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MAKE WAY FOR INDUSTRY 4.0

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MAKE WAY FOR INDUSTRY 4.0

In a fast-moving generation, where new technological advancements happen in the wink of an eye, there is only one constant – change. We have to learn the art of walking hand in hand with everything new and adapt to the ever-changing environments to draw a progressive trajectory in our careers and personal lives. Everything around is changing, and there is nothing that’s permanent. ‘Improvement & growth’ are the two key words that drive people towards innovative ideas and solutions and Industry 4.0 is a testimony to change on a gargantuan scale.

 

Miracle on the move

 

New discoveries are made daily, and it’s certain that there won’t be any dearth of it in the days to come as well. But things around us are rapidly changing. The IoT (Internet of things) is ever expanding and it has started to play a major role in the field of production. The manufacturing industry is taken over by machines and the awe-factor here is that these machines have an internal intelligence and advanced interfaces that allow them to communicate with other machines. Sounds interesting, isn’t it?

 

It’s surprising, but it will not be new anymore considering the pace at which the industries are moving forward. You won’t be wrong if you can call it the future!

 

Industry 4.0 is a title for the current trend of automation and data exchange that’s taking the world of technology by storm. Cyber-physical systems, cloud computing, the IoT, and cognitive computing – it’s a ‘smart factory’ where the cyber-physical systems have the ability to take decentralised decisions. Over the IoT, these cyber-physical systems effectively operate and communicate with each other, and with humans. It sounds like a miracle, and you don’t have to doubt – it is indeed one!

 

Pillars of strength

 

It is like watching those Hollywood movies where it’s all about saving the world and future. Among the design principles of Industry 4.0, is interconnectivity.  Here, unlike the working patterns of the generations that passed by, the machines, devices, sensors, and people have the ability to connect and communicate with each other. This is achieved through the IoT (Internet of Things), or IoP (Internet of People). This brings forth transparency in the way it’s operated. The operators are loaded with useful information, and this makes it easier for them to take further steps and decisions.

 

Here the focus is on the establishment of intelligent products and production values. The system of interconnected network helps factories to cope up with rapid product development in complex environments. Within a smart factory, the products can communicate with their environment and influence the arrangement patterns through RMS (Reconfigurable Manufacturing Systems). There are configuration rules from which case-specific topologies can be derived. This enables the manufacturing companies to adapt quickly to various requirements in the market. The flexibility is increased, while the task of co-ordination becomes much easier.

 

The functionality of the whole system is increased manifold and this helps in identifying and improving the areas that need further innovation and improvement. Major decisions are made by humans of experience. This will soon be replaced with high-end solutions which will not be prone to error.  The decision-making process will be assisted by self-optimised and knowledgeable manufacturing systems. This means there will be stronger technical assistance to people operating the system. These systems are capable of assistance & support by aggregating and visualizing information comprehensively to make better decisions and solve urgent problems on short notice. Cyber-physical systems have the capacity to support humans by conducting a wide range of operations that are either risky or too unpleasant to handle.

When the real and virtual world joins hands as one, innovation will begin to help the economy scale better heights. The convergence of affordable technology and exponentially growing data has the power to transform the entire economy. IoT plays a vital role in this transformation.  This provides sustainable mobility and enhanced services in all sectors alike.

 

Expected developments and labour

 

The manufacturing pieces of equipment in the industrial revolution will be something out of the ordinary. Highly automated machines, tools, and robots will enter the scene and precision will be a guarantee. There will be flexibility and as the requirements change, and it is much easier to switch. Robots will be seen working together with workers on joint tasks. There will be a radical shift in the labour market as well. Skilled workers in demand for their experience will be eliminated and for them, it will call for serious change to adapt and move with the trend. This brings forth some new opportunities for the working class to change their routine and smartly adapt to the new requirements in demand. The requirement profile in the industry is expected to shift from a normal production employee to someone with high levels of profound competence. The probability of the number of workers decreasing is high. The rest of the manufacturing jobs will contain more knowledgeable work which will be short-term and hard-to-plan. The workers will be required to monitor the automated systems which will be integrated into decentralised decision-making platforms.

 

When it comes to the structure of the organisation and the way it operates, the manufacturing systems cannot be henceforth operated from a nodal point. Instead of that, decentralised instances will autonomously use local information for decision-making. The decision will be taken by workers or types of equipment using AI methods.

 

Talk about the value creation, we are about to witness a whole lot of 3D printing. The costs of additive manufacturing have dropped rapidly and this calls for an increase in speed and precision. Geometries that are far more complex and strong will be designed at ease. This enables the industry to visualise and execute the ideas in a better way. When there are provisions to manufacture the product in batch size according to the requirements of the customer, the mass customisation integrates the customer easily into the value chain.

MAKE WAY FOR INDUSTRY 4.0

Business models and value creation

 

Most of the business models will use smart data for rendering new services. The new developments will be used for floating sustainable models that are unlike the ones in the past. These sustainable business models can create positive or negative impacts on the environment or society. But on the other hand, they can also contribute to solving an environmental or social problem as well. These models will have the power to stay, which means you won’t see them going obsolete in the near future. They will be competitive on the long-run. This will be technique and here, the functionalities and accessibilities will be sold instead of just focussing on the tangible products.

 

In a nutshell, through such advanced value creation networks, we can witness ‘Industrial symbiosis’. The cross-linking of value creation networks offers new opportunities for realising closed-loop product cycles. The product, material, energy, and the flow of water throughout the product life-cycles will be efficiently coordinated. This coordination can be achieved between different factories as well. Closed-loop product life-cycles as such can work on recycling too.

 

Traditional versus 4.0

 

If you look at the current market, providing the best of services and product quality at the least price is the key to success. There is no denying that. Unless you look at the brand value of things, this is the formula that works for the common man. The industrial factories are trying to achieve just that – they are trying to increase their performance and profit. There are plenty of data sources available for the factories to avail information about the various aspects of profit making. The data has to be used to understand current operating conditions, and detecting faults and failures of the existing system. This is an important topic to research and there are plenty of commercial tools available to provide overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) values to the factory management. This will help in hogging the spotlight on the root causes of problems and possible faults in the system.  Moreover, the added advantage here is that the components and systems in Industry 4.0 will have self-awareness, which will effectively improve the efficiency of the factory.  Through peer-to-peer comparison and fusion of health comparison, a precise health prediction is attained and this enables the factory management to maintain the systems intact. This sort of stability was missing in the traditional factories.

 

Logistics and supply chain

 

Innovation in logistics is not entirely associated with modern IT solutions. But there are things that can change. There are some innovative solutions that can manifest through this industrial revolution.

 

There is room for continuous improvement. Whatever work happens around, it will be continuously verified and the team will have huge benefits out of it.  The latest advancements also help to keep vigil over all the activities and its quality. Team-work can be effectively coordinated like never before. The entire focus will be on implemented practices and shared values. Through Industry 4.0, there will be continuous activities running round the clock to constantly search and come up with better ideas to increase productivity.  There is no dearth of communication, plus work-satisfaction and elimination of old habits – there are changes aplenty when the entire system is improved.

 

There are some other factors as well that showcases the kind of change that’s about to hit the field of logistics. There will be a big change in the structure of regional networks, flexibility and risk management. When it comes to the lead time delivery services, customer satisfaction is guaranteed. The system is more reliable and updated. As the services are rendered according to the needs of the customers, the rapid approach and problem-solving techniques will increase reliability and trust-factor to the next level. The segmentation of the supply chain will be focussed on demand and specific needs of the customers. This will help in great reduction of the volume of stocks, and bring forth cost-effective remedies. Safety requirements and potential hazards in the supply chain can easily be spotted. Combine all these factors and you can guess how a factory or a set of factories will benefit from these changes.

 

The Internet of Things

 

The idea of the Internet of Things was formulated by British entrepreneur Kevin Ashton in 1999 to describe a system in which the material world communicates with the computer. Two decades later, it stands in front of us in the form of reality.   Today, there are areas where IoT solutions can potentially revolutionise the entire industrial standards.

 

The IoT focuses on Smart environment where the entire anthropogenic emissions will be monitored and cut down to produce eco-friendly solutions. Smart water management is an area where this can be achieved. The impacts of water resources on the environment, their regulation and protection against floods, waterways, and hydropower is a key area of study using IoT that can change the entire game plan. In a way that supports the economy, soon there will be smart and better ways of transport, production and energy resources. Smart cities are another such wonder where IoT can play an important role. Traffic congestion can be monitored and regulated, parking spaces, intelligent roads, weather-monitoring and much more – the IoT can work magic. Smart health will cover a wide range of physical activities and monitor them to tune us into perfect health conditions. Health-centric homes are becoming a reality.

 

The future

 

Industry 4.0 has the potential to make an impact on a lot of areas around the world. Talk about better services and business models, it will be served. When we deal with productivity, it’s about to become more reliable and competent. Machine safety, risk management, better communication, product lifecycles, transport and logistics, and more – everything will be improved using cutting-edge technology.

 

If you consider a machine, with time it will be affected by wear and tear. When networking becomes confusing cobwebs, there is a loss of time and productivity. Industry 4.0 will address all the issues and bring out the best in everything. The vast majority of businesses are determined with the implementation of product, technical, technological, and organisational innovation.  The focus is on creating value for the customer who is aware of everything happening around. Solutions such as the Internet of Things, Big Data and Industry 4.0 create more opportunities to meet such customer requirements. Logistics is better, and supply chain management is stronger than usual. Business is better, and work is much easier. Welcome to the revolution.

MAKE WAY FOR INDUSTRY 4.0

 

References

 

[1] Persaga

https://www.persaga.ch/stellenwandel-dank-industrie-4-0/

[2] Science direct, T. Stock, G Seliger. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877705817313346

[3] Science direct, Krzysztof Witkowski; Internet of Things, Big Data, Industry 4.0 – Innovative Solutions in Logistics and Supply Chains Management

[3] BGH Consulting. https://www.bgh-consulting.de/de/lp/industrie4.0-personalberatung/

[4] Wikipedia. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industry_4.0

[5] Waset. http://waset.org/publications/9997144

[6] Springer. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-658-05014-6_2

 

 

Understanding the Relationship between Human Resource Management (HRM) on Supply Chain Management (SCM)

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Understanding the Relationship between Human Resource Management (HRM) on Supply Chain Management (SCM)

While supply chains have been playing a crucial role in several industries for many years, it is only in the past few years that supply chain management (SCM) has been treated as a separate strategic branch which can be improved to benefit businesses.

As soon as SCM started receiving its due importance, there began a search for the factors that affect supply chain and its functioning. While factors like inventory control, product design, industry standards, procedure costs, and distribution strategies were some of the few that were initially discovered to abundantly impact SCM, human resource management (HRM) is the latest to join the list.

While there have been a few studies done in the past to understand the impact of HRM on SCM, the research by the Department of Business Administration of University of Barcelona, Spain, clearly pointed out the relationship between the two.

The purpose of the study was to understand the impact of HRM on SCM which in turn also impacts organizational performance (OP) and customer satisfaction (CS), factors which play an important role between SCM outcomes (SCMO) and HRM.

The study used the previously validated structural equation model (SEM) which is based on five attributes including SCM implementation (SCMI), HRM, organizational performance, customer satisfaction, and SCMO. A survey was conducted on the basis of this model and 231 responses were recorded.

The study confirmed the significant impact that HRM, directly and indirectly, has on the SCMI and SCMO. Overall, the study suggests that successful implementation of SCM can not only help improve SCMO directly but it indirectly also increases OP and CS.

These findings make a very strong case for organizations to apply proven HRM practices to their supply chains to improve SCM to an extent where it starts functioning as a competitive edge. While businesses never thought of SCM as something that could be impacted by HRM, understanding the relationship between the two is simpler than it looks.

Working of a Supply Chain

If the complicated terminologies are sidestepped for a minute, supply chains are nothing but people. The entire chain is a group of organizations which work in downstream or upstream flows of services and products to deliver the final product to the customers.

This ‘group’ of organizations can be within a single company where delivery or supplies and production of products occur or can also be a very complex network of 3rd party suppliers, distributors, sales outlets and service providers. SCM aims to enhance the overall performance of the supply chain along with that of individual firms.

While several organizations have now started recognizing how important SCM is, most of them are yet to understand the fact that successful SCM relies on the people who are part of the supply chain. It is on the basis of the efficiency of the members of the supply chain that the supply chain would function.

There are already several studies that have confirmed that impact of HRM on the performance of the employees. The same practices can be adopted by the human resource department for the people who are part of the supply chain to improve their efficiency and performance.

From recruiting and selection, training and development, to compensation and incentive there are several practices in HRM that can be successfully used to improve the overall SCM.

If all of this is to be said in simple words, it basically means that the performance of the supply chain relies in the hands of people who are part of the chain and HRM is an efficient tool to improve the efficiency of the supply chain members and ultimately improve the supply chain and overall functioning of the organization.

 

Understanding the Relationship between Human Resource Management (HRM) on Supply Chain Management (SCM)

 

Improving Customer Satisfaction with HRM

While the positive impact on SCM through successful HRM practices is clear now, how the same can also help in improving customer satisfaction as the University of Barcelona study suggests?

This relationship too if pretty straightforward. Supply chains are only as strong as their weakest link. For instance, let us assume that you run a business in the USA and import products from China. You’ve selected an exporter and have successfully moved the products through customs and then to the distribution center sooner than expected.

But what if the distribution center delays the delivery to the customers? Your customers would surely be unhappy and this means that the supply chain of your company has failed. It is not difficult to understand that the retail industry relies mostly on customer satisfaction. In other words, the success of your supply chain has a deep relation with how happy your customers are.

So, you see there is an indirect relationship between HRM and CS too. With the help of successful HRM practices, you can improve your supply chain which in turn will help you improve customer satisfaction. There are a few time-proven ways in which supply chain can be improved for better CS. Some of them are-

  • Selecting the right transportation partners
  • Improving logistics planning
  • End-to-end supply chain analysis
  • Using technology for improving visibility and tracking inventory
  • Linking back-end and front-end deliveries
  • Measuring supply chain performance on a consistent basis

While all of these steps revolve around SCM, HRM is indirectly involved in implementing them and making sure that they deliver the expected results.

Conclusion

HRM was always considered a strategy of managing the workplace culture and environment. It is with the help of studies that its impact on other crucial business processes has come to light. With businesses now focusing on SCM to gain a competitive edge, improvements to HRM seems to be an efficient way to directly improve the supply chain and gain added benefits with respect to organizational performance and customer satisfaction.

With the rising competition across every industrial sector, businesses are now searching for innovative ways to improve their performance. Working on SCM is a new and effective way to not just bring more transparency to the business practices but also improve your reach through better customer satisfaction.

Even the traditional HR practices like recruitment and planning, training, and performance appraisal can be applied to the supply chain in order to attain larger benefits which would help organizations gain significant benefits over time.

 

 

 

The Similarities between Human Resource Management and Supply Chain Management

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The Similarities between Human Resource Management and Supply Chain Management

Human resource management is an effective management of the workforce in an organisation. This is the backbone of any business that gives it a competitive edge over others. The quality and productivity of the workforce determines the progress and sustainability of the business. A human resource management system is very similar to a supply chain management system because human resource management handles a chain of inter related departments with diverse job responsibilities working with an aim to achieve a common objective.

Recent times have noticed great developments in the supply chain industry in terms of automation, cost cutting, software aided operations, automated vehicles, etc. The introduction of these new concepts can be beneficial for the Human Resource department too. There is a lot that the human resource management system can imbibe from the supply chain management system.

Supply chain management system works on modularization. This means that the links within a supply chain management are commutable, interchangeable, compatible and exchangeable. The supply chain management system cannot allow any breakdown in the movement of goods and services. Similarly, the human resource management system must also incorporate the concept of modularization in their workforce. This will enable the human resource management system to ensure a continuous flow of workforce and prevent scarcity of manpower. Just as the demand for products is a regular affair so is the demand for talented manpower.

It has to be kept in mind though, that no matter what, humans and products cannot be equated in the same manner and so, the principles and metrics of supply chain management may not necessarily fit in to the human resource management system. The human resource management system will definitely hold its own defined techniques, procedure and practices. The modus operandi is bound to be different for both the systems. However there are certain common modularization practices that the human resource management system can incorporate in its operations:

  1. Outsourcing: Supply chain management involves a lot of channel or outsourced partners. Many HR functions can be outsourced too. Third party deployment can be done for security services, housekeeping, web development, etc. Even a part or all of the hiring requirements can be outsourced to job consultancies.

 

  1. Automation:

    Video Interviews or Interactive Voice Questionnaire can be used to select and filter candidates in the first round. This increases the efficiency of the operations, minimises biasness and saves time on the part of the recruiter. Automated mails can be used to notify candidates about job openings and also to share feedback of the interview to the candidates.

 

  1. Creating Human Inventory:

    Most job openings witness a large number of applicants compared to the number of vacancies. As a result, many good candidates are waitlisted for the next opening. These waitlisted candidates can be kept as reservoir or human inventory. A human inventory will consist of a pool of shortlisted applicants who are qualified and suitable for future openings. This minimises time and effort of the selection process.

The Similarities between Human Resource Management and Supply Chain Management

Every process is unique in its own way. We can derive many useful concepts for every process, be it supply chain or manufacturing. These concepts can be further modified and modulated into process specific approaches and used for overall growth of the business.

Role of Human Resource as compared to Supply Chain Management

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Role of Human Resource as compared to Supply Chain Management

Contrary to normal perception, human resource (HR) is not simply a people-facing function. It’s has a lot in it to be considered as a core-competency in any business. But for some reason, most businesses are yet to realize the full potential of the HR function.  Very often HR fails to get the due credit or empowerment necessary for it as the business is not clear as to what should be expected of it. Because of this lack of clarity, HR is entrusted with unrealistic and unaccountable goals at times and hence, HR seems to be at the receiving end of all the blames and troubles.

Additionally, the quality of talent in HR functions is also not up-to-the-mark. This is expected as they have been brought up on seemingly unclear norms and expectations. As a result, they have not been able to clarify their position or articulate their contribution to the business.

The HR functions in a supply chain industry face a similar fate as well. Here we will discuss how crucial role the HR function can play when it comes to the supply chain processes-

 

  1. Supply of raw materials – We know that it is the duty of the SCM function to take care of the sourcing of and bringing in raw materials. In a similar way, it is the duty of the HR function to bring the best available talents required to operate the business appropriately. HR will partner other departments to ensure that all the important processes are in proper order before the final assessment and selection are made by the functional department. HR does the critical task to ensure that a standard and well-developed capability is followed across the organization and talents are hired through a consistent assessment process. Also, HR needs to ensure that the actual cost of hiring is strictly within the established benchmarks.

 

  1. Transition from raw materials to finished goods – SCM does the work of bringing in the goods and forwarding or making them ready for the next process. Similarly, it is the job of an effective company management to make sure that every employee receives the inputs in a proper way so that he can perform to the best of his ability. Thus, he can contribute to the organizational growth as well as grow himself, in conformity to the culture and values of the organization. This role of the management is overseen by the HR function as it performs the role of the manager to each and every employee. HR keeps an eye that a well-defined and clear process prevails in the organization and every manager is skilled and competent enough to understand this. HR does this by preparing periodic MIS on the health/performance of the talents in the organization and that of the organizational processes as well.

 

  1. Conscience keeper  -HR plays another vital role in keeping the conscience in an organization. It keeps a proper check on whether the operations of a business are consistently conforming to its values or not. It has to stamp its authority and raise alarms if the culture is not supporting to the strategy or there is a deviation from the mission & vision of the organization. In this role, HR needs to work in close collaboration with the top management (CEO and other leadership teams) and must tell the truth in an unflinching and ‘no-nonsense’ manner.

 

  1. Quality assurance and quality check – In a supply chain business, it is in the scope of the SCM to ensure a proper quality assurance and quality check before the goods are forwarded to the next step. In a similar manner, the HR team needs to establish if the entire system of processing the input to output is conforming to the prescribed designs and expectations or not. HR needs to wear the ‘hat ‘of a quality checker at some critical points in the business processes. Also, in collaboration with the managers, it needs to play an important role in quality assurance as well, in order to raise the level of capability of each individual.

 

  1. Taking care of the transactional metrics – Just like every function in an organization is responsible for some core activities assigned to them, the HR team is also accountable for some unique activities. It is their responsibility to keep the compensation benchmarks in an organization up-to-date as per industry standards and ensuring seamless implementation of transparent and consistent policies across the organization are just a few of them. Of course, their functions are multi-dimensional and are not limited by the boundaries of their core competencies.

 

The SCM can benefit by applying the HRM practices in it

From the above discussion, we have seen that there is a definite similarity between the SCM and HRM functionality. In fact, the SCM can apply HRM best-practices to better manage their activities.

 

  1. Use of HRM practices can unify the supply chain

 Various factors such as the globalization of the supply markets, product proliferation, shorter product life-cycles etc have made business environments extremely complex. HRM practices can unify supply chain partners to develop inter-farm relationships and create valuable knowledge-sharing routines. In this way, they can have a more streamlined and coordinated supply chain and gets that much-needed competitive advantage.

 

  1. Better use of ‘people’

The supply chain is a complex network of service providers, raw material suppliers, distributors etc and the success of this network depends heavily on the achievements of people involved in every step herein.

The HR practitioners have put in place effective processes and practices that can improve the performances of the ‘people’ and the firm as a whole. These can be implemented in a supply chain to achieve its ultimate objective- to improve the performance in every step.

 

  1. Availing benefits of HR strategies

A traditional HR strategy refers to developing flexible systems involving HR practices to promote the business strategies of the organization. Application of these strategies in a supply chain provides broader benefits such as better management of SCM partners, better prediction of labor demand/supply across the supply chain and many more.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supply Chain Gets Smart with Artificial Intelligence

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Supply Chain Gets Smart with Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence is truly revolutionizing every aspect of the world, from public institutions to private, affecting each and every industry. Logistics is no exception to the universal reach of AI. Therefore,  supply chain can overcome many of its risks and gaps by the applications of AI.

Artificial Intelligence is simply intelligence that is displayed by machines. The machines’ learning and action-based potential copies the autonomy unlike conventional process-oriented intelligence. In other words, AI is the simulation of human intelligence by computers. The 3Vs of big data or the core of AI is the ability to recognize volume, velocity, and variety. This in turn is used to find correlation among massive data.

Most experts categorise AI into two blocks-Augmentation and Automation. The former assists and aids human beings with their routine tasks while the later operates independently without having to rely on human intervention.

Supply Chain Adapting to AI

Back in 2010, a research predicted that supply chain management would gain immensely from the applications of artificial intelligence. The research suggested various ways in which this could happen-setting inventory safety levels, transportation network design, purchasing and supply management, etc. Thanks to the exponential growth of AI over the last decade, these things have been made possible.

The tools that AI offers in the sphere of logistics have been deemed to have huge potential for augmenting the top-line and bottom-line value. There are the 6 applications of artificial intelligence that supply chain management can foster:

  • Forecasts and Analysis

Any industry is highly dependent on the supply chain planning which forms an important part of the respective business’s supply chain strategy. Artificial intelligence steps in when it can enable forecasting within the inventory, or demand and supply. Additionally, machine learning can boost the agility and optimization of the decision-making involved in supply chain management.

With artificial intelligence, the SCM industry can come up with the best possible plan of action which is determined out of algorithm and machine-based analysis.

If a business sells sanitary equipment, it can use an AI based tool to predict the demand of each of their products on a daily basis. AI does so by analyzing the historical sales data of all the models and the data so delved into includes date and time of purchase, number of items purchased, and other information.

The machine learning tools can learn the peculiar trends in terms of seasonality, or type of product and it also considers factors like weather data and news events that might have affected the sales of a particular period.

  • Warehouse Execution System

A reliable warehouse and inventory management is one of the most significant aspects of supply chain planning. An industry-specific yet universal challenge that businesses incur is either overestimating or underestimating the required stock.

Artificial intelligence based algorithms and data have such a streamlined predictive capacity, that it can forecast supply and demand as mentioned before. This feature of AI can be applied to supply chain management for overcoming issues that lead to shortage or excess of inventory.

Another way in which AI can be used for this industry lies in using the tools of localization and mapping. Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) in warehouse management have had issues in the past but with a machine vision, AGVs can operate automated material handling in a traditional space like buildings.

In fact, Warehouse Execution System (WES) utilizes AI to make the supply chain systems more efficient.

  • Logistics and Shipping

In today’s day and age, customers and clients expect accurate and timely delivery. But that has pressurized the companies to the extent that they now look to better their shipping and logistics facilities. Companies indeed prefer to mark an improvement here because they benefit while making customers satisfied at the same time.

Artificial intelligence enables faster and more accurate shipping which lowers the transportation expenses. In the present context, AI has also allowed companies to turn to environmental friendly operations and reduce labour costs. The best examples have been set by Amazon and pizza delivery chains which have turned to AI based drones to deliver their products to their customers.

  • Choosing Suppliers

Profitable supplier selection and maintenance of a sound professional relationship with suppliers is yet another important work for businesses. With the advent of certain factors like sustainability, CSR and supply chain ethics playing a role in the decision making of supply chains, businesses have to choose the perfect supplier.

Even a slight complacent decision can snowball to reduction in goodwill and bad PR. Thankfully, AI and its almost magical use of intelligent algorithms has enabled firms to have access to supplier-related data. The companies can now check real-time data about their suppliers like history of operations, location, previous clients, etc.

  • Chatbots for Customer Satisfaction

Companies are always in dire need of a reliable but foolproof system of customer communication and correspondence, which can at times determine their reputation and rapport with their past, present and future clients. Customers often face forced waiting time for answering their queries or have to converse with people multiple times.

 

AI gives a solution to this problem by providing conversational interfaces (or chatbots) which could provide multiple advantages to businesses. To name a few, chatbots can reduce the cost of transactions, sales cycle time, as well as enhance customer loyalty. The chatbot response machine powered by AI has a multi-dimensional interface in which it considers factors like the context of the issue, the history, and customer response management.

 

  • Decipher Untapped Information

AI and Machine Learning have a versatile set of elements and one of them is used to convert foreign data in a standardized format. This element is called Natural Language Processing (NLP).

NLP is an immensely resourceful application for logistics. NLP navigates through data of customers, competitors, regulators and suppliers to find compelling answers for business needs. In fact NLP is versatile in itself as it can be utilized for speech recognition, question answering, reputation monitoring, ad placements, market intelligence, and regulatory compliance.

 

In the supply chain management sector, NLP is most useful in deciphering data that is in a different language, thus enabling companies to understand more about a foreign subject like a supplier.

Supply Chain Gets Smart with Artificial Intelligence

Evolving SCM with Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence has made its presence felt in a positive way across every sector and industry. The challenges faced by supply chain management strategies and operations are now dissolvable with the help of artificial intelligence and machine learning. The system and algorithms put forth by AI grows and evolves with every unit of data, making it more and more independent of human intervention whilst being as close to human behavior as possible. The future is right in the hands of those who utilise the wonders of artificial intelligence, and supply chain management can bag this opportunity.               

 

Reference Link Provided: https://medium.com/@KodiakRating/6-applications-of-artificial-intelligence-for-your-supply-chain-b82e1e7400c8

 

Reference Link Used:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/247523024_Artificial_intelligence_in_supply_chain_management_Theory_and_applications

https://www.spendedge.com/blogs/5-ways-ai-can-enhance-supply-chain

https://www.techemergence.com/natural-language-processing-business-applications/

 

 

Supply Chain Gets Smart with Artificial Intelligence

by


Supply Chain Gets Smart with Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence is truly revolutionizing every aspect of the world, from public institutions to private, affecting each and every industry. Logistics is no exception to the universal reach of AI. Therefore,  supply chain can overcome many of its risks and gaps by the applications of AI.

Artificial Intelligence is simply intelligence that is displayed by machines. The machines’ learning and action-based potential copies the autonomy unlike conventional process-oriented intelligence. In other words, AI is the simulation of human intelligence by computers. The 3Vs of big data or the core of AI is the ability to recognize volume, velocity, and variety. This in turn is used to find correlation among massive data.

Most experts categorise AI into two blocks-Augmentation and Automation. The former assists and aids human beings with their routine tasks while the later operates independently without having to rely on human intervention.

Supply Chain Adapting to AI

Back in 2010, a research predicted that supply chain management would gain immensely from the applications of artificial intelligence. The research suggested various ways in which this could happen-setting inventory safety levels, transportation network design, purchasing and supply management, etc. Thanks to the exponential growth of AI over the last decade, these things have been made possible.

The tools that AI offers in the sphere of logistics have been deemed to have huge potential for augmenting the top-line and bottom-line value. There are the 6 applications of artificial intelligence that supply chain management can foster:

  • Forecasts and Analysis

Any industry is highly dependent on the supply chain planning which forms an important part of the respective business’s supply chain strategy. Artificial intelligence steps in when it can enable forecasting within the inventory, or demand and supply. Additionally, machine learning can boost the agility and optimization of the decision-making involved in supply chain management.

With artificial intelligence, the SCM industry can come up with the best possible plan of action which is determined out of algorithm and machine-based analysis.

If a business sells sanitary equipment, it can use an AI based tool to predict the demand of each of their products on a daily basis. AI does so by analyzing the historical sales data of all the models and the data so delved into includes date and time of purchase, number of items purchased, and other information.

The machine learning tools can learn the peculiar trends in terms of seasonality, or type of product and it also considers factors like weather data and news events that might have affected the sales of a particular period.

  • Warehouse Execution System

A reliable warehouse and inventory management is one of the most significant aspects of supply chain planning. An industry-specific yet universal challenge that businesses incur is either overestimating or underestimating the required stock.

Artificial intelligence based algorithms and data have such a streamlined predictive capacity, that it can forecast supply and demand as mentioned before. This feature of AI can be applied to supply chain management for overcoming issues that lead to shortage or excess of inventory.

Another way in which AI can be used for this industry lies in using the tools of localization and mapping. Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) in warehouse management have had issues in the past but with a machine vision, AGVs can operate automated material handling in a traditional space like buildings.

In fact, Warehouse Execution System (WES) utilizes AI to make the supply chain systems more efficient.

  • Logistics and Shipping

In today’s day and age, customers and clients expect accurate and timely delivery. But that has pressurized the companies to the extent that they now look to better their shipping and logistics facilities. Companies indeed prefer to mark an improvement here because they benefit while making customers satisfied at the same time.

Artificial intelligence enables faster and more accurate shipping which lowers the transportation expenses. In the present context, AI has also allowed companies to turn to environmental friendly operations and reduce labour costs. The best examples have been set by Amazon and pizza delivery chains which have turned to AI based drones to deliver their products to their customers.

  • Choosing Suppliers

Profitable supplier selection and maintenance of a sound professional relationship with suppliers is yet another important work for businesses. With the advent of certain factors like sustainability, CSR and supply chain ethics playing a role in the decision making of supply chains, businesses have to choose the perfect supplier.

Even a slight complacent decision can snowball to reduction in goodwill and bad PR. Thankfully, AI and its almost magical use of intelligent algorithms has enabled firms to have access to supplier-related data. The companies can now check real-time data about their suppliers like history of operations, location, previous clients, etc.

  • Chatbots for Customer Satisfaction

Companies are always in dire need of a reliable but foolproof system of customer communication and correspondence, which can at times determine their reputation and rapport with their past, present and future clients. Customers often face forced waiting time for answering their queries or have to converse with people multiple times.

 

AI gives a solution to this problem by providing conversational interfaces (or chatbots) which could provide multiple advantages to businesses. To name a few, chatbots can reduce the cost of transactions, sales cycle time, as well as enhance customer loyalty. The chatbot response machine powered by AI has a multi-dimensional interface in which it considers factors like the context of the issue, the history, and customer response management.

 

  • Decipher Untapped Information

AI and Machine Learning have a versatile set of elements and one of them is used to convert foreign data in a standardized format. This element is called Natural Language Processing (NLP).

NLP is an immensely resourceful application for logistics. NLP navigates through data of customers, competitors, regulators and suppliers to find compelling answers for business needs. In fact NLP is versatile in itself as it can be utilized for speech recognition, question answering, reputation monitoring, ad placements, market intelligence, and regulatory compliance.

 

In the supply chain management sector, NLP is most useful in deciphering data that is in a different language, thus enabling companies to understand more about a foreign subject like a supplier.

Supply Chain Gets Smart with Artificial Intelligence

Evolving SCM with Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence has made its presence felt in a positive way across every sector and industry. The challenges faced by supply chain management strategies and operations are now dissolvable with the help of artificial intelligence and machine learning. The system and algorithms put forth by AI grows and evolves with every unit of data, making it more and more independent of human intervention whilst being as close to human behavior as possible. The future is right in the hands of those who utilise the wonders of artificial intelligence, and supply chain management can bag this opportunity.               

 

Reference Link Provided: https://medium.com/@KodiakRating/6-applications-of-artificial-intelligence-for-your-supply-chain-b82e1e7400c8

 

Reference Link Used:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/247523024_Artificial_intelligence_in_supply_chain_management_Theory_and_applications

https://www.spendedge.com/blogs/5-ways-ai-can-enhance-supply-chain

https://www.techemergence.com/natural-language-processing-business-applications/

 

 

10 Reasons Supply Chain Management Should Start Using Machine Learning

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10 Reasons Supply Chain Management Should Start Using Machine Learning

Businesses now and before have relied on intelligence gathering operations to assess the performance of the supply chain. The supply chain is a crucial element of business operations as it propels the factors that make a business stand out amongst its competitors. Therefore, the velocity and swiftness originate from how businesses adapt to the required changes in demand and supply.

However, despite the importance of logistics and procurement operations, few companies have been able to merge their supply chain in their processes. According to a survey, only 23% of procurement firms consider using supplier collaboration.

With inconsistencies in the procurement-supply chain dynamics, there are challenging outcomes like supply shortages or uncompetitive pricing, or even delivery delays.  But machine learning is changing supply chain management and solving the issues that the logistics industry faces today.

What is Machine Learning?

Machine learning is a technology by which computer systems can get learning based on some given data. Companies can use machine learning to come up with a good algorithm relevant to the market. Machine learning is different because it produces special algorithms, which unlike traditional algorithms learn from the market factors.

Another special feature of machine learning is the least human intervention in computer systems. It is a progressive tool in which, with every addition of data in the data bank the system becomes more intelligent. This feature helps the data to be interpreted and makes it more manageable.

Machine learning can also be incorporated with big data sources like digital markets and social media. This enables companies to use data signals from other sites that consumers generate.

The Ways in Which Machine Learning is Changing the Logistics Industry

  1. Reducing the time that is wasted on repetitive functions

Those involved in the supply chain process are aware of the wasted time on repetitive tasks. Machine learning allows a business to carry out better quality control tasks with a fraction of the time spent via manual methods.

Thus, machine learning is effective at automated quality inspections.  Machine learning algorithms can determine if a product is damaged. These algorithms even suggest the most appropriate corrective action to repair products and assets.

 

  1. Informed Forecasts based on Empirical Evidence

 Machine learning enabled systems can interpret data from supply chain operations. This makes the system make an informed guess or forecast on the upcoming performances based on these past pieces of evidence. The algorithms created by machine learning learn from all the past data. This can be revolutionary in terms of predictive analytics for supply chain management strategies and help them shape their decision-making plans.

 

  1. Automated Alerts to Avoid or Mitigate Crisis

Any company that has to deal with supply chain management has to follow a set of protocols for its operations to be foolproof. But in case of any crisis in the functioning, companies depend on many experts of the field to review existing protocols and blueprints in order to fix the point of failure.

Once it is found what the point of failure is, companies have to make a range of decisions to resume production back to normal. Machine learning is useful in this situation because instead of asking people for help, turning to powerful algorithms that give insights, warnings and automated recommendations is a better deal.

 

  1. Monitoring Supplies through Natural Language Processing

Natural language processing enables ease in supply chain management. It monitors overseas suppliers by collecting news about them from all over the world and translating it into the preferred language.

This aspect of machine learning allows a system to understand and interpret human colloquies like social media engagements, publications or any other data. It empowers executives to monitor their vendors across borders in the realm of supply chain management.

  1. Judicially Improving Delivery Performance

Machine learning combines the positives of unsupervised learning, supervised learning and reinforcement learning to find all the catalysts that affect supply chain management. Not just that, it does all of this by reducing product costs and appropriating processes that mitigate any risks in operations.

10 Reasons Supply Chain Management Should Start Using Machine Learning

  1. Consumer Engagement

Through machine learning algorithm, businesses can personalize solutions by automating customer services. Chatbots are one such consequence. Through a tailored algorithm, one can create a bot that deals with supplier queries and concerns. These bots reduce the amount of required manpower.

An efficient interactive communication channel can help businesses in tracking worldwide suppliers, manufacturing unit staff, warehouse distribution, and transportation towards retailers. It is important to let go of the myth that chatbots are not intelligent; their smartness depends upon the people that create them.

 

  1. Predictive Analysis for New Products

Machine learning can be a boon if businesses want to drive up the sales of new products. Algorithms created by artificial intelligence can be so sincere that they can apply practical approaches of asking partners, coming in contact with direct or indirect sales teams. These manoeuvres can help companies to know how much of a new product or service they will be selling.

What machine learning does in this respect is that it considers all the causal factors that can influence demand (which have not been pointed out before). This can help in proper supply management of a new product.

  1. Supplier-Specific Data

One of the key functions machine learning based algorithms can perform is to improve the supplier quality management. It does so by tracking or tracing all data pertaining to the particular supplier and then finds patterns in the quality levels of the supplier.

It does all this in isolation and is unassisted. Machine learning systems can independently chalk out product hierarchies. Finally, the systems can also save many manual hours as it organizes track-and-trace reporting.

  1. Assessing Equipment Performance

Every business that uses machinery and equipment wants to reduce long-term costs by being able to reduce the depreciation rate of its assets. They try to extend the lifespan of their fundamental assets involved in supply chain management. These assets can be machinery, engines, or warehouse equipment.

Machine learning plays a role here as well.  It analyses machine-driven data to find out what factors influence the efficiency (or a lack of) in machinery.

  1. Comprehensive Operations: End-to-End Visibility

Machine learning’s biggest advantage is that it functions from the beginning to the end. In logistics, it begins its work even before the data has to process. First, it can disaggregate all the data by removing unnecessary data. Next, it estimates the volume that may be in demand. Furthermore, it estimates dimensions as well by applying industry-specific standards and all business rules and protocols. Finally, it predicts any gaps in the operations based on historical data.

In the terminology of those involved in machine learning systems, this is a 3D loading visualisation.

Conclusion

The human touch in technology is revolutionizing everything around it. To understand, think of Leonardo da Vinci-he was an expert in mathematics, biological and evolutionary sciences, philosophy and physics, fine arts and critical thinking all at once. Machine learning is the Da Vinci of the logistics industry.

Supply chain management and the greater industry of logistics can benefit from machine learning. As per Harvard Business Review, as of the first quarter of 2018, only a mere 7% of all companies are using Artificial Intelligence to automate their operations.

But machine learning gives quantifiable results. It reduces the time wasted on manual labour functions, allows businesses to make better decisions based on empirical data, and even sends important precautions and alerts. But the beauty of machine learning is that it does not stop there. It recommends the solutions to avoid a crisis, helps monitor suppliers across the world and across various lines of industries.

Therefore, machine learning simplifies the intricate operations of supply chain management systems by optimizing the very operations and functions prone to faults. Machine learning is not the future, it is the present.

10 Reasons Supply Chain Management Should Start Using Machine Learning

How to attract supply chain employers through social media profiles

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How to attract supply chain employers through social media profiles

In today’s world, we cannot imagine our lives without social media and recruiters are no exception as well. Recruiters spend enough time on social media like most of us do and they use social media platforms (in addition to job portals) to search qualified individuals for various openings in the supply chain portfolio.

This is the reason why it is imperative for you to have a strong presence on multiple platforms in order to enhance your chances of being spotted on the next drive by supply chain recruiter. You should make it a habit to use social media for your own professional networking and try to present yourself as a consistent ‘brand’ by optimizing your profile.

Here are a few tips to do so in an effective way-

  • Have your photograph taken by a professional and use as your profile picture in all online platforms
  • Make sure to use the same handle, name or description across all

your profiles on the social media. For example, if ‘SCM Expert’ is your handle, make sure to place it in all your profiles. If anyone searches for ‘SCM Expert’, your profile stands a good chance of appearing in the first page of his search.

  • Do set a ‘Google Alert ‘on your own social media accounts to find out what potential recruiters or employers would find if they go through your profile. If you can spot anything negative, correct or delete that piece of information from the profile so that it cannot be obtained through an internet research.
  • Make sure to use SCM centric keywords with your profile. Identify some of the most used search terms that may be linked to your supply chain qualifications, experience or skill set and incorporate them into each one of your online profiles. For example, if your expertise is in logistics, you may very well include keywords such as 3PL, transportation, intermodal, warehousing and so on.

While doing so, do make sure that there exists a natural flow of these keywords and it does not look to the reader that these keywords are ‘stuffed’ in an attempt to improve the search rankings.

With such a method- your profile stands a very good chance of getting a higher ranking when a recruiter is going through a targeted search for qualified candidates on Google or Linkedin and with a certain keyword or skill.

 

Some top social platforms for recruiters to search for supply chain talent.

 

LinkedIn

It is one of the most widely used platforms used by recruiters to search for supply chain talent. Recruiters search for parameters such as years of experience, degrees, skills and other specific keywords and look for potential candidates suitable for their requirements.

In order to obtain maximum benefits, you need to have a complete profile and need to be participating actively in this platform. You may do the following things to show up on the radar of a recruiter-

  • Comment on articles, contribute to discussions and engage in posts. In this way, you can gain the attention of potential employers and will be able to build your own network in a foreseeable future.
  • Update your profile on the setting “Open for new engagement/opportunities”. It will invite SCM recruiters to have a look at your profile as they would be aware of the fact that you are looking for new career opportunities.
  • You should follow the potential organizations you want to work for.It will keep you posted for news items or new job postings for these organizations.
  • Include yourself in a sizeable number of LinkedIn groups, more precisely, in popular SCM LinkedIn groups.

 

Facebook

Though Facebook is more popular as a personal or recreational platform to associate with family members and friends, it also provides a useful opportunity for professional networking.

Here are some tips for you to attain maximum advantage from this platform-

 

  • Complete the education and work sections of your profile so that potential employers may find it easy to know more about you.
  • Include yourself in groups related to your industry and experience. You may join facebook groups such as ‘Logistics and SCM professionals‘, ‘SCM Jobs ‘ and so on.
  • “Like” the pages of your potential employers, target companies or supply chain associations in order to keep track of their news, job postings, related contents, and suggestions.
  • Make it a point to ‘clean’ your profile and remove inappropriate or negative images and posts that could air a negative impression about you.
  • Be a regular part of the new job posting platform launched by Facebook.

 

Twitter

 

It is another important way to keep track of news and views about the constantly evolving supply chain industry as well as the new job openings. Here are some tips for you to attain maximum advantage from this platform-

 

 

  • Include important keywords( to highlight your expertise) in the Twitter bio to be more discoverable to your potential employers.
  • Tweet or retweet regularly about news and topics related to your functional area.
  • Use catching hashtags like #logistics, #supplychain, #manufacturing, #procurement and so on.
  • Try to follow each and every company on your target list. Some companies maintain separate Twitter handles for tweeting about their upcoming jobs. Always be in touch with these as well.
  • It is another good idea to use trending social media tools such as Hootsuite. This will help you automate your tweets so that you can optimize your presence on such social media platforms.

How to attract supply chain employers through social media profiles

Websites/Blogs

Blogging is a great way to let your thoughts known to the world.  You can express your views or thoughts on topics related to supply chain and highlight the professional skills in an opportune moment.  You can make use of WordPress, the widely used blog hosting site. It includes a lot of plug-ins to help you create a highly optimized site.

 

Conclusion:

By nature, the supply chain industry is built on relationships, networks, and communication and, being ‘social ‘ is the key for you to make inroads and be successful in this industry. Therefore, it is key for you to recognize and use the enormous potential of social media to meet the demands of this evolving industry.

 

Talent Supply Chain Management

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Talent Supply Chain Management

As there is a regular demand of goods and services in the market, so is the demand for talent or as we may call it – the human capital in the industries. The demand for human capital is consistent and unending. It is inexorable that companies maintain a regular inflow of talent into their system. Talent sourcing or talent supply must be done at a proactive level. If not done so, it will lead to a lacuna in the human capital of the company which may take ages to be filled. This will eventually lead to an inconsistency in running the operations of the company.

Just as a supply chain management provides timely delivery of goods and services, similarly a talent supply chain management is the network of activities that ensure timely availability of human capital to the company. Organisational needs are dynamic and keep on changing day by day. The workforce is changing too and companies now face an ever increasing gap of skilled manpower. The growing commercialisation and shortage of talent will have a severe impact on the global economy if it is not prepared for in advance.The principles of supply chain management can be utilised in the talent management system to anticipate and meet the human capital demand.

How to build a talent management supply chain

  1. Creating a resourcing strategy: The first step in creating a talent supply chain is to plan a sourcing strategy. You need to identify the kind of human capital that your business will require. Then you need to divide the workforce requirements into categories such as full time, part time, third party associates, etc.

 

  1. Look what’s inside: The next step in the talent supply chain is to identify the talent that you already have within your organisation. They may be working in different units, sectors but they may have the skills and expertise that you require in the upcoming days. Your internal manpower assets can be identified with the help of internal assessments and job rotations.

 

  1. Create an inventory: You may regularly come across candidate profiles that are immensely good but you do not have any relevant opening to fit them in at that time. It is a best practise to maintain a database of such profiles as your human capital inventory. This inventory will be highly useful at the time of workforce crisis and will save a lot of your time and effort.

 

  1. Human Capital development: Sometimes what you seek may be obtained by training your existing employees. This enables the business to grow along with the growth of the employees. Your business get the benefit of upgraded skills with the existing experience of your team.

 

  1. Research& Redesign: It is essential for every business manager to keep updated with the market trends with regard to workforce. Redesign your team by shuffling jobs or training them to meet your business needs. Change is imperative in ever business.

Talent Supply Chain Management

Most of all, it is necessary that you have a futuristic outlook when planning for your manpower requirements. It is always better to keep a few extra helping hands handy for any exigency that your business may ?.

Supply Chain Recruiter

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Supply Chain Recruiter

The supply chain management is the heart and soul of any company. Be it manufacturing or packaging or retail industry, supply chain is a critical component of every business. Every supply chain is a network of multiple related channels of operations like purchase, production, transport, warehouse, inventory, etc.

With ecommerce taking the market by storm, supply chain management is experiencing a shortage of skilled, talented manpower at all levels.The demand for supply chain managementexecutives is growing but specialised and experienced professionals are hard to find. In short, there is a dearth of accomplished and competent manpower in the supply chain management sector. To fill this gap it is essential that a proficient supply chain recruiter is engaged to hire such manpower.

Supply chain recruiters are not just head-hunters, they are analysts too. Supply chain recruiter must predict the supply chain market developments and source candidates matching the profile. Talent supply chain management recruiters must have a sound knowledge of the supply chain management process. They must be active, responsive and must possess thorough knowledge of the supply chain management process.

Requirements of a supply chain recruiter

  1. Process knowledge: A supply chain management recruiter must know the supply chain process on his backhand. Every supply chain is different. They differ in size, complexity and execution. Different supply chains require different proficiency of operations. A supply chain recruiter must recruit candidates not only on the basis of skills and qualifications but also on the basis of job quantum that the candidate has handled. For this, it is essential that the recruiter is well aware of the entire supply chain cycle and related channels associated with the supply chain.

 

  1. Assortment: Supply chain management requires manpower at all levels. From entry level workers to managerial positions, a single supply chain needs discrete individuals for carrying out different work. The man force at different levels need specific skills to run the supply chain smoothly. The supply chain recruiter must be able to source candidates at all levels from junior to senior ranks.

 

  1. Industry updates: With everything getting automated and majority of the tasks carried out by artificial intelligence or with the internet of things, it is necessary that the recruiters keep themselves abreast with the supply chain market developments. They should hire manpower that are tech savvy and trained in the latest technologies being used in the supply chain industry.

 

  1. Cost efficient: Supply chain costs can be a real burden on the business if the system is not strategically aligned. The recruiter must not only be efficient but he must also be cost effective. Due to scarcity of subject matter experts in the supply chain domain, the recruitment cost can upsurge if the jobplanning and allocation is not done properly. The supply chain recruiter must be able to identify the areas in the supply chain which require full time employees and which require part time employees and also areas that can be outsourced to a third party agency to reduce expenses.

Supply Chain Recruiter

The supply chain plays a decisive role in meeting the market demands and delivering the goods on time to the user in the right condition. The right candidate at the right place at the right time can make the right difference for your business. So, choose your supply chain recruiter wisely.