preferences, and emerging trends, enabling them to stay ahead of the curve and make proactive strategic moves. Coca-Cola is an excellent example of a data-driven organization, having built a strong strategy with its data inputs, which is the main factor for achieving strong customer retention. The following points summarize the benefits of being data-driven:

  • Optimized Decision Making: Data-driven decision-making curtails the risk of subjective or even biased choices. By depending on objective insights, organizations gain insights and can make informed decisions based on evidence instead of assumptions.
  • Enhanced Efficiency: Utilizing data helps organizations identify bottlenecks, areas of improvement, and inefficiencies. Businesses can improve processes and operational efficiencies and minimize costs by analyzing data.
  • Competitive Advantage: Organizations that are data-driven, scale and gain an advantage over their competitors. Such organizations have the ability to identify hidden patterns, customer preferences, and evolving trends, helping them progress and make proactive strategic moves.
  • Improved Customer Understanding: Data-driven approaches offer valuable insights into customer behavior, requirements, and preferences.
  • Agility and Innovation: By continuously monitoring and analyzing data, organizations can quickly adapt to market changes and recognize new business opportunities.

Business leaders in data-driven organizations understand the benefits of relying on data insights to make wise business moves.

Adopting a Data-Driven Mindset and Culture within Organizations

As organizations progress in their digital transformation journeys and look at how to implement technology to enhance service delivery, the focus is on how data can be used to resolve issues around digital services. Data is not an issue. However, how the data is influenced, collated, and managed must be analyzed. Only then can this data be used to develop and adopt new tools, particularly AI-powered technology.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) are the best tools to improve a modern data system; however, these tools cannot be implemented immediately to yield positive results. These tools depend on the systems and culture of the organization – both of which have been designed to work together. I believe that addressing the workforce “platform” along with the digital “platform” can work wonders to accomplish a continuously improving, innovative culture based on learning.

Moreover, organizations must move to integrated solutions. It is a proven fact that data-driven enterprises grow faster than legacy systems.2

Data sharing between legacy systems is similar to attempting to communicate between isolated islands in a vast ocean. Legacy systems are often called information silos as they are isolated from other systems. To overcome this predicament, organizations must leverage data integration. Just as bridges connect islands and enable smooth communication, data integration bridges the gaps between disparate systems It also offers direct access to each data system, thus making data control possible (where it is seen and referenced). Data integration offers better scalability and flexibility with specific tasks since the data structure remains intact. I strongly recommend investing in a single cloud platform that integrates all business functions, brings business information into a single database, and makes it available in real-time.

A Harvard Business Review states, “The biggest obstacles to creating data-based businesses aren’t technical; but cultural. It is simple enough to describe how to inject data into a decision-making process. It is far harder to make this normal, even automatic, for employees — a shift in mindset that presents a daunting challenge.3

Attaining Data-Driven Consistency

In a data-driven culture, leaders push to ensure that the needs are addressed across the board and utilize tools, processes along with technology to minimize the burden on employees. But where do you start?

  • Establish a Data-Driven Culture: A data-driven culture begins right at the top. Leaders should advocate for data-driven decision-making, endorse a culture of inquisitiveness, and ensure data literacy across the organization.
  • Specify Clear Goals and Metrics: Describe the business goals and classify the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that can align with these objectives. Set relevant metrics that can be measured and are time-bound. This provides a clear direction for data analysis and ensures that the data-driven decisions are in line with the organizational objectives.
  • Capitalize on Data Tools and Infrastructure: A robust data infrastructure is essential for a data-driven organization with suitable tools for data collation, analysis, storage, and visualization. This may also involve deploying data management systems, investments in analytics software, and ensuring data compliance and security.
  • Data Quality and Integrity: Data integrity and quality are vital factors to make informed decisions. Thus, organizations need to establish data standards and ensure that data is collated constantly, and deploy data governance practices to ensure data security, accuracy, and compliance.
  • Data Analytics and Insights: Set up a data analytics capability within the enterprise to gain reliable insights from data. This comprises employing data scientists and analysts and partnering with external experts. Also, use advanced analytics techniques, such as ML and predictive modeling to extract valuable insights from multifaceted datasets.
  • Continuous Learning and Improvement: A data-driven mindset necessitates a commitment to nonstop learning and improvement. Leaders should support a culture of experimentation, where data-driven insights test the hypotheses, iterate on strategies, and learn from failures as well as successes. Encourage a cross-functional association, where insights from various departments are shared and considered.
  • Data Privacy and Ethics: Data-driven organizations should prioritize data privacy and follow ethical data practices. Also, deploy strong data protection measures, comply with relevant data regulations, and be transparent with customers about data.

By embracing these principles, organizations can harness the power of data to make informed decisions, drive innovation, and achieve sustainable growth in today’s dynamic business landscape. Additionally, organizations can build resilience and ensure quality decisions by leveraging data as a strategic asset.

Conclusion

In the current era governed by data, businesses must embrace the wealth of opportunities it presents to revolutionize their operations and outpace their competitors. Adopting a data-driven mindset is no longer a choice but a strategically essential move in the dynamic and digitized landscape.

At EdgeVerve, we deeply understand the transformative potential of data-driven decision-making. By partnering with us, you unlock unrivalled innovation for your business models, driving remarkable efficiency and resilience. Our cutting-edge digital platforms empower organizations to harness the immense potential of their data, fuelling sustainable growth.

We are committed to empowering you to utilize data as a strategic asset, uncover new avenues of opportunity, optimize your operations, and deliver exceptional value to your customers. Together, let us embrace the immense power of data and thrive in the digital age.

Reference Links

From Crisis to Opportunity: How Automation Drives Business Resilience

Fortifying our organization or business may seem deceptively simple in the face of a recession. However, let us not underestimate the formidable challenges that lie before us. Presently, we find ourselves grappling with an unparalleled convergence of talent scarcity, soaring inflation rates, and unsettling fluctuations within the supply chain, exerting immense pressure on leaders across the globe.

Should we fail to act swiftly and decisively, the repercussions of these economic tremors will undoubtedly wreak havoc on our endeavours. Hence, it becomes imperative for us to adopt a proactive stance, honing in on immediate strategic opportunities that hold the potential to amplify the value we provide.

Picture this: You are aboard a rollercoaster, bracing for the tumultuous twists and turns ahead. Navigating those bumpy tracks with finesse is the key to conquering this thrilling ride. Similarly, our leadership demands informed decision-making and thoughtful reflection in the current economic climate. We must carefully weigh the immediate repercussions while keeping our long-term objectives in sight. We must invest in the right solutions to confront the challenges in these uncertain times. Automation technology catalyses lightening the burden on employees, replacing inefficient processes with streamlined ones, and achieving remarkable outcomes with minimal resources. To embark on this transformative journey, it is crucial that we first grasp the nuances of our current circumstances.

Is Your Organization Equipped to Navigate Recession?

To answer this, we need to delve further into the intricate tapestry of recession and its underlying dynamics. A potent blend of Russian sanctions resulting from the Ukraine conflict, the pandemic’s far-reaching consequences, and many environmental factors have contributed to unsettling market volatility and economic uncertainty. Amidst these complexities, it is worth noting a silver lining: the recession-driven by inflation tends to have a softer impact on organizations. For the most part, corporate earnings remain relatively unscathed, and foundational industries such as automotive and housing continue to display robustness.

Regardless of its nature, we must acknowledge that a recession remains a recession. Sluggish economic activity inevitably leads to diminished sales, shrinking profit margins, and potential wage reductions. Hiring freezes and layoffs become unavoidable, underscoring the urgency we must fortify our organizations. The path to resilience lies in establishing digitized and automated business processes, fostering adaptability that minimizes the impact of crises and enables us to seize opportunities and thrive amidst adversity.

The Power of Automation: A Recession’s Secret Weapon

Amidst the ever-evolving business landscape, one trend stands out prominently: the rise of AI and Robotic Process Automation (RPA). These cutting-edge technologies have taken the world by storm, particularly in the post-Covid-19 era, where contactless customer experiences have become the norm. The strategic adoption of AI, automation, and cloud solutions is paramount in bolstering business resilience, streamlining operational processes, and paving the way for sustainable growth. McKinsey’s research underscores the significance of a strong business resilience strategy, revealing that the top 20% of companies that successfully weathered the disruption and recession caused by the Covid-19 pandemic had robust resilience measures.1

Let us explore some industry-specific examples of how automation can enhance business resilience:

Automation in the financial services sector can streamline tasks, such as insurance renewals, pension administration, and policy management. By embracing automation, organizations in these fields can achieve heightened operational efficiency, elevate customer experiences, and establish a solid foundation for navigating the undulating tides of the business landscape.

Let’s take a closer look at how automation has empowered specific industries to enhance their business resilience. For example, automation has revolutionized tasks like insurance renewals, pension administration, and policy management in the financial services sector. By embracing automation, organizations in this field have witnessed remarkable improvements in operational efficiency, elevated customer experiences, and established a strong foundation to navigate the ever-changing business landscape.

So, how precisely can automation and digitization help us weather the storm? The answer lies in their ability to recession-proof our businesses, offering many benefits. Here are just a few:

  • Amplified Productivity: In a world where repetitive and redundant tasks burden approximately 90% of employees, process automation presents an opportunity for significant productivity gains.2 By relieving employees of these mundane responsibilities, automation empowers them to focus on more value-driven endeavors.
  • Cost Savings: During a recession, saving money becomes imperative, and businesses that embrace process automation can witness tangible savings within weeks. The efficiency and optimization brought about by automation directly translate into financial benefits.
  • Alleviating IT Burdens with No-Code Automation: Insufficient IT support often poses a significant roadblock to digitization efforts. Organizations without adequate IT resources or funding may struggle to deploy new technologies, especially during a recession when budget constraints and reduced staff numbers are prevalent. However, technologies like process automation provide immense value to businesses during challenging times.

Embracing the Synergy of Human and Digital Collaboration

Remarkable transformations can be achieved by harmonizing human expertise and digital capabilities. With comprehensive data insights, automated scripts can be deployed to reduce manual processes, accelerating work streams while elevating precision and dependability. The realms of Robotic Process Automation (RPA), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Machine Learning (ML) have already reached advanced stages, and it is imperative that we wholeheartedly embrace these technologies. The constraints that emerged during the pandemic have vividly illustrated the boundless potential of “bots” in performing myriad tasks, including price quotes, book closure, payment collection, customer interactions, and other repetitive endeavours. Let us remember that our objective is not to replace humans but to leverage data strategically, enabling us to unlock its utmost value.

Conclusion: Navigating the Economic Downturn

In the current economic downturn, a few well-placed actions can enable us to maintain our focus on delivering results that augment value while optimizing costs. Undoubtedly, recessions can be overwhelming; however, we can significantly mitigate the impact by promptly assessing the climate and responding with agility. Though turbulent waters may lie ahead, solutions like AssistEdge from EdgeVerve stand ready to safeguard and buoy your business. Assessing your organization’s resilience and gauging its ability to adapt in the face of a crisis is crucial. How can you recession-proof your organization? While automation undeniably yields exceptional outcomes, it is essential for businesses to holistically evaluate all aspects and take comprehensive action not just to survive but thrive in any situation.

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Embracing Technological Transformation: Five supply chain technology trends that will dominate 2023

The year 2020 was nothing short of extraordinary. The pandemic exposed us to new challenges and new opportunities. When the lockdown measures were implemented, a sense of apprehension regarding remote work emerged, causing a sudden standstill everywhere, including the supply chain sector.

The need for enhanced supply chain visibility, localized networks, and the urgent call for digitalizing end-to-end supply chain processes across industries became increasingly apparent.

As per a Gartner survey, only 21% of its respondents1 have managed to forge highly resilient supply chain networks. This finding underscores the pressing necessity for companies to embrace greater flexibility and enhanced visibility in their sourcing, manufacturing, and distribution activities.

As the business and technological landscape continues to evolve rapidly, it has become abundantly clear that enterprises must keep pace with these changes and adapt to the evolving needs of the supply chain technology solutions space.

“With the pandemic in the rearview, we are still headed toward faster, more automated, and more transparent solutions. So, what is in store for 2023?”

In the ever-evolving world of supply chain management, navigating the multitude of factors can be daunting. However, after a thorough analysis of the industry’s current state, I have identified the five points below as the most likely trends that will dominate the landscape in 2023.

These carefully selected trends encapsulate the pulse of the supply chain industry, offering invaluable insights into the key areas that will shape logistics and operations moving forward.

Collaboration for Technological Expansion

Two heads are better than one, which is true for the realm of technology. It is common for leaders to believe that their business challenges are unique, leading them to favor in-house solutions to maintain control. However, this approach may not always yield optimal results.

Enterprises can harness the power of collaboration, fostering partnerships with solution providers that offer tailor-made, transparent, and long-term solutions. These innovative offerings facilitate effective management of inventory movement and unlock new opportunities for growth and resilience.

Bridging supply chain gaps

In the wake of the pandemic, the importance of planning for unforeseen circumstances, overcoming challenges, and reimagining processes has become crystal clear. Yet, today’s supply chains still grapple with fractures exacerbated by silos created by Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems. When companies attempt to optimize, it often comes at the expense of increased costs.

This said, supply chain leaders recognize the need for end-to-end digitalization and higher data transparency to improve the supply ecosystems effectively. According to Gartner, over 38% of organizations invest in supply chain tech supporting end-to-end business processes.2

Looking ahead to 2023, digital twin technology will emerge as the shining star, capturing the attention of executives who recognize the critical role of interoperable data models in establishing a single source of truth within complex, multi-stakeholder environments.

Ubiquitous Digital industrial platforms

Digital is the present and future. A company’s digital approach is the bedrock for building a resilient and prosperous brand.

Digital technology has permeated every facet of our lives, commoditizing everything from point solutions to comprehensive end-to-end transformations.

Imagine an automated supply chain process3 that harnesses technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML) Blockchain, and Automation to create resilient networks. This, in turn, reduces eliminating human errors, cost, and time!

An example of this is a global sports merchandiser that revamped its Point of Sale (POS)4 Business Intelligence through a transparent and digitally advanced solution.

Stakeholders’ Enduring Quest with AI

The hubbub around ChatGPT is a prime example of accessible AI. This widespread interest sets the stage for stakeholders to explore the application of advanced AI tools, particularly predictive analytics, in supply chain management, enhancing demand planning capabilities. However, the interpretability of predictions will emerge as a critical focus for modern businesses.

In the commercial industrial settings, scalability and adaptability drive the demand for efficient order management solutions. Achieving this goal necessitates integrating uniformly automated and streamlined processes utilizing powerful technological tools such as AI and ML.

As executives increasingly embrace data-driven decision-making, isolating predictions and constructing models with changing input values becomes paramount.

Forecasting transcending the obvious

By 2025, it is estimated that 25% of supply chain decisions will be made using intelligent edge ecosystems.5

With such a forecast, a resilient supply chain solution becomes paramount. This solution should embody transparency, and long-term viability and leverage cutting-edge technological tools to forecast trends accurately.

Since the pandemic, one of the sectors where consumer consumption patterns mattered was the food and beverages industry.6 There was a marked need to predict consumers’ buying patterns accurately.

This reality underscores the strategic advantage for companies that can accurately isolate emerging trends before they reach mainstream recognition. By leveraging a combination of Machine Learning (ML), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and alternative data analysis, market leaders prioritize proactive approaches to predict the unexpected and position themselves at the forefront of innovation.

Conclusion

The disruption caused by the pandemic significantly impacted supply chain operations. However, it also paved the way for lasting transformations through the emergence of advanced technological models.

Companies embracing these transformative trends will position themselves at a competitive advantage by establishing resilient, flexible, and automated supply chain value networks in the upcoming year. EdgeVerve can help with this proactive approach but empower enterprises across the globe with its digital transformative solutions designed to enhance resilience in the face of dynamic market conditions.

As a global technology provider with an unwavering commitment to innovation, EdgeVerve continues to craft many future-ready offerings, enabling businesses to adapt, thrive, and stay ahead in an ever-changing business landscape.

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Unlocking Resilience: Transforming Supply Chains for the Future

What is unfolding within the realm of supply chain dynamics?

As we delve deep into the intricate workings of global supply chains, it becomes evident that it is experiencing a profound transformation, propelled by fragmented demand and mounting complexities. Once mere subjects of boardroom and newsroom conversations, supply chains have taken centre stage and become the focal point of discussions in recent years. Attributed, in part, to the far-reaching impacts of the COVID-19 crisis, subsequent economic consequences, and ongoing geopolitical conflicts, this shift has exposed the inherent vulnerabilities within modern-day supply chains.

As a result, supply chain leaders now find themselves in uncharted territory, required to deliver tangible transformations while operating under the scrutiny of top management.

“The question remains: how can enterprises rise to this challenge and devise innovative strategies to adapt to the evolving landscape of global supply chains?”

Navigating the Transformative Landscape of the Global Supply Chain

According to Gartner, by 2026, more than 75% of commercial supply chain management application vendors will deliver embedded advanced analytics (AA), artificial intelligence (AI) and data science.1

Enhancing decision-making capabilities through implementing AA and AI is a top priority for supply chain users across diverse markets and industries. Application vendors have recognised this demand and are swiftly responding to the evolving requirements.

Large and smaller vendors are rapidly catching up in this race towards technological advancement and providing embedded AA and AI functionalities with their solutions.

Agility and Future-Proofing the Supply Chain in a Dynamic Landscape

The business and technological landscape’s impact on the supply chain sector is immense. Surveys indicate a lasting preference for online shopping, resulting in fragmented demand and an expectation for instant gratification. This leaves manufacturers unprepared for real-time supply chain management to face frequent stock-outs, lost business, and inefficient inventory management.

To future-proof their supply chains, forward-thinking chief supply chain officers (CSCOs) prioritize demand planning, supply planning, and inventory optimization. Alongside cost, quality, and service objectives, agility plays a crucial role in a supply chain. However, supply chain leaders often face a perplexing dilemma when deciding whether to upgrade or implement new supply chain execution applications. They must carefully balance the risk of not upgrading with the associated costs, requiring thoughtful decision-making and skilful navigation.

To fully tap into supply chain potential, digital transformation is crucial. Embracing advanced technologies, integrated systems, and data harmonization can enhance efficiency, visibility, and decision-making capabilities. By leaving behind manual processes, organizations can optimize operations, reduce costs, and gain a competitive edge in today’s business landscape.

Building Resilient Supply Chains – The Need for a Connected Supply Chain Approach

Adopting a connected approach that fosters collaboration, visibility, and integration across the partner network can help unlock the next stage of supply chain evolution. Digitalization alone is insufficient. Integrated solutions facilitating data exchange and information sharing are crucial for achieving operational excellence and building resilient supply chains.

By integrating advanced technologies like AI, automation, and ML, organizations can build intelligent supply chain systems that are scalable and adaptable.

For example, a global sports merchandise giant experienced remarkable improvements by adopting an intelligent supply chain platform. The organization achieved a 60% increase in demand visibility through automation and increased data visibility.2

This resulted in more effective demand planning, faster time to market, and enhanced customer engagement.

What does the future hold?

Supply chains of today are dynamic and multifaceted ecosystems. Sustaining their vitality requires interconnected systems that operate seamlessly, with minimal manual intervention. Building a connected supply chain is akin to creating a central nervous system for the organism that is your supply chain. In this system, every component can send signals and receive appropriate responses, enabling hyper-personalization and true reconciliation of human-machine capabilities.

To thrive in the face of evolving market demands and disruptions, organizations must embrace the concept of resilience and adopt innovative solutions that drive supply chain transformation. EdgeVerve stands as a reliable partner on this journey, empowering organizations to unlock the next stage of supply chain evolution through its advanced platforms and expertise.

By embracing resilience and leveraging the power of intelligent supply chains, organizations can position themselves for long-term success in an ever-changing business landscape.

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