EVENT The Future of Supply Chain Planning
Defi ning the Future of Supply Chain Planning this May in Chicago, US
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n a recent Reuters Events webinar, Building Collective Resilience Across Your Supply Chain, 69% of respondents surveyed said that supplier collaboration is currently playing a critical role in their supply chain planning operations. Under immense industry pressure, supply chain planners are being forced to evolve drastically. Reuters Events: Supply Chain Planning USA (May25-26, Chicago) will explore how to establish a robust digital infrastructure and successfully scale new innovations in demand planning operations. It is clear that future success for supply chain planning lies in designing a data-centric strategy, integrating S&OP, and enhancing the supplier network. Improving supply chain planning decisions begins with a strong foundation – ensuring a stable fl ow of accurate and consistent data. Many businesses already rely on digital systems of some sort to collect data. While it is rare that a company would start completely from scratch with digitising data, it is still common that supply-chain professionals rely on legacy systems, large spreadsheets and a disconnected approach to data collection. On the other side of it, forward- looking businesses are already at the stage of integrating data fabrics to all core supply chain disciplines. It is essential to build a digitally-focused and data-centric supply chain planning strategy, regardless of the digitisation maturity stage within the business.
Compatible datasets are the stepping stones to reliable supply chain planning operations. A dedicated data strategy enables planning teams and wider departments to convert all data to a singular format and to transform datasets from diff erent legacy systems (online and offl ine). Régine Villain, Supply Chain Network & Chief Supply Chain Offi cer at Ochsner Health, explains the problem of compatibility this way: “Data is not just data - it needs to be able to sync in a way that makes sense and the story needs to be told in a way that is seamless.” In another 2022 supply chain webinar survey, Empower Supply Chain Planning
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by Growing Supplier Collaboration, conducted by Reuters Events, 56% of participants said they believed a cloud infrastructure would improve digital collaboration best. The arguments for a more collaborative supply chain network are convincing, especially when considering the challenges of digital transformation and business intelligence software.
Samer Barakat, VP Supply Chain at 3Sixty Duty Free, does not see digital transformation as a standalone one-time project. “Digital transformation in supply chain planning is an ongoing project, given the amount of data that exists. It starts with making sure that there are digital transformation project teams or at least dedicated resources out there. Their role is to, fi rst, digitize data and, second, make it ready for upstream and downstream teams within the supply chain to have it at their fi ngertips in order to make informed decisions, based on the circumstances or events that have occurred. We use the Covid-19 crisis as a good example of the need to adapt. I am sure companies realized that accessing and understanding data is key, in terms of trying to reassess or re-evaluate their overall supply chain needs.” Digital transformation is a necessary step towards improving supply chain planning operations. By putting a connected modern digital infrastructure in place, one can move away from raw data to making informed planning decisions.
Integrated digital infrastructures help companies with the speed of supply chain analysis and having it in a centralized widely-accessible form. Advanced forecasting models and tools give professionals the abilities to better forecast future demand. While major global disruptions continue to occur happen, scenario models need to provide insights into how to react on the operations side in terms of inventory management, production, and logistics. Additionally, technology solves S&OP challenges such as pulling together previously siloed teams, giving them equal access to data, and reducing competing interests (when a sales plan can under- or overpromise a forecast that later creates problems on the production side of a supply chain).
The past two years have demonstrated to supply chain planning experts that global trade networks can no longer function on legacy systems, fragmented decisions, and outdated planning methods. Collaboration, reliable digital data, and E2E visibility are all needed to move ahead. Digital platforms facilitate all these disciplines but require some eff ort to reap the rewards. To deep-dive into the topics discussed here, join Reuters Events, May 25-26 in Chicago at Supply Chain Planning USA! Go to
https://events.reutersevents. com/supply-chain/planning-usa, or contact Hannah Van Nostrand at hannah.
vannostrand@thomsonreuters.com
Automation | April 2022 45
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