Supply Chain Management and Consultancy is the strategic coordination of business functions within a company with the aim of achieving the most efficient and optimised movement and storage of goods from point of origin to point of consumption.
As technology develops it becomes increasingly paramount for businesses to begin to improve processes, and more importantly technologies; as good practice to keep ahead of the inevitable developments and innovative enhancements within the Logistics industry.
An important starting point to improving efficiency, and optimising supply chains, requires automation and adequate investment in relevant technologies, which includes the use of computerised software and machines for a diverse assortment of Supply Chain processes, encompassing: inventory control, RFID software, WMS and ERP databases, and additionally, technology to enable warehouse automation and data collection, to holistically monitor facility performance.
Supply chain technology is benefitting the Logistics Industry in many ways and is highly sought after by manufacturers and logisticians alike, to enable further improvements within their supply chains, and in turn, the level of customer service they can offer. On the whole, integrating automation into a supply chain, benefits the accuracy of work completed, whilst simultaneously ensuring businesses adhere to relevant and mandatory compliance procedure.
In many of today’s modern warehouses, it is true that the majority of repetitive and menial tasks are being completed by robotic process automation – tasks that would otherwise have required additional human employees; saving time and money within many Warehouse and DC facilities; and ultimately, the most efficient warehouses are those that have been optimised to beat their competition on every level.
Automation is recognised within the Logistics Industry, as the answer to enhancing many processes of which forecasting, replenishment, supply, planning, procurement, manufacturing and distribution are just a few. However, whilst excellent at establishing standardisation of processes; the term ‘automation’ is easily misconstrued by the idea that automated processes automatically improve operations.
Despite effective use of automation technology enabling issues to be solved faster than the humble human labourer, the complete integration of automation within the supply cycle, does require an in-depth understanding of the complete Supply Chain process. Understanding how the freight flows, where it is at any time, knowing possible choke points and possible problem spots benefits not only the shipper but also the logistics providers, to maximize the use of resources; in turn, enabling not only the instant identification of problems, but also the ability to visualise how problems affect the rest of the supply chain holistically and, therefore, the ability to act upon them immediately.
At Gideon Hillman Consulting (GH) our Supply Chain Consultants will help you to develop an integrated approach to optimising your Supply Chain by offering specialist skills – with the aim of achieving the most efficient movement and storage of goods from point of origin to point of consumption.
The GH team regularly conduct comprehensive reviews of Logistics and Supply Chain operations; they work to prevent ‘sub optimised’ supply chains, which often cause limited visibility, hidden costs and fragmented teams working against each other within a business’s Supply Chain.
GIDEON HILLMAN CONSULTING
Tel: 01926 430 883
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