This post highlights three strategic areas which many companies overlooked in 2017; strategy, security & interaction, and how to best achieve improvements in these areas.
It’s the second week of January. This means that roughly 30% of people have already stumbled on their New Year’s Resolutions. While many of these resolutions are weight, money or relationship related, for us in the supply chain industry, we have different priorities.
Our goal as supply chain specialists is to get the right items to the right places at the right time. Moreover, we need to be aware of the delicate balance that can be easily disrupted in logistics.
2017 has been an interesting year. Specifically in the major technological, economic and market-driven shifts. This means that being successful in 2018 will require adjustments.
For this reason in today’s blog post, we’ve highlighted some important developments in the world of supply chains and how to best tackle these new challenges.
Paying More Attention to Demand
Given the name of the field ‘supply chain & logistics’, a person could be forgiven for thinking all we’re concerned about is supply. However, supply and demand are intricately tied, which is why it exists after all.
After all, globalization, international business markets, marketing spend, weather, etc. makes demand difficult to quantify and predict. But, that doesn’t mean it isn’t possible.
On this topic, Jeff Metersky, VP of customer success strategy at LLamasoft, writes:
Supply chain professionals should absolutely strive to better understand demand; after all, demand is one of the most important factors impacting your overall supply chain design. You need to make sure your business has a solid grasp on future demand to ensure sufficient capacities are in place and products are deployed appropriately.
Metersky says that properly predicting demand starts by asking yourself these important questions:
- Do you have challenges getting internal approval of or buy-in for strategic supply chain initiatives due to lack of visibility into long-term future demand?
- Are you able to provide insights into company management about how evolving demand trends might impact your supply chain?
- Are you able to model the long-term impact of demand based on internal company strategic decisions (new product design, current product life cycles, expansion into new markets)?
- Do you have a solid understanding of and ability to quantify the factors driving changes in demand over the long term?
- Do you need more reliable long-term demand projections to support strategic decisions about changes in your network design?
Improving Data Security
Many high-profile cyber attacks happened in 2017. They took a heavy cost on both the global economy and consumer confidence. To get ahead this year, organizations need to take advantage of emerging trends in technology and cyberspace to better handle high-risk security risks.
The Information Security Forum recommends that businesses focus on the following security topics in 2018:
- Crime-As-A-Service (CaaS)
- Expands Tools and Services
- The Internet of Things (IoT) Adds Unmanaged Risks
- Supply Chain Remains the Weakest Link in Risk Management
- Regulation Adds to Complexity of Critical Asset Management
- Unmet Board Expectations Exposed by Major Incidents
Take a look here for a comprehensive explanation of each security topic.
Improving Our Everyday Interactions with Other People
This one may seem like a no-brainer, but saying things like “please” and “thank you” tends to get lost once peak time rolls around. While supply chain & logistics continues to be a hot industry, that doesn’t mean that it’s zero-sum with manners. Striving towards being more personable is something we should all aim for in 2018. Whether it be with clients or coworkers.
2018 represents an opportunity to deep dive and find ways to improve the way we do things. Whether those improvements be strategic, technological or just a commitment to being more kind. Properly laying out and adhering to goals is what matters. Let’s be part of that 10% who achieve their resolution.
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