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Can ERP Software Tackle Key Issues in Supply Chain Management for Various Industries?

Category : ERP
Blog posted by : Admin / 04 Jul, 2022

 

The pandemic-induced disruption to the global supply chain has resulted in a downstream effect, which has affected many industries. Some believe that the COVID-19 lockdowns only exposed the already existing weak links in supply chain management.  

 

Nevertheless, as things start to pick back up gradually, industry leaders need to respond and arm their businesses with technology to withstand future disruptions. Here, we will address key issues in supply chain management for the following industries and discuss how ERP software can resolve them! 

  1. Real Estate and Construction 
  2. Infrastructure 
  3. Ceramics Manufacturing 
  4. Power and Energy 

 

 Any supply chain consists of multiple people components that are constantly interacting with each other. The raw material or the finished product is constantly moving to reach its final destination. Disruption at any one stakeholder’s end will have a cascading effect.

  • Manufacturers 
  • Wholesalers
  • Suppliers
  • Distributors
  • Retailers
  • Customers 

 

Experts have offered various solutions to the global disruption, from depending on regional players to creating their own transport systems and working round the clock but the solution differs for every industry. A Supply Chain Management (SCM) ERP system provides the following benefits:

 

1.  Tracking location of company assets and field workforce 

2.  Building a fuel-efficient supply chain system

3.  Qualifying and collaborating with vendors and suppliers

4.  Running employee engagement and retention programs

5.  Predictive maintenance to prevent equipment and machinery breakdown

6.  Reducing financial overheads and optimizing all costs 

7.  Demand forecasts to maintain optimal inventory 

8.  Supply chain analytics to stay ahead of imminent problems 

9.  Mobile ERP for increased SCM flexibility 

10. Daily, weekly, monthly reports for insights into the company’s SCM

 


 

SUPPLY CHAIN DIGITIZATION

INDUSTRY

SUPPLY CHAIN ISSUE

SCM ERP SOLUTION

Real Estate & 

Construction

Field staff location tracking 

Fuel wastage

GPS mobile ERP app

Fuel management  

Infrastructure 

Raw material unavailability

Employee attrition

Vendor management 

HCM software 

Ceramics

Manufacturing 

Equipment shortage 

Delayed distribution

Predictive maintenance

GPS Vehicle tracking

Renewable Power

& Energy

Uncontrolled distribution costs 

Fluctuations in demand 

Financial Management System 

Customer Relationship Management

 

 

Let us see how ERP software can help build a flexible and adaptable supply chain management system for the following industries.

 

1.      REAL ESTATE AND CONSTRUCTION

 

  • Field staff management- When operations were shut down, many real estate and construction companies lost valuable man-hours and had significant lags in their delivery timelines. To make up for it, many sites began functioning round the clock, in shifts.

The human workforce forms an essential part of any supply chain ERP system. To manage all employees working on site, in cyclical shifts and keeping track of all the field staff becomes difficult if done manually. A GPS tracking system helps continue the supply chain uninterrupted by monitoring the movement of company assets, including the workforce.

 

Key Takeaway: With a GPS mobile ERP app, managers can check location of their field staff, set up alerts for when someone ventures beyond the pre-set radius, and set location parameters such as time, distance and dates.

 

  • Fuel Wastage- Streamlining movement and transportation routes will ensure timely service. A big concern for ground transportation is fuel pilferage or theft. Supply chain ERP helps maintain fuel efficiency. 

 

Key Takeaway: Supply chain Fuel Management ERP Auto-calculate daily consumption and fuel expense, set daily consumption standards, add fuel tank capacity, and ideal working hours or UOM. Analyze the routes taken by drivers to find the cheapest ones. 

 

2.      INFRASTRUCTURE

 

  • Raw material unavailability- As it will take time for the supply chain management to get to their pre covid levels, businesses would need to deal with low or insufficient inventory for anywhere between three months up to a year,

One way of avoiding raw material unavailability and reducing other operational risks is to try to source it locally and to have multiple options of suppliers and vendors, all of whom can be easily on-boarded onto an ERP system to retrieve information instantly. 

Contractor management ERP helps facilitate supplier onboarding and vendor management service while laying the foundation for effective intra-communication. 

 

Key Takeaway: Companies can request for quotes and proposals, compare and award contracts, create customized work orders and invoices, manage payments and shortlist vendors through the automation system.

 

  • Employee attrition: For the construction and infrastructure industry, labor attrition is a challenge that site managers deal with   frequently. From ensuring full attendance on site to retaining top talent in the organization, HCM software plays an essential part in a supply chain ERP system.

 

Key Takeaway: Employee engagement activities such as online competitions, recognition and reward system, training and certification opportunities along with an Employee Self Service system will surely provide them with an incentive to stay. Human resource managers can monitor employee performance as well as their key drivers for engagement. 

 

3.      CERAMICS MANUFACTURING 

 

  • Equipment shortage- A double blow to the ceramic supply chain management system was the disruption in supply for product raw materials as well as equipment or its spare parts. In the event of volatility in the availability of spare parts for machinery, manufacturing units need to up their maintenance game. 

Manufacturing ERP helps achieve the maximum performance of company assets to optimize production time while maintaining equipment to prevent breakdowns and downtime. 

 

Key Takeaway: Ceramics ERP monitors spare part stock, warranty dates, service deadlines, equipment downtime, generates technical reports for floor managers to review, creates alerts for service requests as per the predictive maintenance model. 

 

  • Delayed distribution- Logistics in the ceramic manufacturing industry undoubtedly has had its share of hurdles and has been a pain point for many industries. After combating raw material supply issues, manufacturers need to deal with similar issues during distribution and shipping.

 

Key Takeaway: Supply chain management ERP is equipped with GPS tracking to aid with better transportation. By tracking the vehicles and other assets in their fleet, companies can save on costs by figuring out the cheapest routes for transportation and avoid bottlenecks.

 

4.                RENEWABLE POWER AND ENERGY

 

  • Distribution costs- Undoubtedly, India is one of the biggest energy consumers in the world. To keep up with demand in an energy-efficient way, many companies are investing in procuring renewable power and energy sources. 

From finding new partners or streamlining current ones to optimizing costs, ERP software is being increasingly adopted to prevent operational complications and manage demand effectively. 

The opening up of economies in a post-pandemic world, has seen a rise in the consumption of energy. This has brought up issues in the SCM system such as managing distribution while keeping the cost affordable. 

 

Key Takeaway: Energy producers can manage tendering and BOQ, process work orders, analyze process efficiency and automate follow ups for payments. A financial management system integrates data from all divisions of the organization such as plant management and inventory to monitor spending and control costs. 

 

  • Demand fluctuation- The renewable energy demand in India varies highly from state to state. The share of some states is higher than the national average. This disparity will be compounded as the government starts to support more renewable power generation, as it still is at a nascent stage. 

An Artificial Intelligence-integrated ERP solution is capable of analyzing the data fed into the system to create forecasts through predictive analytics. It can detect trends and patterns in data, based on which the client can optimize its supply chain ERP operations. The marketing AI will also help streamline client interactions and find opportunities. 

 

Key Takeaway: Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software automates data analysis and real-time monitoring to produce significant insights on customer behavior and demand. It empowers the sales and marketing teams with multiple ways of capturing and nurturing leads resulting in improved client and customer relationships. 

 

 

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