Supply chain disruptions aren’t going anywhere. According to the New York Times, a “normal” supply chain is unlikely this year, and while longer-term outlooks predict that the scope of disruptions will shrink, time alone won’t be enough to solve supply chain woes. The Times article puts it simply: “It will require investment, technology, and a refashioning of the incentives at play across global businesses.”

But what does this mean for your enterprise? As the world looks to address issues at scale, how can your organization take action to improve current operations and increase overall efficiency? SageX3 can help. Equipped with intelligent, on-demand supply chain solutions, your business can get ahead of the crowd and deliver on evolving expectations. Here’s how.

Current Supply Chain Challenges

Supply chain challenges in Canada continue unabated: 90 percent of Canadian manufacturers say that they’re currently experiencing supply chain issues, which are in turn reducing production volumes and driving a downturn in sales. While differing industries face their own unique challenges in supply and demand, four factors are common:

 

• Global unrest

Geopolitical tensions have ramped up significantly in the wake of the pandemic. From global conflicts to rapid changes in national health policies, companies are hard-pressed to get accurate information about when supply chains will operate as expected and when they will experience significant delays. While many businesses have expanded their supply chain framework to avoid the risks of single-sourcing, additional suppliers require additional management time and oversight.

• Ongoing staff shortages

Sea- and airports around the world continue to experience staff shortages due to both illness and evolving job markets. As a result, shipments are often sitting in docks or hangers for far longer than expected, in turn making it harder for companies to create reliable production and delivery timelines.

• Increasing freight costs

While the global cost of shipping peaked in late 2021, costs are once again on the rise this year. According to the IMF, these costs are likely to persist at least through the end of 2022, making it a challenge for companies to get what they need, when they need it — without breaking their budget.

• Sudden supply changes

Given the unstable supply chain climate — from initial goods acquisition to packaging, transport, and arrival — it’s easy for shipment details to change at a moment’s notice. For example, a company might discover after shipments have arrived that they received only half of the promised materials, putting their production quota and delivery volumes in doubt.

How Sage X3 Can Help

Supply chain tools are now commonplace among businesses to help manage and monitor the movement of raw materials, completed products, and logistics providers from end to end. The problem? Many of these tools are outdated. Designed to work with legacy systems and solutions, they often lack the ability to connect with cloud resources or leverage data on-demand. The result is a data delay — businesses don’t have the supply chain information they need until it’s too late.

supply chain management ERP like Sage X3 can help equipped with intelligent operations and intuitive controls, Sage cloud offerings can help your business advance in three key areas:

• Better decision making

Intelligent data analysis empowers better decision-making. Equipped with information about where supply chains are operating as expected and where they’re encountering issues, companies are better prepared to make decisions that drive business success. For example, if Sage X3 analysis suggests an emerging problem with a current supplier, companies can transition to alternative options until the issue has been resolved — rather than waiting until the problem has already affected production.

• On-demand collaboration

The global nature of supply chains means that companies benefit from real-time, on-demand communication. Sage X3’s centralized, single source of truth paired with instant communication tools makes it possible for teams to quickly connect with suppliers and determine where quotas will be met, where problems may occur and where actions are necessary to address specific issues. Access to reliable communications also makes it possible to minimize overspending upfront and control costs over time.

• Superior supply chain visibility

What you can’t see can hurt you. Given the complexity of multi-source supply chains, it’s now critical for companies to achieve end-to-end visibility. Lack of clarity at any point in the supply journey from raw materials suppliers to component producers to goods transporters can have significant downstream effects as companies struggle to realign production quotas if only some — or none — of the promised materials arrive. Sage X3 automates the collection and management of supply chain data, in turn giving your team the information they need to follow up on potential problems and identify effective solutions.

Ready to take on supply chain challenges with Sage X3? Get in touch with IWI — for more than 20 years, we’ve been helping Canadian businesses make the most of Sage solutions.