Every business owner has their own goals in mind. Some want to use their company as a springboard to other opportunities, some believe in their product and want to introduce it to the world, others wish to give back to the community in terms of services, products, and employment. Whatever your ideals for your enterprise (large-scale or fledgling), you can achieve them by growing your name, and the first place to start is by improving your supply chain management.
Defining Supply Chain Management
As important as the supply chain management process is when it comes to running a successful business, too many business owners still don’t understand how central the concept is to creating growth. If this is one area where you have not as yet paid much attention, then it could be the key to unlocking your advancement in the industry. The term itself is defined as the process or collection of steps that an enterprise employs from the planning of product manufacturing to the delivery of the product to the customer (and in some cases, returns of damaged goods). The circular chain is thus comprised of:
Planning and strategising, wherein the goal is to utilise goods and services to maximise profit.
Developing and sourcing raw materials, and building a great rapport with suppliers, while prices, delivery options, and payment methods are established here too.
Manufacturing the goods and products, and activities surrounding design, creating the product, testing, and delivery preparation.
The logistical delivery stage which sees the customer purchase their desired item and attain it. Here the focus is on receipt of orders, delivery to warehouses, and receiving payments.
Lastly, the return stage is where customers return disappointing or damaged products, and the business must account for and handle complaints and dissatisfied clients.
The Benefits of Improving Your Supply Chain Management
Throughout the stages mentioned above, a lot can go wrong, and optimising supply management for every phase is something that even the biggest global corporations spend years perfecting. As demand for your product grows, you will, at some point or another, face challenges with one or more of the “links” in the chain – and we all understand that an enterprise is only really as strong as its weakest link. Taking the right action as soon as the issue arises will have several benefits for your business, not just the usual, main concern of saving money.
Firstly, you will experience improved quality control across the board and a much higher efficiency rate. Implementing the right system for all this is, of course, hard to come by. You want real-time data of what is happening every step of the way, automated workflow to take over the simple tasks, and easy ways to identify unnecessary spending on overhead costs. The main benefit of such a system is that you mitigate risks by spotting them early and taking proactive action before anything is negatively impacted. The good news is that here at Fourier IT, we have the right product for you. Our OMS (Order Management System) will help to support your supply chain management process by improving productivity and saving costs.
Work with the Experts at Fourier IT
To find out about how we can tailor this system to your enterprise, contact us today.