Modern Trends in Supply Chain and Logistics

 

Hi, I'm Saradha Preethi. A final year MBA student from Amrita School of Business. Welcome back to my Logistics & Supply chain learning space.😇 In this blog, we will see the top predictions for Supply chain, Supply chain Management, Logistics, and even Inventory Management for 2020 and beyond.

1. Multi-scenario preparation and real-time Integration of operations are required. Grocery and essential goods retailers, in particular, are struggling with substantial out-of-stock situations in many main items, as consumers respond to uncertainty by storing supplies, in particular for specific staple categories. Day-zero, in this sense, refers from a practical business environment viewpoint to the day on which lock-down constraints are relaxed.
2. Linear supply chains will soon be replaced by circular supply chains, where producers are refurbishing recycled goods for resale. In order to cope with the increasing cost of raw materials and their uncertain supply, many businesses are choosing to break down their goods and convert them back into their raw material form. Looping the supply chain can help to minimize costs over and beyond the initial costs of introducing new processes. 
3. Grocery stores are struggling to deal with big supply problems as market panic buying has led to stock-outs. It is therefore important to track inventory levels and increase the visibility of all inflows of products. Retailers should also try to obtain visibility on the supplier's end-to-end production plans, shipping specifics, etc. to understand to forecast any material flow disturbance situations in advance.
4. The high-efficiency phase that is taking place in 2020 is a step towards collaborations in the logistics industry. Moving to partner to provide services such as online purchasing, assembly, and inventory management works to streamline processes and to provide additional advantages for 3PL and logistics clients.   There is no question that the field of logistics is evolving with technology and that the logistics sector and supply chain approaches are transforming productivity and savings for the sector as a whole.
5. The introduction of standard containers has changed the global freight industry as a whole, bringing significant changes in efficiency and trade facilitation. However, the need to diversify container volumes and increase costs and time pressures necessitates new container formats and packaging processes, particularly in the context of the general use of logistics networks and the same growth of urban distribution. New types of packaging are also important for handling the number of single orders delivered to e-commerce.
6. Material life cycles are going to get shorter. Retail supply chains which have to deal with new goods once every 12 months. Supply chains might switch into a push-pull-flush model; the new product follows the 'push model' for approximately 3 months, transforms into a 'pull-based' supply chain for the next 6 months, and in the last 3 months, the supply chain has been flushed out and is ready for a new version.
7. Supplier relationship management is at the heart of many of today's leading procurement organizations. With a view to the future, procurement teams will continually look to suppliers for creativity in goods and processes and to collaborators in areas of mutual benefit. For example, businesses are describing opportunities to improve demand preparation and inventory management in partnership with suppliers. Others emphasize the need to improve their supplier production networks in order to achieve a sustainable public-based approach.
8. Logistics hubs will resurface at the regional level. Product integrators, subsystem suppliers, and part manufacturers will be purchased, installed, and distributed from their own backyards in order to reduce single-source dependencies and to create a flexible and adaptable supply chain.

Providing a seamless journey for consumers through a mix of digital and physical infrastructure will require the backing of a strong supply chain. COVID-19, in all its volatility and stress, has opened up opportunities to take a hard look at the entire supply chain and reimagine it for tomorrow’s needs. Hope it was informative and useful.😇

Happy Learning with Sara :)