Less than 1/3rd supply chain management professionals view their processes as “effective.”

These are troubling stats as every supply chain manager understands the importance of an optimised supply chain.

Supply chain, however complex, requires choosing the right logistics management software, a streamlined order fulfilment process, and data to back up the decisions and identify the improvement areas. By pursuing a supply chain management certificate course, you can understand the comprehensive process, steps, and decisions that can impact your supply chain.

8 Tips to Optimize Your Supply Chain Management

This guide can help you build a robust supply chain. How? Let’s find out…

1. Make a Plan, Measure the Performance

Research shows that over 79% of companies that invest in supply chain optimisation outperform and out-earn competitors who don’t.

And it doesn’t happen overnight; it requires extensive planning ahead and knowing which metric to measure to understand the failures. Some of the KPIs you should monitor include:-

• Fulfilment accuracy
• Customer order cycle time
• Cash-to-cash cycle time
• Inventory velocity and days of supply
• Per-unit freight cost

2. Outsource Wherever You Can

Whether you are working for an eCommerce platform, a manufacturing company, or some other company that maintains a supply chain, you need to take care of a lot of intricacies. To streamline the entire process, you need to focus on your company’s product innovation and other competencies. You can outsource the rest.

The primary goal of supply chain management is to fulfil demand, drive exceptional customer value, and improve overall responsiveness. However, if your company is entangled in tracking returns and procurement all day, what good is that going to do? Outsourcing logistics, tracking, procurement, returns, etc., are all strong options that have helped companies focus on their core operations and restore efficiency.

Also Read: Best Jobs in Supply Chain Management

3. Offer Incentives to Eliminate a Time Crunch

As a customer of Amazon or Flipkart, you expect free and speedy delivery, right? So does everyone. However, the time crunch of delivering the product as quickly as possible places a burden on the companies.

To eliminate this burden, you can offer discounts or freebies to your customers. For instance, Amazon offers a cashback to every customer that doesn’t choose express delivery. This helps restore customer loyalty and eliminate time crunch.

To learn more about such techniques, consider enrolling for a credible supply chain management certificate course. One such online professional course you can rely on for expert guidance is the IIM K supply chain management course. This course, offered on the Talentedge platform, boasts of LIVE & interactive sessions with eminent IIM K faculty and industry experts who can help you formulate such innovative strategies.

4. Adopt New Order Picking Technologies

Order picking is one of the significant challenges of managing a supply chain. From wrong deliveries to goods sustaining damage in transportation, there are a lot of things that can go wrong and lead to customer disappointment.

The solution? Technology.

Several pick-to-light systems are comprising ERP and WMS systems are available that you can leverage. If you want to learn about the practical application of such tools, consider enrolling for a credible supply chain management certificate course. You can ace the logistics and supply chain management field with the online supply chain management course from IIM Kozhikode.

5. Re-evaluate the Warehouse Situation

Warehouse locations are always a challenge – should it be close to the delivery centres or the manufacturing unit? How much amount of inventory should it hold? There are various intricacies that need to be kept in mind when it comes to picking out the ideal warehouse location.

You must also factor in the taxes, tariffs, offshoring and reshoring manufacturing, etc. Another vital thing you must consider is the “Amazon Effect” – the heightened expectations of customers for speedy shipping and easy returns. So reconsider and revamp the distribution networks.

6. Leverage More Effective Routing

Now you have taken in the warehousing locations and other factors in mind, you must also consider transportation and delivery routes. The process behind drawing up these pathways can significantly impact efficiency, profitability, and waste reduction.

Just think about it, with poor cost route optimisation comes higher fuel costs, increased labour costs, delays and dissatisfied customers. So make sure you:-

• Bypass distribution centres as often as possible
• Consolidate freight to maximise vehicle capacity
• Employ carriers who know the area

If you are looking for more such optimisation techniques, consider enrolling for the IIM Kozhikode supply chain management course. This course aims at providing exposure to every facet of supply chain and logistics, ensuring you are well prepared to overcome every challenge.

7. Utilise Big Data and Predictive Analytics Where Possible

Big data helps organisations worldwide get ahead of consumer demand and optimise their supply levels. You can leverage prediction-focused analysis to gain insights into customer buying patterns, seasonal market changes, competitor analysis, geopolitical and climate-related disruptions, etc.

So whether you are working in a manufacturing unit or an eCommerce organisation, consider leveraging big data and predictive analytics to optimise your supply chain. To learn more about using these advanced technologies, consider enrolling for the IIM K supply chain management course. This course can help you apply technical and managerial competencies in complex supply chain scenarios and provide hands-on exposure to tools you can use to solve issues within the supply chain.

8. Re-think the Returns Process

• The return rate for online orders is approximately 30%. That is 3X more than the brick-and-mortar purchases.
• Out of these, 70% of consumers expect free return shipping and 92% are likely to make an additional future purchase if the return is processed quickly.

Here are some steps you can take to optimise the returns process for the sake of your employees and, most importantly, the customers:-

• Make the initiation process as simple and as quick as possible.
• Develop a robust strategy for handling returns across multiple sales channels.
• Employ no-hassle packaging that is easy to reseal and reuse.
• Analyse the data captured from customer returns to revamp your product design, merchandising, and inventory strategies.

To Sum it Up!

Follow these tips, and you’ll have a fully optimised and robust supply chain in no time.

A credible supply chain management certificate course is all you need. Consider enrolling for the IIM K supply chain management course offered on the Talentedge platform. This course boasts a well-rounded education via LIVE & interactive sessions and hands-on exposure to popular tools and technologies that can help optimise your supply chain.

More Information:

What is the Main Goal of Supply Chain Management?

Best High-Paying Jobs In Supply Chain Management

7 Must-Have Skills to Become a Thriving Supply Chain Manager

6 Key Supply Chain Skills You Need to Master as an Operations Manager

What are the Career Opportunities in Operations and Supply Chain Management?