Businesses can achieve substantial growth through leveraging technology, and one of the ways they can do this is by digitising their supply chain. It’s important to recognise that the benefits of this are not just cost-savings, but digital supply chains have the ability to increase business value in a vast range of ways.
Here are three organisations who have excelled at this.
Associated Food Stores
Managing the logistics of distributing products to over 600 supermarkets across the western United States is no mean feat. Yet, thanks to the innovative technology that they have introduced to their Head Office and distribution centres, Associated Food Stores are able to do so with impressive efficiency. Their digitised system means they can easily track all of their products and equipment and optimise asset utilisation. The benefits include lower overall costs, as well as substantial reduction of wasted produce and employee time.
Altran
Blockchain is often touted as the technology of the future, though its uptake other than for cryptocurrency has so far been slow. With the help of Bitfury and The Digital Supply Chain Institute, Altran tested how this ground-breaking technology could be used as part of their software development supply chain. The results were amazing with considerable improvements in developer productivity, product cycle time and product quality. You can read more about the results of the trial here.
IKEA
IKEA successfully digitised their supply chain for their furniture and homeware products years ago, but they are now planning on turning this digital approach to their food division. All food produce will be tracked in real-time, throughout the store, enabling them to tighten the flow of products and minimise wastage. The system will also be able to highlight peak times and incoming deliveries so the right areas can be staffed accordingly, and built-in chatbots will assist the chefs with managing their inventory.
In addition to the benefits achieved by these companies, digitisation also enables the move towards carbon neutral supply chains. There are, however, risks associated with digitising your supply chain. In fact, 70% of digital transformation initiatives fail. To avoid failure, read this article which reveals some key pitfalls to avoid.
If you’d like to find out how you can create business value through digitising your supply chain, why not book a free phone consultation with me?
