Leveraging supply chain solutions give businesses the edge

The importance of a dynamic supply chain network

A business needs a dynamic and flexible supply chain network to compete in the global marketplace. Such a network empowers businesses to:

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•Be Agile

•Capitalize on innovations

•Seize new market share

•Reduce cost

•Respond better to the changing demands of its customers and unforeseen disruptions in the marketplace.

•Gain a competitive advantage

A company’s supply chain has to address several severe challenges—cost reduction, predictable risk management, flexibility, and customer service levels. Growth is difficult to achieve if its supply chain fails to address such challenges effectively.

Many businesses fail to realize the numerous advantages of putting a highly responsive and high quality supply chain in place. These organizations are slow to respond to innovations, technological disruptions, and changes in demand, competitive pressures and customer preference. Aged supply chain

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processes don’t provide management teams with the required information to properly run the business and require much higher levels of operating capital in the form of inventory that could be used for R&D, launching new products, acquisition and other business activities that accelerate growth and increased profitability: Because of this they remain stuck in a rut.

These issues are prevalent in middle market companies because of their inability to hire and retain employees who have the sufficient skill sets necessary to implement complex supply chain systems and develop the appropriate supply chain strategies. As a result, they

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should consider turning to outside consulting groups who specialize in planning and developing supply chain strategies that are focused on supporting the overall business strategy.

How supply chain consultancies become an asset for organizations that wish to create, recreate, or renovate their supply chain networks?

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To be precise, a supply chain consultants will enable clients to deliver high performance by working with their existing team to revamp their respective supply chains. Some of the key benefits, which a business can experience by hiring a specific consultant, are mentioned below.

•Some experienced, knowledgeable consultancies design a special assessment program that enables them to check the efficacy of a company’s existing supply chain. This process gives the company a basic roadmap for designing the appropriate supply chain strategies. A well designed assessment program will have the following focus to gauge an existing supply chain’s performance:

o Strategic objectiveso Market value driverso Qualityo Vendor commitmento Deployed working capital

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o Responsivenesso Organizational design and skillset

•These consultants have a singular aim of improving the existing. For that reason, they work alongside a client to rethink and redesign its:

o Product designing processeso Product portfolio management processes o Material acquisition methodologieso Product- or service-delivering strategieso Inventory management practiceso Vendor managemento Global distribution strategies

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•Supply chain management solutions, generally, comprise designing solutions that transform the capabilities of an existing network. Such transformation takes place when:

o Global operations are optimizedo Operating models are aligned to business

strategieso The skills of a supply chain workforce is

enhancedo Management dashboards are in place to

monitor performance objectives

Because of these reasons, every company (which plans to streamline and improve its

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supply chain and network workflows) should leverage the services offered by an experienced supply chain consulting company. Such companies boast the capabilities and special insights that make a supply chain not only a technical process but also a competitive edge for a business.

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