IS YOUR SUPPLY CHAIN PREPARED FOR DISRUPTION?

What happens to your supply chain operations when communications are down? Do your mobile applications fail when the plug is pulled? Do your manufacturing and distribution operations grind to a halt?

One of the biggest supply chain challenges for any company is operating in a disconnected environment. There are many reasons you might become disconnected, ranging from power outages, to the loss of cellular/WiFi/Internet access, and the simple lack of communication coverage for the areas your inventory resides in. Does your business operate “in the wild” where there simply is not reliable connectivity — such as farming, mining, oil fields and construction? While many companies try to remain operational during these connectivity blackouts, the majority see a fall in, or complete loss of, productivity until online communications are restored.

Disruption continues to be the norm.

Loss, or lack of connectivity and communications are a reality, and being prepared for them is key. Technological developments like 5G and the “connected cloud”, offer potential to minimize the disconnected problem, but they’re seemingly limited by the constraints of the mobile devices being used.

The reality for most of the supply chain world is that disconnected means you are down, and down hard. Impacts of the inability to run disconnected are far ranging. It results in the loss of On Time In Full orders, affecting customer satisfaction and cash flow. Inventory inaccuracies are heightened as workers resort to manual work arounds to control inventory and order fulfillment. The lack of mobile application access means the loss of compliance and adherence to digital verification of vendor and company SLAs.

With the right inventory management solution, you have the ability to keep transactions going even when power is off or connectivity is down. In the manufacturing plant, work orders are still queued on the device, so your line can keep running. In the distribution center, your pickers can keep picking to remain productive. In the field, jobs still get completed on time and in an efficient manner.

Continuity is key

2020 has been a year full of challenges; the pandemic and other natural disasters have seriously disrupted supply chains across the world, and the year’s not over yet! For most companies and some entire industries, this has exposed significant vulnerabilities and has forced them into reassessing their supply chain models. You never know what impact the next disruption will cause, so it’s key to be prepared for the worst.

If you’re concerned about the impact disruptions are having on your supply chain, our team of supply chain experts is ready to answer your questions and provide a roadmap to success. To discuss your needs, schedule a demo or visit cloudinventory.com for more information.

Originally published at https://www.cloudinventory.com on November 11, 2021.