CHANGING DYNAMICS OF SUPPLY CHAIN

MANAGERS NEED TO UNDERSTAND DEMAND FORECASTING AND USE THE RIGHT TECHNOLOGY TO CLOCK IN DEMAND, NOT TO FORGET EXPORTS

- BINDU GOPAL RAO

SUPPLY CHAINS NEEDS TO BE DYNAMIC and agile enough to respond quickly to the varying demand needs. It is important to have a sourcing strategy that is predictable in terms of producing, transportation, warehousing and distribution. Secondly, supply chain visibility ia available today rich set of technologies such as IoT, barcodes, RFIDs, and data analytics. Thirdly, superior intelligence churned out through AI and machine learning techniques augment abilities to make decisions.

Effective SCM is key to business and it is important that the right tools or programmes are in place to ensure the availability of products at the right place and the right time.

Rajesh Jaggi, managing partner, real estate, Everstone Group, says, "Companies aim to have lesser inventory in order to increase flexibility, reduce logistics cost and have quick turnaround between manufacturing units, distribution and customers. Our FEBI (Faster, Economical, Better and Innovative) approach helps in providing optimised solutions to customers. IndoSpace, being the largest, most modern and the only national network of industrial real estate in India, provides clients with light manufacturing units and distribution centres across industrial zones, in proximity to their customers which makes a difference in delivering within time along with the flexibility of maintaining inventory."

“We have developed our in-house WMS which works on similar principles of Six Sigma possible for gatekeeping checks – even though it lengthens the process in the warehouse; it ensures that the product is correct at the time of dispatch and on time. We are working with a company to implement IoT in warehouses for error checking through security systems,” says Aditya Vazirani, CEO, Robinsons Global Logistics Solutions.