|
Supply chain, today, are as dynamic as the business environment
governing them. Additionally, there is an increasing pressure to bring about
efficiencies through the whole value chain. Can RFID be the answer?
In today's dynamic world, companies in their quest for
improvement are investing in tools and systems that optimize their processes,
and have made significant progress by employing various technologies for
increasing efficiencies and reducing costs.
The intense competitive landscape makes it imperative for
businesses to continuously evolve with an emphasis on optimizing at all levels
of the value chain. Supply chain management (SCM) is integrating the entire
chain right from suppliers to manufacturers, 3PLs, distributors, wholesalers/
sub distributors, retailers and finally to the end consumers, and emphasizes the
need for collaboration between all entities to optimize the whole system.
| The
basic aim of any SCM function is to make the organization more agile and
nimble footed to respond to continuously changing consumer preferences |
The basic aim of any SCM function is to make the organization
more agile and nimble footed to respond to continuously changing consumer
preferences by capturing the data of material flow at all levels of the value
chain.
SCM Overview
Global researches have time and again concluded that today's supply chains
are far from delivering their objective. Some of the reasons that have been
attributed are:
What is needed is an effective solution for end-to-end
visibility that ensures the right amount of goods at the right place and in the
most cost effective manner. There is an urgent need for businesses to
"sense and respond" which requires every part of the enterprise to be
integrated with the IT infrastructure, and this has to include the physical
assets but most importantly enable item-level tracking.
Trends
The supply chain has evolved significantly over the past few decades and
today it seems poised for yet another transformation driven primarily by
technology and globalization. This technology change will involve a medium to
enable fast, open standards for the transmission of information and the
development of agents for Intelligent Products.
| Impact on Key SCM Entities |
| Manufacturers |
-
Manufacturers get
Real-Time information on the customer needs and become more responsive to
them.
-
Reduced raw material inventory
-
Accurate production planning schedules
-
Enables faster and more accurate recalls as and when necessary
|
| 3PLs |
-
RFID enables better
coordination between 3PL's and retailers/ regional warehouses by
improving data sharing
-
Pallet/ Case/ Item level tracking to know the exact location of a
particular item in the chain for better control and visibility
-
Real-Time information to help reduce out of stocks
|
| Distributors |
-
Distributors are
enabled to supply products, Just In Time
-
Can balance their inventory accurately to have enhanced ROI
|
|
Retailers |
-
Become more
efficient due to better inventory management, store visibility, reduced
thefts and frauds, manpower management and streamlined financial systems
-
Become more agile by advanced forecasting mechanisms and
collaboration with all the entities
|
Page(s) 1 2
| 
Print
Comment
Email
Digg
Del.icio.us
Reddit
Twitter
