When it comes to technology, there are many impact of it on supply chain management to make a business more efficient. One way is to streamline the process of tracking and distributing inventory. But the biggest benefits of technology in supply chains Management come from reducing costs, improving customer service, and increasing operational efficiency. This article explains the impact of technology on supply chain management.
Till recent times, the logistics sector lags behind many other industries in terms of technology adoption; however, in the past few years, there has been a steady stream of new technology products and offerings for supply chain management and logistics operations. Incorporating technologies into your logistics processes can result in significant efficiencies and cost savings.
The Impact of Technology on Supply Chain Management
The following are a few ways you can benefit from adopting current technology offerings in the supply chain and logistics market to make freight operations more efficient and effective.
1. Shipment Tracking
Shipment tracking has improved dramatically with the increased availability of low-cost GPS devices giving shippers the ability to quickly and easily verify the location of their freight as well as check on delivery times and potential delays. Many shippers still rely on making phone calls to their carriers of drivers in order to receive tracking information and adjust their expected delivery times accordingly. With the current offerings of tracking apps and automated email notifications, shippers should strongly consider requiring the carriers they work with to have some sort of automated tracking alert system or an online web-based shipment tracking portal.
2. Transportation Management Systems (TMS)
TMS systems are a great way for shippers to better organize and consolidate their inventory levels. Freight moments are one-easy-to-use computer systems; there are many TMS systems that provide document management for shipment documents and shipment management tools as well. Less than 30% of shippers are using TMS systems within their businesses to coordinate inventory levels and shipments instead of relying on spreadsheets and decentralized documents and data, not to mention the countless emails and phone calls generally associated with freight management.
3. Data Analytics
As emerging technology adoption has progressed in the supply chain industry, so has the collection of shipment-related data, to the point where even small shippers can now benefit from data-driven decision-making in the same way that larger shippers have. Over the course of the year, data collection and analysis of each lane and mode selection can provide meaningful insights into the most cost-effective and reliable service offerings currently available. Combining shipment data with required inventory levels from closely tracking the inventory turn can yield significant supply chain service and cost savings.
4. Digital Access to Capacity
Many shippers still rely on emails or phone calls to book loads within their carrier network. This often results in a disjointed and time-intensive approach to executing the shipment plan. Newer digitally-enabled logistics providers have changed the game by offering a fully digital platform to not only book loads but also provide comprehensive shipment analytics as well as tracking information effectively. This lets the shipper spend less time on basic tasks and can be easily automated and focused more on optimizing their supply chain with easily accessible data.
5. Digital Payments
Incorporating accounting and supply chain cost recording into the TMS system or digital provider can easily let you track supply chain spend across shipment lanes and analyze cost levels down to the stock-keeping unit (SKU). Digital logistics providers also make payment processing easy with cloud-based invoice management tools and an easy-to-use payment portal reducing the time spent on accounts payable. For small businesses in particular, the ability to pay transformation invoices online can be a major time saver.
6. Logistics
When information technology in and supply chain management(SCM), It has the power to revolutionize the way we do business. It is a powerful tool that can be used to make our lives easier and our business more efficient.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, the role of information technology on supply chain management is enormous. It has created a competitive advantage for the companies that are using the latest technologies. It has also provided a platform for the development of new products and services. The advantages of information technology on supply chain management is also driving down the costs of operations and increasing the efficiency of the processes.
Technology will continue to be more widely adopted and deployed within the supply chain and logistics areas. These technologies discussed are available now and represent an immediate improvement on your supply chain.
Are you looking to implement technology into your supply chain business? If yes so please feel free to contact us at support@aeologic.com
