EVEN BEFORE an unprecedented global pandemic crippled suppliers and halted shipments, an international trade war and an unexpectedly steady stream of natural disasters in recent years have created ongoing challenges for supply chain managers. In response, supply chain leaders realised the importance of improving agility through digitising their supply chain and order management capabilities, and 80 percent expect that the digital supply chain model will become predominant within five years.

From manufacturing to healthcare, many businesses failed to overcome disruptive obstacles in recent years – in part due to manual supply chain management capabilities, which are notoriously rigid. By design, traditional B2B models scale up and down accordingly based on relatively predictable shifts in demand. Manufacturers across critical industries now need to learn how to break out of their traditionally inflexible supply chain models and quickly gain the ability to pivot in the face of disruption.

The COVID-19 pandemic brought these problems to the forefront of the supply chain sector as demand for medical devices, PPE and other essential goods put the medical supply chain’s inability to adapt in the face of unexpected surges on display for the world to see. Manufacturers and logistics operators across industries ranging from food production to electronics to consumer goods all faced similar problems to varying degrees.

Large global companies now find themselves struggling to overcome weaknesses in their supply chains that have been accentuated by the coronavirus pandemic, retaliatory tariffs and other disruptive events.

These organisations are increasingly seeking expertise outside of their companies that can not only help identify the solutions required to lead an organisation into the future, but also source and implement them.

Manufacturers adapt to the B2B channel shift

The lack of agility in traditional manufacturing models left many organisations unprepared to adapt their supply chains to meet the order- centric demands of the modern B2B arena. B2B transactions are commonly still facilitated by fax machines, emails, phone calls, paper orders, manually filled spreadsheets and field sales reps. Digital supply chain solutions are often secondary for manufacturers if they have the capability at all.

With a traditional ERP background set-up, data is not nearly as fluid and dynamic as it could be and you’re not getting data from multiple sources and AI. That causes stagnation and processing capabilities that are much more rigid.

Procurement buyers are consumers in their personal lives, and consumer habits have led them to expect a certain level of service on the things they buy. As such, corporate buyers are now promoting a digital shift in the way they choose to purchase from suppliers. The demand on the consumer side for better, faster shipping and delivery has spilled into B2B markets, putting further pressure on businesses to streamline supply chain and logistics capabilities.

Consumers can see where their online order shipment is at any hour of the day. Now we’re seeing that migrate into the B2B world. B2B buyers today want that self-directed customer experience they get at home. This means that manufacturers without the streamlined digital capabilities necessary will lose sales to competitors who have fully implemented digital supply chain platforms. While B2B supply chains involve fewer parties and customers overall than B2C/retail supply chains, the complexity of each vendor/supplier relationship can make B2B supply chain management and digitisation more complex in many ways.

When you get into B2B manufacturing models, the contract really governs the relationship. It’s not as simple as ‘I sell and you buy.’ Who at your company is entitled to purchase from mine? Their purchase power may be limited when they want to place an order, then it needs approval. The contract may not cover the total catalogue. There’s all these corresponding terms and conditions that have been agreed to about when the product will get out, how it ships, reverse logistics. Every contract is different for manufacturers. Relative to retail, there’s so much complexity that governs B2B relationships.

The handshake deals and complex service- level agreements that govern B2B transactions often act as a deterrent to automation and digitisation because business leaders worry that the unique variables in each relationship won’t be properly translated into a broader solution, resulting in a loss of customers if something goes wrong. This perception is flawed, however.

When each vendor only has its own terms filed away on paper from faxes and printed emails, it can be difficult to keep sales representatives in the field up to date with accurate, real-time information on factors such as capabilities, products, entitled pricing, purchase histories and lead times.

Eradicating manual processes in favour of digital replacements ultimately improves service to the customer by offering better visibility into order status, history and milestones at the point of sale and into the order itself.

The key to creating a successful roadmap to digitisation, visibility and supply chain efficiency involves finding the right partner that will take the time to understand what your business really needs. Any consultant in this arena must be able to balance the unique elements of each manufacturing operation with processes anchored in best practices, enabling them to guide and implement organisational change.

Not everything can be solved with technology. It takes a combination of technology and better processes, but the technology can help a lot for most manufacturers because they usually have a lot of room for improvement. Integration can be a big hole for many of them, so connecting the pipes and making sure the data flows intelligently in the right direction and into the right systems can really help them be successful.

Obtaining expertise from supply chain consultants to break down walls between processes will facilitate a more personalised and customised approach to your organisation’s supply chain. Additionally, it is critical to streamline sales and production models to incorporate all variables, allowing the manufacturing operation to pivot wherever demand leads.

Keep in mind, not all manufacturing operations are made equal. Each sector has its own set of problems and concerns, as does each individual business. To fully streamline supply chain management and order management processes, it is essential that your partner fully understands all the pain points and obstacles specific to your operation so that they can identify the vendors and service providers best suited to the job.

Ultimately, the right partner will collaborate with you to design and implement a strategic roadmap and stay with you throughout the journey to adjust it when necessary based on data and metrics. By staying with you throughout the journey, this partner can help you control costs and adjust your sales and operations planning, training practices, cycle times and more to keep pace with shifting metrics during your operational shift. The destination point for this roadmap should be a fully optimised supply chain that is specifically customised to the unique needs of your organisation. •