Imagine supply chains driven by customer needs instead of production processes, dependent on an ecosystem of modular capabilities instead of capital intensive fixed assets and linear flows. Yes, tomorrow’s supply chains will be characterized by self-healing, self-optimizing, and autonomy. Digital platforms, IoT sensors, and cameras will be used by successful enterprises to collect, interpret and integrate data.

A closer look at the future trends of supply chain management is warranted:

• The Customer Comes First

Today’s industry leaders exploit big data to profile and segment customer demographics. Cognitive analysis is used to protect and promote patterns of behavior. Customers today demand rapid, seamless, transparent, fulfillment as a standard. This is a natural consequence of the revolution in connectivity and mobile technology.

Enrolling in a supply chain management online course would be ideal to stay abreast of these rapid changes. A logistics and supply chain management course offers a broad spectrum of core studies in all major business areas with an opportunity to understand the logistic management and supply chain process in depth.

• Effective Utilization of Platforms

Fresh vistas have been opened for supply chains with the rise of digital platforms. Smart digital interfaces allow suppliers to do business directly with retailers or customers. The constituents of the supply chain itself can now be purchased “as-a-service” from third-party providers. Elements of the supply chain, from planning through manufacturing and inventory to fulfillment, can be managed through platforms.

Growth is increasingly being driven through platforms. The direct-to-customer (D2C) sales model has the distinct advantage of shortening supply chains. It effectively boosts margins by allowing businesses to retain value. As far as inventory is concerned, D2C uses customer data accurately to predict patterns of demand and supply to minimize surpluses.

A supply chain management online course would be ideal, The IIM Kozhikode supply chain management course is one of the options available.

• Impact of Automation and Migration

Companies need to evolve their approaches keeping in mind the unimaginable scale of mass migration likely to be triggered by automation. Mitigation of this volatility can be achieved through fostering responsible and inclusive labor practices. Businesses with supply chains that expect significant uptake of automation in the future can insist that clear plans be developed by their key suppliers to support a sustainable workforce transition. IIM Kozhikode’s supply chain management course tracks the course for the future which will require an improvement in risk prediction and management, collaboration with suppliers, strategic foresight, and innovation.

The likelihood of supply chains facing labor issues like wages, working hours, and safety due to automation will be supplanted by new challenges such as responsible downsizing and reskilling of supply chain workers.

• Supplier Assessment and Engagement

Supply chain leaders will be required to concentrate on the supply chain information that is decision-useful in a plethora of available data and dashboards. While supply chain automation and digitization reduces costs and drives efficiencies, it generates vast quantities of digital information. Several businesses use predictive analytics and machine learning tools to analyze, integrate, and interpret this data in real-time. This enables them to pre-empt rising costs, detect process bottlenecks, and augment decision-making.

The future supply chains will invest in cognitive decision centers (CDCs). A cross-functional objective view of the supply chain,  from sales and marketing at one corner to finance and procurement at the other will be taken by CDCs. Instead of optimizing the performance of distinct business units, CDCs are about optimizing enterprise-wide performance. They are simulation tools that will provide decision-makers with a testbed for business strategy enabling them to continuously make informed decisions about their functional priorities.

IIM Kozhikode’s supply chain management course can shed more light on this aspect of supply chain management. This supply chain management course would delve into the intricacies of saving costs and optimizing working capital.

• Customization Along the Supply Chain

Implementing segment-based changes to the supply chain processes will become critical in the future. businesses. In creating the segments the focus will be on factors such as the buyers:

• Geographic location
• Product-related needs
• Order related needs

IIM Kozhikode’s supply chain management course helps understand how close the buyers are to sourcing and production, how the product needs to be individualized, what is the quantity of the product required, when will the customer need it and when will the customer need it again. Lightning-fast fulfillment to all the buyers will be the norm for the future.

• Optimization of Working Capital

One of the biggest challenges for organizations has always been to keep operational costs down while ensuring that processes run efficiently.  As technology enables teams to dig deeper into the processes, organizations will be able to further optimize working capital to near perfection. Further details on optimizing working capital in supply chains can be procured from supply chain management online courses.

Looking Ahead

It is imperative to understand today’s challenges so that one is ready for tomorrow. A supply chain management online course can help business leaders stay on top of these changes. To maintain the integrity of the supply chain and ensure a successful business it would be ideal to enroll in the  IIM Kozhikode’s Supply chain management course.

Understanding Today’s Challenges

Understanding today’s challenges is important so that you are ready for tomorrow:

• Embrace change

Supply chain leaders will feel the pressure to innovate more intensely as new technologies emerge continuously. The agile, flexible approach to business transformation will be adopted by successful enterprises.

• Build management capability

Fluidity and collaboration will be the hallmark of tomorrow’s supply chains. This will comprise myriad partnerships across functions and workforces. It would also imply parallel supply networks segmented for different customers and markets and decentralized micro supply chains.

• Overcome the digital deluge

Decisions will have to be based on a clear understanding of business strategies, identifying the right technology investments.

To understand the complexities that the future holds for supply chains a supply chain management online course is strongly recommended. Get ahead of trends that are shaping the future of supply chain management instead of treading the heels of change.