What Is Supply Chain Management?
Supply chain management (SCM) is the control over the flow of goods from raw materials to final, salable goods. Each member along the chain aims to streamline their processes and better position themselves to move the goods along quickly and efficiently. Managed well, a supply chain can adjust to shifts in consumer demand, inflation, global events, and more.
What Is Supply Chain Planning?
Supply chain planning is focused on planning specifically for the creation and deployment of your own goods. This means it’s much more business-specific than supply chain management. For a small CPG business, that means planning for the materials you receive and the distribution you need. Anything beyond that scale is less important.
Supply Chain Issues
Unfortunately, the past few years have been rife with supply chain issues. From COVID-19 lockdowns causing a lack of manpower to increasing costs for shipping to a ship blocking the Suez, it was a complicated year. Unfortunately, each of these problems causes a cascading effect throughout the supply chain known as the bullwhip effect.
Supply Chain Management Best Practices
Supply chain management can seem like a behemoth you’ll never be able to tame. But, with proper planning and a solid understanding of how the supply chain operates, you can better take control. Some techniques require a budget but some don’t. Start with the areas you know you can handle, then move on to the others as your business grows. The larger your business becomes, the more important supply chain management.
With that in mind, here are some best practices for supply chain management:
Use Analytics to Battle Supply Chain Issues
The easiest way to avoid running into overwhelming supply chain issues is to invest in data. But, having tons of data is only helpful if you can analyze it, digest it, and turn it into actionable goals.
Fortunately, with Byzzer’s reporting solutions, you can have all the data you need at your fingertips. Byzzer provides breakdowns of product and category attributes in easy-to-digest reports. Best of all, we’ll show you how to leverage this information for your action plan.
