Long before the era of digitization that we commonly associate with Industry 4.0, supply chains have served as the lifeblood of industrial organizations. However, in recent decades, supply chains have grown increasingly complex due to the advent of advanced digital technologies. These technologies have helped the supply chain to evolve into something more interconnected, less linear, and more responsive to change. This new networked chain of supply is known as a digital supply chain. It has reshaped the way stakeholders transact and communicate with each other. The emergence of the digital supply chain has made the supply network a strategically critical component of the organization and has helped in making it more flexible and responsive. However, there are several challenges in the area of digital supply chain analytics, visibility, and planning that are essential to realize its true potential when it comes to driving innovation.

Digital Supply Chain Challenges

Challenge #1: Managing the digital supply chain

A digital supply chain includes applications, network, and data connections. It connects customers to the tech solutions that underpin e-commerce, unlike production supply chain that moves physical resources and raw materials among manufacturers, suppliers, and retailers. Therefore, with business transactions moving to the cloud, managing the digital supply chain becomes crucial for increasing revenues, control costs, and protect the brand.

Challenge #2: Optimizing the integrated planning process

For any digital supply chain network, optimizing the integrated planning process is very challenging as most companies don’t leverage all the information to achieve the best planning result possible. Additionally, it has been observed that statistical forecast data or determined planning is manually overwritten by planners. So, for a digital supply chain to derive the best outcome, the organizational setup, advanced level of integrated process optimization, processes, governance, and incentives need to be aligned between and within partners in the supply chain.

Challenge #3: Building a balanced roadmap

Shifting to a new market strategy with a digital supply chain network to accelerate growth can wreak havoc on the company’s highly customized supply chain. Therefore, it becomes crucial for the management to make sure that the new supply chain balances their competing demands and allows easy integration of new business models. A balanced roadmap can help in generating quick wins and provide flexibility to accommodate evolving technologies and future capabilities.

Is your organization’s supply chain ready to go digital or are you facing any of these digital supply chain challenges? Contact us now!