3 Ways to Transform Your Supply Chain Management

After significant upheaval in recent years, the global supply chain has finally stabilized. But with major changes across the geopolitical landscape, skills shortages, and rapid changes to technology, enterprise decision-makers still find themselves scrambling to keep up. Flexibility is key for staying on top of a fluctuating supply chain, but how do you adapt?

Supply Chain Challenges

This year, managing steadily increasing costs is a must. According to a recent study by Boston Consulting Group, two-thirds (65%) of global executives find managing supply chain costs to be a high priority. While organizations are meeting cost savings targets, 35% still struggle to find ways to curb rising costs.

Although worldwide supply chains have become less volatile, businesses with complex global supply chains, particularly in industries like manufacturing, CPG, oil & gas, and pharma, often face a multitude of challenges that hinder efficiency and profitability. These include:

• Managing inflation and high costs

• Struggling to keep up with technological change

• Short-term supply chain interruptions

• Geopolitical upheaval impacting global trade

The pressure is on enterprises to be more resilient in the face of these roadblocks.

Technological Impact

Efficient supply chain management plays a critical role in achieving business goals. However, grappling with high expenses, market uncertainty, siloed supply chain data, and manual reporting can complicate the process.

This is where technology can help. Accurate forecasting is a key factor to success, and there are several different ways to leverage technological advancements such as automation and artificial intelligence (AI).

Additionally, a technology solution that offers automated supply chain reporting takes the strain off manual processes while reducing the risk of error. SAP features native reporting tools that can help you keep track. However, to gain a holistic view of your company’s supply chain, you may need to run multiple queries to get a sense of what’s happening with inventory, shipments, and deliveries.

Stitching this information together in spreadsheets is a tiresome, manual process but a necessary one when SAP’s native reporting tools are too complex for the specifics of your business reporting. To overcome challenges like these, here are three ways you can transform your supply chain management.

1. Automated Reporting

According to insightsoftware and Hanover Research’s recent study on operational reporting, supply chain was named one of the most challenging reports to generate. If you’re still running reports for inventory and supply chain with manual steps, the process is time-consuming while running the risk of presenting error-prone or outdated data.

Furthermore, the same survey reveals 98% of respondents distribute reports via a static PDF, which means reporting stakeholders don’t have access to real-time or refreshable data to delve deeper and answer their own questions.

If you’re one of the 98% who don’t have access to interactive reports, seek out a technology solution that automates reporting with a direct connection to your SAP data, allowing you to simply refresh for up-to-date information that will allow you to keep better track of inventory and supply chain.

2. Refreshable Data Analytics

When managing inventory and monitoring the supply chain, it’s especially critical to have up-to-date information to ensure you have all the materials and products you need to keep the business running smoothly. But if you monitor inventory with static reports and manual data entry, you’re working with stale data.

You could move your SAP data into a standard BI tool, but the process is as complex as it is time-intensive. Instead, gain access to near-real time data analytics with a tool that allows you to leverage current information straight from SAP.

3. Customizable Dashboards

When the time comes to present inventory and supply chain data, a customizable dashboard can not only display information clearly, but also in a way that’s interactive and visually appealing. With a customized dashboard, your teams can present leadership and stakeholders with pertinent information with a potentially impressive look and feel.​

Whereas automated reporting saves time and real-time data analytics offers in-depth, accurate insights, customizable dashboards grant your team the ability to show stakeholders, customers, and employees inventory and supply chain data with confidence and flair.

Supply Chain Transformation Backed by Data-driven Insights

To transform your supply chain management, look no further than Angles Enterprise for SAP by insightsoftware. By integrating seamlessly with SAP, Angles unlocks a world of unified data, real-time analytics, and automated workflows. With Angles, you can:

Automate supply chain reporting to save time from time-consuming manual steps and the limitations of static reporting. With report automation, the reporting process can be shortened from weeks to days or even hours.

Gain access to near real-time analytics with up-to-the-minute visibility across your entire supply chain. Anticipate disruptions, optimize inventory levels, and react swiftly to changing market conditions with predictive analytics to identify potential risks and proactively adjust your strategy.

Speak the language of senior executives by demonstrating tangible return on investment with real-time SAP data and customizable dashboards to propel your supply chain vision forward.

When it comes to supply chain monitoring, it’s key to prepare for a certain level of unpredictability, especially as technology continues to evolve. But with a robust reporting tool at your side, your enterprise can keep up with confidence.

Ready to learn more? Watch our on-demand webinar to learn about how to reach peak performance with an SAP supply chain health check.