Provide holistic overview of your supply chain

Making operations as efficient as possible. It is high on the priority list of many a metal worker. Digitization will play an increasingly important role in this. After all, it opens the door to automate certain processes, but it also provides all the tools to get a holistic overview of all the suppliers you work with. Because customers are demanding more and more traceability.

Whatever branch of metalworking you are in, every company does work with different suppliers. Sometimes purely to get the material to work with, others also use the services of competitor companies to get components or parts or to have certain operations carried out. But who today can already present a perfect overview of all their suppliers? The larger the company, the more complex this tangle even seems to become, when each department manages its own affairs and actually acts as a separate company. But for any company, including SMEs, there are gains in efficiency and cost reduction to be gleaned by taking a holistic view of all inbound flows in the company. It will also help you ensure perfect traceability to your customers.

Why work on transparency?

You know your suppliers inside out and don't need to? Companies often think that they have that visibility, but in practice it turns out differently. The biggest suppliers are probably well mapped out, we don't doubt that, but what about the ones you only use sporadically? What do you know about them? Second, keep in mind that data can be scattered across different systems to such an extent that inefficiencies still arise. Are all prices the same for each department, or can optimization be achieved by aggregating all volumes? Third, more information about suppliers is needed today than in the past. Customers want to know that their products were created in the most sustainable way possible, respecting social and ethical conditions. Or when a defect occurs trace it back to the correct cause. In retail, of course, reputation plays a more important role. But this trend is nevertheless beginning to extend to many sectors. And your customers may also demand full traceability and transparency in the future. When it rains in Paris, it simply drizzles in Brussels.

Transparency, how do you get started?

But how then to work to gain more insight into your supply chain? Digitization will be the key to this. After all, everything starts with pouring all the data about suppliers and the corresponding orders into an insightful database. A common backbone for everyone in the company, so that everyone (with proper access, of course) has the same information. In addition, you would also do well to keep an eye on your inventory levels. If you can place your orders for materials in a timely manner, you can still request prices from different suppliers if you wish. Or at least not have to pay extra fees for high urgency. Third, modern technology also exists to assist you in this. Blockchain, no doubt you have already heard the word. It is the tool of choice for understanding long supply chains and combating counterfeiting. The data system is then actually decentralized to allow safe, efficient and cheap direct trading. Today especially interesting in retail but Blockchain can provide transparency in any supply chain.