Supply Chain Management & Small Manufacturers

Supply chain management involves the oversight of three important factors as they proceed from supplier to manufacturer to the end consumer: materials, data, and financial information. The coordination of these factors is most effective with software that can track the myriad data points this process generates.

Sometimes, smaller organizations will overlook the importance of master data and occasionally populate their data fields with “placeholders” or “guesstimates.” Doing this will imperil any analysis done with the information. Technology can empower a company by maintaining its competitive advantage and providing a clear picture of how the economics of its supply chain are working. However, technology relies on accurate, timely data. Without data on material order lead times, inventory levels, or product return rates, small manufacturers can handicap their potential growth opportunities.

Supply Chain Software

Recognizing the importance of supply chain software and using it to its fullest extent is one smart way that smaller manufacturers can grow their business. If an organization is to accurately assess whether to enter new markets, introduce new products, or tweak order fulfillment, it must first have a handle on its supply chain costs. To do this, it is necessary to determine what currently works and what does not. Uncovering opportunities to reduce costs depends on a seamless flow of information to the relevant workers. That information can come from the strategic use of supply chain management software.

Data Empowers Decision-Making

It is also important to view the supply chain as a subset of the big manufacturing picture. Supply chain analysis does not always take into account long term business objectives or strategic decision-making. In addition, looking at the supply chain as just one part of the entire process can clarify what aspects of improving the chain should be addressed first, or at all. Recognizing the interdependency of each part of the manufacturing process is crucial to making improvements. A change in one area can have unexpected effects on the company as a whole.

Supply chain management is complex. It is a sophisticated decision tree that can affect a company's ability to fundamentally operate. What to buy, when to buy it, how much to buy, who to use as a supplier – these are all crucial choices that present themselves at increasing pace with business growth. Even the smallest firm may be dealing with hundreds of products, hundreds of customers, and numerous suppliers delivering materials daily, weekly, or monthly.

When smart software collects all of the discrete pieces of information involved in a particular process and visually presents them on a dashboard, efficient oversight of a manufacturer's master data becomes much simpler. That dashboard can integrate both company strategy and interdepartmental requirements to ease management's analytical efforts. Essentially, robust supply chain management software can empower small business managers to continue to drive growth based on information instead of solely intuition.