View original at blog.kinaxis.com

Welcome to the first blog post in our three-part series discussing three ways to improve supply chain collaboration. Maybe I’m stating the obvious but… a lot has changed in the world of manufacturing since Keith Oliver of Booz, Allen and Hamilton Inc. coined the term “supply chain management” in early 1982. Move over, 1982, it’s 2016. It’s no surprise that today’s supply chains are more complex than those of three decades ago. They face ever-growing volatility, uncertainty and risk. Lack of visibility and collaboration in supply chain management is dramatically impacting the time it takes to make critical decisions. And, in the end, sometimes those decisions end up being wrong ones. Making informed decisions fast comes down to collaboration – how effectively the data, processes and people who oversee the supply chain can connect, communicate and interact with one another. But, for many organizations, there’s a distinct disconnect between data, processes and people that is preventing collaboration. What’s inhibiting collaboration and, more importantly, what can be done to fix what ails? You’ll find the answers in the new eBook, 3 Ways to Improve Supply Chain Collaboration . The book looks at how companies can foster ongoing supply chain collaboration by eliminating the disconnects between data, processes and people. Let’s zero in on the first of the “disconnects” explored in the eBook – data. The challenge: Disconnected data Today’s supply functions and processes are siloed, making data extraction, capture and analysis siloed, as well. Often, departments take a vertical approach to reporting, whereby individual, functional metrics are tracked, instead of taking a horizontal view that gives insight into the health of the supply chain network and interdependencies of the individual functions. Faced with multiple ERPs, modules, Excel spreadsheets and data warehouses around the globe, these organizations have a significant challenge […]