Manufacturers have worked progressively to optimize their operations during the last two decades. Improving product quality, increasing efficiency, and identifying competitive advantages have all contributed to businesses being focused and profitable. They are now confronting the next challenge: supply chain management.

Everything is changing to embrace technology in today's computerized world, notably the retail business. Customer tastes are evolving, and businesses must swiftly alter their tactics and style to remain competitive. 

For example, internet retail has received a lot of attention during the previous decade. It is convenient for both the buyer and the store. but, how does it influence the supply chains of the manufacturer and the retailer?

This blog post illustrates how companies can gain a competitive advantage by using the commercecore Merchant Operating System to streamline and optimize supply chain management.

Supply chain management in e-Commerce

Business efficiency at all operational levels is critical for the success of e-Commerce. Supply chain management is an essential component of e-Commerce. 

Supply chain management in e-Commerce focusses on procurement of raw material, manufacturing, and distribution of the right product at the right time. It includes managing supply and demand, warehousing, inventory tracking, order entry, order management, distribution and delivery to the customer. 

The supply chain for e-Commerce is complex and has many more players than traditional commerce. The supply network includes: the supplier, the manufacturer, the distributor, and the retailer.

Companies are discovering that they must rely on a network of suppliers, rather than a few carefully selected vendors, to execute their orders. Changes in the marketplace, cheaper pricing, and faster shipping have pushed select suppliers to the top of the list for future orders. There are few companies these days that work with only a few carefully chosen suppliers. Suppliers, in turn, recognize the importance of being adaptable in order to keep their consumers pleased.

What is global supply chain management

A global supply chain is the network and procedures involved in global sourcing. It entails purchasing the materials, transporting them, and managing the foreign inventories on a domestic level. These networks may become highly complex, particularly as consumer expectations rise. People want their products as fast as feasible and as conveniently as possible.

Companies are rethinking their supply chains and warehouse capacities as omnichannel fulfillment techniques that grow more widespread in order to keep up with demand. These range from physical establishments being used as warehouses to fulfill internet purchases to package returns when things are bought online. These skills make the whole client experience easier and better.

Supply chains provide higher company growth through a wider selection of customized, reliable, sustainable, and delivered as rapidly as possible products.

These factors play a key role in growth, and here’s how much demand rose from each factor: wider selection (71%), customized (76%), reliable (73%), sustainable (69%), and rapid delivery (76%).

The Challenges of Global Supply Chain Management in e-Commerce

When companies go global, supply chains have to as well. The process becomes more complex and difficult to manage. A supply chain that once operated smoothly can easily become tangled when expanded internationally. There are a number of challenges that come with managing a supply chain on a global scale:

The ultimate challenge of global supply chain management is to satisfy demand quicker, cheaper, and with less waste than competitors – all while maintaining quality standards. 

In other words, to succeed in today’s markets, your business must effectively manage a lot of moving parts.

Here are 5 of the top global supply chain challenges:

Lead times

The ‘Amazon Effect‘ has resulted in consumers – and increasingly, businesses – who expect a frictionless shopping experience with virtually instant results. This effect has set fire to a global supply chain arms race.

Buyers increasingly expect faster deliveries.

However, global supply chains often measure shipping times in weeks and months. These long lead times make it challenging to balance supply and demand effectively.

Delays

Unfortunately, long lead times can expose your shipments to even longer delays. With so many steps in the global supply chain and such large distances for goods to travel, there’s many opportunities for things to go wrong.

As a result, it’s crucial to have firm completion dates and shipping times. It’s also vital to have agreements in place with your partners that outline what happens when things don’t go according to plan.

Data management

By now, you may have realized that there are so many data points to take into account, data management itself is an issue.

“Organizations can quickly become overwhelmed by the vast amount of data today’s enterprise systems, connected devices and social networks create,” said Allan Dow, president of the leading AI-based supply chain planning solution Logicality.

This is why a survey by Logicality and APICS, the association for supply chain management, found that:

• 36% of respondents see the opportunity to balance supply and demand as a top driver for their analytics initiative.

• 19% of companies want to leverage machine learning to improve their business’s forecast accuracy.

In short, to manage the global supply chain effectively, businesses must use and customize a suitable data management solution.

Quality control and defects

Quality issues can also be challenging to manage.

For example, businesses must consider the differences in acceptable defect levels in different countries.

It’s essential to clarify the quality level expected and the percentage of acceptable defects ahead of time. It’s also best to define who is responsible and what happens should there be a disagreement in the future.

Exchange rate and foreign transaction costs

Exchange rate fluctuations matter little when taking a holiday abroad. However, even the smallest changes in foreign exchange rates can increase costs significantly when managing a global supply chain.

Developing countries may offer the cheapest labor rates globally, but they often have relatively unstable currencies that are susceptible to regional influences.

Another consideration is the high cost of international transactions when using a bank. These fees can quickly add up and hurt your margins.

Improve the efficiency of your business with the CommerceCore™ Merchant Operating system

Enterprise Resource Planning systems like the CommerceCore™ Merchant Operating System (MOPS) are used by companies to coordinate their business operations.

The core of the CommerceCore™ Merchant Operating System (MOPS) is that it enables the integration of various business processes into a single platform for better organization. That is, it comprehensively connects various departments.

The CommerceCore™ Merchant Operating System can help you to:

• Enhance the flow of information across the company’s departments and units.

• Broker more fruitful relationships between your company, manufacturers, suppliers, and wholesalers/retailers.

• Streamline supply chain management processes for greater visibility and adequate monitoring.

• Optimize costs and improve profitability by identifying and cutting unnecessary expenses.

• Facilitating business expansion; ensuring that expanding your supply chain will not break your business operations.

• Managing and tracking inventory to have a more accurate understanding of stock availability and warehouse storage options.

• Make better-informed business decisions by extrapolating insights from data analytics.

• Manage procurement and sourcing for standardized manufacturing and production.

• Gain access to insightful reports in real-time so that you can understand the state of the supply chain management and make more accurate decisions.

The benefits of CommerceCore™  MOPS for the supply chain management process

Data-Sharing and Faster Decision-Making

For easier data sharing, the Merchant Operating System links several segments, such as inventory and logistics. As a result, employees from multiple departments and units may communicate crucial information in real time. As a result, each individual can respond more quickly on whatever information they get. 

People will have to act fast to go to the other side of the split where there is no involvement of Merchant Operating System. Much of this data frequently necessitates immediate action and execution. Without a coordinated platform, such information might fall between the cracks.

However, this does not have to be the case. When an Merchant Operating System is in place, managers can connect with their team members more effectively and communicate more quickly.

Automation

Company operations may be automated using the CommerceCore™ Merchant Operating System.

For example, if there is insufficient stock in the inventory, the system may immediately contact the supplier to request replenishment. By managing supply requests on the go, the organization is able to satisfy the needs of our increasingly fast-paced environment.

Furthermore, because human participation is limited, there is less chance of mistake. A manager, for example, cannot 'forget' to refill a low order; the system does so automatically. Employees might also redirect their best efforts into vital company activities rather than slogging through apparently insignificant but required chores in this manner.

Reduced Costs

A supply chain that’s integrated and streamlined can help reduce unnecessary costs. This is because the Merchant Operating System allows for better analysis of data, identifies inefficiencies and makes recommendations for improvement. 

This also enables a company to manage its supply chain more effectively through improved visibility into inventory levels, shipping statuses and supply chain activities.

Improved cash flow

A strong financial system is essential for any business since money helps keep your business functioning smoothly. The majority of businesses want to improve cash flow in their supplier networks. The CommerceCore™ supply chain module has automatic accounting tools that can assist you in dealing with issues that arise mostly throughout the process. Manual chores that are automated can save a lot of money.

CommerceCore™ reduces the need for manual entry of critical financial data, resulting in fewer errors and more exact billing procedures.

A lot of businesses are experiencing insufficient cash flow as a result of sluggish information and high costs. The CommerceCore™ supply chain management module aids in the management of key supply chain elements.

Enhanced supply Chain Visibility

The CommerceCore™ Merchant Operating System has the ability to integrate both internal and external supply chains, allowing you to keep track of every link in your supply chain better than before. You can manage all inventory levels from a single place without too much effort on your part. The result is less time wasted trying to track down and manage supply chain issues.

Greater Customer Satisfaction

A supply chain that functions smoothly can help improve customer satisfaction rates. This is because customers are less likely to experience delays, defective products or inventory shortages. All of which can negatively impact customer loyalty and satisfaction levels.

The CommerceCore™ Merchant Operating System can help your business reduce supply chain costs, increase efficiency and improve customer satisfaction rates. It's an essential tool for any business looking to streamline their operations and manage a complex global supply chain.

Forecasting and Analytics

The world is becoming more data-driven. Integrating the CommerceCore™ Merchant Operating System allows you to obtain important data and scale up business operations. This will be impossible if you are unable to see patterns and trends in the data. Systems for enterprise resource planning enable you to acquire meaningful data from a variety of sources.

All of this data is linked into a single comprehensive platform, providing the company leader with a 360-degree view of all operations. This also allows you to predict what to expect based on the data trends. The ultimate goal is to create just-in-time production, in which all activities and processes are completely integrated.

Streamlined operations

Every entrepreneur and company leader recognizes the benefit of simplifying business operations.

The global supply chain market is expected to experience a CAGR of 11.2% from 2020 to 2027.(Source)

That means a market value increase from $15.85 billion in 2019 to $37.41billion in 2027. And, this number has continued to hold, despite the pandemic.

This is what the CommerceCore™ Merchant Operating System does.

It facilitates effective supply network organization and seamless operation by promoting productive contact between suppliers, manufacturers, managers, transporters, wholesalers, retailers, customers, and almost everyone else engaged in the supply network.

Conclusion

Technology has long played an important role in supply chain management, and the latest advancements are helping companies save time and money. 

You might be wondering what these new technologies can do for your company. Let’s explore a few of the benefits that the CommerceCore™ Merchant Operating System has to offer. If you want more information or would like a demo, contact us by filling out this Contact Form . We look forward to hearing from you!