Roadmap to Build a Data Driven Supply Chain
Jan 27, 2021In the current times, no business can ignore having data at the heart of their operations and this is vital to stay ahead. Becoming a data-driven organization requires a change in culture. Such a transformation is definitely worthwhile as it is likely to become a company’s greatest business advantage. If this is the key to transforming a corporation, imagine the power that transforming a complete supply chain to this model may have. What if all your partners’ networks would support your business advantage? This can happen with the help of a 360° supply chain transparency solution.
“We are surrounded by data, but starved for insights”
- Jay Baer
Here are the levels of data maturity that your organization or your ecosystem can achieve:
Level 1: Hindsights – Understand What Happens
This is the initial phase of the digitization process to gather data and start collecting Hindsights. The digitization of the final inspection process is an example of hindsight, since it will provide you with meaningful data, allowing your team to work on addressing solutions rather than spending time investigating what happened. This allows teams to react sooner than they would have without a system in place because of real-time alerts and notifications that are triggered in cases of failure. Holistic data analytics are provided to the different teams allowing them to achieve a better understanding of the current issues and address them faster. This first phase also educates stake-holders on the available metrics and aligns everyone in terms of process and KPIs. This drives teams toward a data driven-culture, as it becomes easy for them to access the data they need.
Level 2: Insights – Understand Why It Happens
In the second phase, additional value is created in the form of Insights. This can be achieved through the integration of additional data points such as inspection time, certification information and geo-tracking, which optimizes the understanding of the context around the data to provide a full story and helps to prepare for next actions. This can be concretely done with the addition of complementary modules such as Non-Conformity, Certifications, and Lab Testing, which provide greater understanding on the reasons behind a failure.
Level 3: Foresights – Predict if and When it Will Happen
The next phase of data maturity, Foresights, requires additional resources and expertise acquired by leveraging a partner of your SaaS provider. This is by far the level that provides the most value and is made possible through the use of advanced technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence and Augmented Analytics, offering predictive and prescriptive analytics to your team and network. Actions can be immediately triggered in response to predictions. For example, based on the level of risk detected, an inspection level is automatically tightened with additional points of control to drive the focus where the risk is greater. These mechanisms maximize resource allocation and anticipate issues before they occur.
Whatever the level of data strategy that is achieved in your organization today, companies and executives that champion and communicate best data driven practices will always be ahead. If they can lead their team as well as their partners, they will not only provide high returns, but set themselves apart from the competition.