Supply Chain Consulting – Giving the Right Directions to Businesses

The global nature of trade has made supply chain consulting an increasingly important part of the business decision-making processes. International businesses, as well as local firms with a smaller world footprint, are recognising the need for effective supply chain management and mitigation of the risks associated with the global logistics models. Some of the leading enterprises are taking the help of supply chain consultants to keep their order and delivery models free from foreseeable and unforeseeable risks.

These companies are using the expertise of supply chain consulting firms to make their supply chain more efficient. The supply chain management consultants help organisations achieve the desired growth and objectives while mitigating the risks involved. They help enterprises to increase their overall efficiency, cut down on the operating costs and have a detailed risk management strategy in place. The consultants provide businesses a strong competitive edge and help them to easily achieve both short-term and long-term goals.

Supply chain consultants play a critical role in managing and reducing risk in supply chains:

•    With globalised, complex and deeply integrated supply chains, international businesses are struggling to keep their supply chains risk free. This is where the need for supply chain consultants arises
•    Organisations are increasingly protecting themselves against risks in their supply chain by adopting cost-effective risk management strategies offered by various leading supply chain consultants
•    These consultants work with client teams across multiple geographies to understand the risks in the supply chain. They adopt rigorous risk analysis procedures to identify the weaknesses in the chain whether in the ordering process or in the delivery logistics.
•    These consultants then proactively assess the risks and take the necessary remedial actions to eradicate completely or reduce the risks to manageable levels

The procurement solutions offered by most of these consultants help optimise and de-risk supply chains. The consultants identify and study the risks in the supply chain by monitoring and tracking high-risk factors and putting in effect operational processes to reduce risks. They document and monitor each aspect ofpossible risk abatement options. After all facets, including macroeconomic factors, global logistics, customs formalities, ordering and delivery timeline, replacement parts, etc. are considered, they arrive at appropriate conclusions. These results are then utilised to make department-specific and enterprise-wide supply chain risk management policies that are designed to seamlessly integrate with the businesses’ overall risk abatement processes. All aspects that can be de-risked are considered and the entire supply chain optimised for increased efficiencies and reduced costing.

Considering their advantages, all enterprises involved in global trade could do well to use the expertise of a supply chain management consulting company to mitigate their risks and optimise their entire supply chain.

Understanding the Concept and Benefits of Category Market Intelligence

Category market intelligence refers to all actionable information that helps companies to take better procurement decisions.

Any enterprise that deals in the purchase or sale of goods at any level – whether as a manufacturer or dealer or retailer – must be fully aware of the items they have to procure. A detailed knowledge of the product category, vendors, key trends, national regulations, regional, socio-economic geo-political news,etc. is essential for the Chief Procurement Officer (CPO) to take effective decisions.

This market information is a key requirement for businesses to place orders for and trade in the correct products. For instance, knowing what to order today to sell tomorrow means the CPO and his team have to predict market trends and find the OEM businesses that sell the product and are willing and able to send it to the region where the item will be sold without any unnecessary inventory build-ups.

Sounds complicated, right?

Unlike other market data that often look complex but seldom are, category market intelligence is quite complicated. Knowing how to interpret the information generated from a variety of sources is perhaps as important as using it to run the business. Though most large corporations have employed in-house teams to derive actionable intelligence, smaller firms have opted for experts who have extensive knowledge of markets and are able to provide this practical data.

Here are a few benefits that indicate why category market intelligence has become so critical today:

•    Filtered actionable insights: As highlighted, the amount of information that companies have to wade through to order products is overwhelming to say the least. It helps to have a small amount of filtered data that focuses on the key points and gives practical, actionable insights. 

•    Identify trends: Market trends are an important aspect of being able to sell products. Knowing what will be acceptable to buyers will make it easier to sell the products. Lack of such data will result in an inventory of outdated goods and will obviously increase costs. 

•    Plan the future better: Companies can plan their operations much better with category market intelligence. Having detailed information on vendors, product delivery timelines, distributors, etc. help businesses to keep a track of future operations. Moreover, data on future delivery flows helps the management to strategize better with targeted procurement strategies.

•    Respond quickly: More often than not, reacting rapidly to market demands is necessary to run a profitable enterprise. Category market intelligence proves invaluable here as businesses can take advantage of emerging opportunities and react swiftly to fill a demand gap.

•    Reliable supply-line planning: Finding the right vendor is as important as selling the product. A supplier who can provide the required quality of product within the necessary timeframe is invaluable to running a profitable enterprise. Category market intelligence helps identify such vendors and allows businesses to benefit from the resulting efficiencies.

Procurement Intelligence – Shaping the Future of Your Business

Procurement intelligence was traditionally associated with ways to reduce production costs. But nowadays, the information is being used in various other ways to improve overall strategies and increase the market reach of the organisation. Present day procurement intelligence goes extra miles to think beyond old concepts of cost management and help in optimising overall operations. It now incorporates associated areas such as risk monitoring with intelligence on how suppliers are performing in their respective industry, geography and competitve and ecosystem; and value addition by keeping a tab on how the procurement categories and supply markets are evolving. Analytical inputs in these areas can help organisations manage their supplier relationships to extract maximum benefits out of them. Today, Procurement intelligence is not only helping the management and the stakeholders but also creating a significant impact on the bottom-line.

How Procurement Intelligence Shapes Your Business – Key Aspects

• If you are planning to take your business to the next level, you should engage a procurement intelligence provider. As mentioned above, unlike the previous generation concept of using it only to lower overall costs, it is now regarded as one of the most useful and beneficial management techniques for leveraging commercial success. 

• Besides reducing costs, analytical commentary on supplier and market developments can help organisations determine risks associated with the entire supply chain. In other words, procurement intelligence services can help you in protecting your business from unplanned suply chain disruptions.

• Use the service to understand the current market status. Procurement intelligence can provide you trusted information on the local and global scenario. This information can help you to extract maximum value from your supplier relationships. 

• One of the best advantages your business can gain from procurement optimisation is pragmatic information on the market condition. You can immediately know if the market is volatile or in a downswing or upswing and amend your strategies accordingly. Most businesses succumb because of unpredictable markets. Taking proper measures beforehand can save your business from floundering or going under. 

Avail procurement intelligence services from a reputed agency to alert you of the potential risks. An investment in this direction will increase the efficiency of procurement department, many-fold by providing actionable insights and will help them react proactively to any underlying risks or opportunities.

Strategic Sourcing Intelligence – A Creative Approach for Enhancing Organisation Effectiveness

Any organisation that deals in products – whether it manufactures them or trades in them – has the need for pertinent actionable information that they can use to manage the supply chain. Where the products, spares or parts are to be sourced from is as critical a question as managing the overall operation and revenue cycle. Companies need to know of the most recent list of organisations, businesses, or people who can help them get what they want. They also have to be aware of the most recent rules, regulations, technology developments, macroeconomic data, etc. that will help them manage their enterprise in a profitable manner. 

Strategic sourcing intelligence is perhaps one of the most overlooked aspects for enhancing organisational effectiveness. Most companies focus on extraneous matters while they should be focusing on the core business. A business will save considerable amounts in resource costs, time, overall management costs, labour costs, etc. if they focus on doing what they are best at and leave the rest to the experts. 

Though it may not be possible to outsource the entire procurement process, companies can realise considerable saving opportunities if they let their team work with procurement intelligence firms. This will also reduce the time to find the products and identify new suppliers who can provide right products, at the right time, and at the right price. 

While the most important aspect of strategic sourcing is finding suppliers for new product or service requirements of a business, procurement intelligence firms also assist procrement teams in several different ways.  This may include a range of processes including specific pre-qualification checks that are dependent on a country’s laws and regulations or various other factors such as trade agreements, most favoured nation status, etc. Sorting through the responses for information is another part of the process. 

A good procurement intelligence provider will help its clients identify the right suppliers and help them run the RFX process smoothly. Helping understand the costs and finding ways to reduce the controllable ones, help in negotiation of agreements are some other factors that distinguish an expert procurement intelligence company.