DISRUPTIONS in the supply chain caused by COVID-19 is challenging to deal with but companies can minimize these hitches, even in the middle of the pandemic crisis.
A report recently released by enterprise Cloud provider SAP and Oxford Economics could provide insights and solutions that are comparatively easy to implement, so companies disrupted by the pandemic can recover and get back on track faster.
The Philippines, said to have decisively responded to contain the pandemic and at the same time help marginalized sectors through relief and food supply efforts has seen major difficulties in the various supply chains were still impacted. The disruption in world trade could mean a $50-billion decline in overall global exports, which may have trade impacts that can affect the Philippines.
The SAP and Oxford Economics survey examined the practices of supply chain leaders, identified as companies with resilient supply chains and higher levels of innovation to fulfill customer need and even employee satisfaction in the midst of this pandemic crisis.
“The world we live in, while often turbulent, has been turned on its head recently with the impact of COVID-19,” Martin Barkman, SAP senior vice president and head of Digital Supply Chain, Solution Management said.
It also took into consideration loss and growth numbers in comparison to other respondents. While all supply chains are vulnerable to risks in a global economy, the research suggests organizations embrace the traits of industry leaders to be best set up for success, especially during times of disruption.
“This unprecedented situation has led to a severe disruption in supply chains, making it challenging for businesses to deliver products on time and meet customer needs. Now more than ever, we need supply chains that are resilient,” Barkman added.
Although the survey was completed in the early days of COVID-19, before the supply chain disruptions reached crisis levels, its findings are applicable to today’s challenges.
Included in the findings are how machine learning, Internet of Things (IoT), articifial intelligent and advanced analytics technologies help turn the pandemic affected businesses survive and quickly transition back into production or delivery.
Creating these “intelligent enterprises” using SAP technologies helps organizations and the people who run it, deep business insight while fosterinh collaboration. This, according to SAP PH Managing Director Ed Panlilio, will be the advantage “that will help them stay ahead of the crisis, and eventually, their competition.”
“The findings show that supply chain executives need the visibility to make informed decisions with speed and accuracy by leveraging technology that helps their business to sense, predict and respond to these global dynamics,” Oxford Economics Senior Research Analyst Ben Wright stressed.
Characteristics of these supply chain leaders are identified as those who share the following four traits:
- Base most of their product value chain decisions on customer needs
- Factor in sustainability issues from product design through delivery
- Capture and act on real-time information, using AI or predictive analytics
- Deploy advanced technologies at scale across their organizations
“SAP understands that disruption to supply chains are very real and we hope to shed light on how businesses in the Philippines can look into this area,” Edler Panlilio, Managing Director, SAP Philippines said.
The full report from SAP and Oxford Economics can be viewed here. The SAP’s website and SAP News Center has a lot of resources to see how to better manage supply chains in the face of these unprecedented challenges. Also, check out SAP on Twitter.
