PLANNING & SOURCING
To this end , he says what-if scenarios are key , because it means that before any disruption happens , there will be a response plan in place . “ This is where planning can help tremendously , in terms of being prepared and , therefore , resilient ,” says Vallejo .
He adds that another important resilience-boosting aspect of planning is how it helps with supply chain response management , which is about responding better when disruption actually hits .
“ Remember , disruption isn ’ t always upstream , with suppliers ,” Vallejo stresses . “ It can also be downstream , with changes in demand or problems with transportation . Using real-time planning , you can see what the impact of such disruption will be , and figure out alternatives . You might reroute volumes , for example , or rebalance
I think we will see dramatic changes in the way products are designed
inventory . All of these decisions need to happen instantly , and this is where a digital planning environment can help to synchronise decisions across finance , manufacturing , logistics and the business network in near real time .
These are today ’ s problems , but in a forward-looking business such as SAP , experts like Vallejo always have one eye on the future . He sees big changes afoot in what it will mean for supply chains to be sustainable
“ I think we will see dramatic changes in the way products are designed ,” he says . “ Today , when you order things online sometimes the product is way smaller than the packaging it comes in . We ’ ll see reusable packaging that you can return for the next product to be shipped to you , for example .”
And he believes some products themselves will change drastically .
“ Take detergent , such as shampoo . Up to 99 % of shampoo is water , which is heavy and bulky to transport . Yet when you ’ re in the shower , you ’ re standing in water anyway . I believe shampoo will come in capsule form eventually . Previous generations might not have been open to such a change , but I think today ’ s younger generations will be .”
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