The distribution industry faces a unique set of challenges. Distribution is the crossroads where production, purchasing, inventory, and customer demand all meet. As such, this industry often consists of multi-faceted companies that can suffer from fragmented operation priorities. Communication between these different departments and their goals is crucial in efficient operations and maximized profitability. Supply chain management (SCM) software is meant to bring about such collaboration. By directing a company's resources and attention according to a unified structure, great gains in efficiency and reductions in cost and redundancy are realized.
Operational Enhancements
Supply chain management (SCM) software ultimately connects the inflow of goods with the outflow of products. This task is accomplished first by inventory, warehouse, and purchasing management. A robust software system will integrate these functions together for live updating of current warehouse stocks and incoming shipments to accurately determine needed purchases. An integrated system takes the guesswork out of ordering and automates order entry to prevent missed or redundant orders, all the while freeing up working time for other core tasks. The supply chain leading to the warehouse can be complicated, but with a strong data sorter and analyzer, materials can be effectively tracked.
Once within the warehouse, supply chain management improves the handling of those materials. The software suite can match a barcode system with upstream and downstream technologies by putting an iron-clad tracker on each and every inventory item. Once goods are entered into an integrated system, the corresponding information becomes enabled across every department. Sales representatives, warehouse foremen, and purchasing agents have live access to stock information.
Customer Relationship Management
Once warehouse information enters a supply chain management system, the information now becomes invaluable to the sales department. Accurate inventory numbers are vital for precision in order entry and the timely fulfillment of those orders. By building a reputation of near-perfect deliveries, a technological investment has created repeat business and a sales rapport with customers. Problems that do emerge during operations filter back into the information database to identify issues and single out solution options. Customer service will link back into the front end of the business, creating repeated value from the same system implementation.
The supply chain management (SCM) software scheme of integrating data systems and sharing information makes the task of financial planners and procurement agents infinitely more effective. Being able to see the whole picture, the entire supply chain and product demand, forecasting becomes much more accurate. Reliable forecasting will eventually improve all other distribution processes as resource shortfalls will happen rarely and orders will be filled at a higher success rate.
This cyclic improvement attribute of supply chain management is what makes the technology such a strong investment. For maximum potency, a solution that is easy to implement and merge with existing systems dramatically cuts down on implementation time and returns the investment much more quickly. Both the technical details and the end user interface must seamlessly blend together for maximum potency. For example, Microsoft users will find Microsoft Dynamics a powerful SCM suite since it integrates with and operates likes Microsoft Office. A transparent, powerful system is the technological solution that will drive profitability within distribution companies.
Please click here for What is Supply Chain Management.
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