What are the digital strategies that are driving the supply chain resilience?

The past couple of years have been incredibly disruptive in terms of supply chain resilience. Increases in shipping costs, challenges with the workforce, new production methods and innovation, as well as the lingering impact of the pandemic, are all having an impact. Consequently, many supply chain professionals find themselves in a constant battle to try to react to what’s happening around them, rather than planning and responding. The good news is that there are digital strategies that are providing new options for a way forward.

Why is there such supply chain disruption today?

There has been unprecedented turbulence when it comes to supply chains and there are three key reasons for this. The first is the impact of a range of external forces, from environmental disasters to political upheaval and economic turmoil, all of which have had an impact on services and infrastructure. The second is the value chain, where small issues have had a much bigger impact along the entire supply chain, whether that is manufacturing accidents or workforce disputes. And, lastly, internal challenges continue to cause disruption for many businesses, from finance issues to breaches in IT security.

What are the strategies driving supply chain resilience?

Technology provides a wealth of innovation that can be used for solutions when it comes to embedding resilience in supply chains. Digital strategies can help to improve business robustness and long-term opportunities to survive and thrive. Here are three that are making a big difference:

• Supply chain digital twins. A digital twin is a digital replica of the supply chain that can be used to improve risk mitigation. It is easily integrated with an organisation’s existing systems where it can provide advance notification of something external that could have an impact on the supply chain, such as a natural disaster. They can also deliver real time insights into disruptions, and potential disruptions, so that businesses can respond to challenges, as opposed to reacting.
• Predictive maintenance. Equipment and robotics have a big role to play in the supply chain today – and being able to rely on these to function effectively can provide huge peace of mind. Predictive maintenance is based on the use of sensors and machine learning technology that tracks operational functionality so that maintenance can be used as a way to prevent breakdowns and prolong the lifespan of machines. Supply chain resilience is improved when machines and equipment function consistently well.
• Tracking as a tool. There are many ways in which tracking can be used to improve supply chain resilience. Data obtained through tracking provides the foundation for analytics that feed into decision making. That might be something like using social media to track and leverage consumer behaviour analytics or using data drawn from fleets being tracked across land and sea.

With supply chain resilience moving to the top of the agenda, it’s key to understand the resources that are available to help make this happen. Digital twins, predictive maintenance and tracking as a tool are three digital strategies available.