Upgrade your supply chain by upgrading your IT systems

Most supply chains are stuck in the past, unfortunately. They are hooked up to near-extinct IT systems, or… Do we even dare say it?… Spreadsheets.

Ouch.

Sure, a supply chain can work just fine on the basis of a spreadsheet, and many older systems can handle that sort of thing too.

But does it make sense?

Come along further into the article, and let us look at what is wrong with far too many supply chains.

The problem with many supply chains

Supply chains are something very few people dare to touch once they are running.

It is one of those “if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it” things. And we fully understand it. It can be laborious to pull up the ancient roots your supply chain still lives on.

But which would you prefer.

Would you rather be forced to upgrade your IT systems when you can no longer keep up at all and your outdated system is phased out?

Or would you rather take the bull by the horns and create an IT solution that can scale your business and make your supply chain incredibly efficient through automation?

The answer is not really that difficult, is it?

It does require, though, that you are willing to let go of the manual processes tied to your current supply chain. It may be that you feel secure managing a spreadsheet yourself, or using your old and outdated system.

Don’t worry. That sense of security will come back to you once your new IT solutions are live.

Supply chain resilience — what is it?

Supply chain resilience is your supply chain’s ability to withstand challenges, headwinds and adverse events.

Does your supply chain break down if the weather is bad? If the network is down? If Allan is not at work that day?

Then your supply chain is not very resilient, or in other words, not very robust.

If, on the other hand, your supply chain can work unhindered despite network problems and staff shortages, then it is more resilient.

And if we take it even further from there, imagine that human error in the systems was no longer a factor, that manual processing and data entry were unnecessary and that your supply chain ran on cruise control while you did other things.

That is not at all impossible. In fact, at Connectify we have helped many large Danish companies shave oceans of time and cost off their supply chains. Kaffekapslen among others.

With our tailored integrations and the use of data from their business, Kaffekapslen has grown significantly and scaled their IT systems to an

I-will-never-go-back level.

What all our cases and customers have in common is that the journey starts like this.

Better IT = better supply chains.

No matter where you are on that list, our advice starts in the same place.

Find the root of the problem.

Have your spreadsheets become too unwieldy? Has your old system started to lack features? Do your current integrations not give you enough options for action?

Then go down that road.

Is it about wanting to get more out of your data? Better communication across platforms? Better communication across the entire supply chain?

Then go down that road instead.

Find out what the problem is, and look it deep in the eye. Then note down what you would like to change, and why. That will help you see your current challenges clearly and distinctly.

Make an action plan

Every time we at Connectify start a new project, we go through these steps. The action plan is one of the most important steps in the process. It helps all stakeholders and partners keep an overview.

Take the challenges that need to be solved, put them in a logical order, set some deadlines and then start taking the necessary steps towards solving your supply chain’s problems.

Always test your solutions

Can you just imagine it?

You have worked hard on new IT solutions, data flows and automations that are meant to make your entire supply chain much easier to manage.

And bang, then you discover that something is wrong in the machinery.

Remember to test your IT solutions before you use them in earnest. Every single time. That care will save you time, money and heavy headaches alike.

If those three steps were not quite specific enough for you, then do take a look at these three articles, which each have their own focus on IT optimisation:

Go from NAV to Business Central without losing a fortune

Good advice for migrating from C5 to 365 Business Central

10 mistakes to avoid in your ERP project

Wrapping up:

Your supply chain only becomes truly efficient when you use your IT systems to their full potential.

Migrating from your old systems to more innovative solutions is the start of your scaling. Integrations may very well be the best add-on you could give yourself.

At Connectify you get a fixed monthly price for the development and use of your integrations + ongoing free support on top. No nasty start-up fees or surprise extra costs. A fixed and fair monthly price.

A small price to pay for aggressive scaling of your IT systems.

Read more here.