SMART MANUFACTURING
“The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the gaps in our global supply chains and the overall need for greater transparency , efficiency and real-time flow of information ”
JIM BUREAU , CEO OF JAGGAER
As a result , this ongoing improvement cycle breeds higher quality supply chains ,” says Hughes .
“ A great example is the dual sourcing process that takes place in the automotive industry . A car manufacturer may receive 95 % of their stock of a single component from one source , but retain 5 % of their supply from a different supplier . In the event that something goes wrong with the primary supplier , the manufacturer can then ramp up their order from the secondary . This mitigates risk , reduces the potential for disruption and makes an organisation ’ s supply chain more robust ,” he explains .
Adding to Hughes ' comments , both Jim Bureau , CEO of JAGGAER , and Hong Mo Yang , SVP and GM of the Manufacturing Sector at Blue Yonder highlight the part that COVID-19 has played in the shift to smarter supply chains .
“ The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the gaps in our global supply chains and the overall need for greater transparency , efficiency and real-time flow of information . Supply shortages caused major disruptions and placed immense pressure on manufacturers to navigate these challenges as efficiently as possible , especially for critical products like personal protective equipment ( PPE ), hand sanitizer , media devices and equipment and more ,” says Bureau .
“ Over the past year , COVID-19 disruptions have affected many industries , but manufacturing has been particularly impacted . Against this backdrop , the transition to smarter supply chains has never been more important : many manufacturers ’ legacy supply chain systems simply haven ’ t been agile enough to react to disruption , let alone anticipate and avoid it . This is driving a shift towards smart supply chains ,” adds Yang .
50 June 2021