Data insights. Agility and precision in decision-making. Amazing customer experiences. Show Software is the key enabler for companies to enjoy a supply chain competitive advantage and gain visibility and orchestration from the first mile to the last mile of their shipments. While supply chains share some common similarities, each is also unique in its specific combination of manufacturers, raw materials, logistics, organizations and goods. There are many points of differentiation in your supply chain, but the question is how can you use that to your competitive advantage? In this article, we’ll dig into some of the unique aspects of a supply chain and explain how you can use those distinctions and differentiations to gain a competitive advantage and maximize profits. You’ll learn how to take advantage of:
In-House Versus Outsourced ManufacturingSome larger organizations have the capital and resources to manufacture their own products, either from raw ingredients or pre-made parts. Other organizations will typically outsource their manufacturing to white-label providers. Supply Chain Competitive Advantage From In-House Manufacturing There are several ways to leverage your in-house manufacturing capabilities:
Supply Chain Competitive Advantage From Outsourced Manufacturing Supply chain management can streamline processes and relationships with external manufacturers, too:
Integrated Logistics Versus Outsourced LogisticsBuilding up internal warehousing, logistics and distribution is a major undertaking. Other businesses may choose to outsource some or all of their logistics needs. Supply Chain Competitive Advantage From Integrated Logistics Although resource-intensive, integrated logistics offers up some big advantages:
Blume Assets enables carriers, service providers and enterprises to manage their key assets—including containers, chassis, trailers and more—across the entire supply chain lifecycle. Additionally, it provides accurate and dynamic asset tracking, financial management and maintenance and repair. Supply Chain Competitive Advantage From Outsourced Third-Party Logistics Providers It may be slightly harder to realize advantages from third-party logistics (3PL) providers, but it’s still possible:
Blume solutions give logistics service providers granular visibility of their shipments, real-time shipment updates, proof of delivery and related documents through photos and IoT technology. Read the customer story. Flexible Supply and Demand ManagementGood supply and demand management is essential to managing inventory levels, keeping enough stock, ensuring short manufacturing cycles and getting products into the hands of consumers. Supply Chain Competitive Advantage From Flexible Supply and Demand Management There are several ways to leverage good supply and demand flexibility to stay ahead of rivals:
Blume optimizes assets, logistics and supply chains with AI- and ML-driven matching for assets and transportation legs. For LSPs that need to minimize empty container moves and manufacturers that need to streamline supply chain operations, Blume Optimization helps minimize costs, maximize capacity and improve agility. Supply Chain Process ManagementSupply chain managers spend a substantial amount of time managing supply chain processes. It’s not surprising that understanding and streamlining those processes can result in huge productivity and cost savings. Supply Chain Competitive Advantage From Efficient Supply Chain Process Management The main advantages here come from visibility, reducing waste, streamlining and reducing rework or duplication:
Blume Visibility removes dark areas and provides clear visibility across every move, mode and mile by tracking events, predicting ETA, flagging exceptions and facilitating proactive resolution of disruptions. Unparalleled network visibility and intelligent execution help improve supply chain performance, resilience and responsiveness. Supplier Relationship ManagementGood relationship management between suppliers and manufacturers will streamline the production and flow of goods and remove friction. Supply Chain Competitive Advantage From Strong Supplier Relationship Management Treating suppliers like partners and collaborators is an excellent way to get them integrated and prepared to take extra steps to ensure quality and speed:
Blume Logistics creates a robust network for logistics tendering, tracking, event capture, POD verification and settlement initiation. By connecting a global ecosystem of multi-modal carriers to manage every move, Blume Logistics unites carriers—from ocean to rail to long haul—with first- and last-mile drayage for real-time event and cost tracking. Supply Chain Document ManagementThe supply chain generates a huge amount of documentation, including contracts, shipping notifications, bills of lading, purchase orders, service level agreements and much more. Supply chain management can significantly reduce the administrative overhead to speed up document processing and streamline the production and transfer of goods. Supply Chain Competitive Advantage From Reducing the Burden of Document Management Nobody likes producing or managing documents, so there’s plenty that can be done to make the whole process less painful:
Blume Finance enables transparency and granular visibility for freight audit and pay with a smart contract repository, rating management and validation, machine learning-driven invoicing, cost accrual auditing and blockchain-enabled payment and settlement. |