Operations and Supply Chain Visibility - what is it and why do you need it?

 

SYNOPSIS: Having no visibility, real-time insights, or reliable data on business operations or the current status of your supply chains is conceptually not too far removed from driving blind. This article briefly explains some use cases and advantages of operational and supply chain visibility platforms and systems.

ESTIMATED READING TIME: 5min

First posted on LinkedIn - read the ORIGINAL POST here

You wouldn’t drive your car blindfolded, would you?

Driving blind is a dangerous and potentially life-threatening practice, perhaps best left to trained movie stunt professionals on movie lots. The rest of us, social influencers included (even those with very deep pockets and extensive liability cover), should best stay far away.

While the image in the title has been Photoshopped somewhat, this image ☝️☝️ is the real deal and comes from a YouTube video in which a popular YouTuber filmed himself driving blindfolded. The video sparked a public outcry and negative news coverage, as one could expect. This resulted in the video initially being age-restricted and demonetised, and then subsequently removed by YouTube.

The risks caused by driving blind are rather obvious and easy for all to see - apart from the aforementioned YouTuber, and include at least the following:

• Inability to see where you are going.
• Inability to see how the situation around your vehicle and inside the vehicle is changing in real-time.
• Inability to effectively make informed decisions in real-time or timeously execute corrective action to best adjust to the developing risks and changing situations around you.
• You are very likely to cause or end up in an accident, incurring costs, losses and liability claims, including but not limited to loss of life.

Swimming in a Sea of Business, Operational and Supply Chain Risks

The same goes for managing and coordinating the various activities inside a business: in today’s equally volatile and fragile economic climate, no accountant worth his salt will manage the finances of a business blind-folded either – meaning without knowing with a reasonable degree of certainty how much the expenses are, who needs to be paid or when the payments are due, or how many invoices are outstanding and how much is owed by each debtor.

If visibility is such an obvious requirement for driving and finances, why are there parts of business operations that are still “operating in the dark”, figuratively speaking?

Have a look at almost any media outlet or newspaper and one will see headings describing losses, damages, delays, bottlenecks, shortages, and other supply chain challenges brought on by a mix of internal and external factors as well as foreseeable and unforeseeable risk events. Many existing but previously manageable challenges were upgraded and further exacerbated by the great Supply Chain crisis of 2021-2022. This in turn was brought on by (some would say ill-considered) pandemic emergency measures, which caused systemic shocks, stock outages, and shortages, shutdowns of suppliers (both temporary as well as permanent in nature); significant supply chain delays; economic hardship; and increased volatility around the world. In the process, some entirely new problems were created. The only constant is change.

In no specific order, below please find a short list of 12 examples of current supply chain and operational challenges, many of which may or could affect business operations in the Southern African (or international) market:

Please scroll through this list. While this is by no means intended to be an exhaustive or comprehensive list, it does highlight the wide range of challenges that local businesses confront from time to time, some of which occur daily, including:

• Supply disruption due to lockdowns 
• Cargo and freight handling delays, accidents and incidents
• Wastage, damages and shrinkage to perishable foodstuffs, fresh fruit and veggies
• Political unrest, riots and looting targeting the supply chain, transporters, and warehouses
• Import and export delays, shipping delays, border congestion and delays
• Counterfeit products, supply chain control gaps, shortages and stock-outages
• Natural disasters, flooding, transport infrastructure (ports, docks and roads inaccessible), unavailability of services due electrical outages, water bursting, etc

Many of these problems are caused by external factors beyond the control of the average company; they are not isolated occurrences; they are not limited to specific suppliers or carriers; they are not necessarily industry-specific; and they can and do affect the entire Southern African economy, including international supply chain networks. And these issues have disastrous effects on operational efficiency and bottom-line profits. Research by McKinsey indicates that “supply-chain disruptions cost the average organization 45 percent of one year’s profits over the course of a decade.”. For South African businesses, the cost of e.g. importing goods has increased significantly, with a 400–500% cost increase for freighting a 12-meter container by sea from China to South Africa, even for large organisations with bargaining power. On some international trade routes, shipping costs have increased much more. Risk has increased significantly. Many of these costs are passed on to the consumer, who is now faced with rapidly increasing living expenses, rising inflation, and considerably less discretionary spending power, which, in turn, reverberates throughout the economy.

It is therefore advisable to use every tool in your arsenal to pro-actively respond to the changing situation around you. Because every load counts.

So what is Visibility?

Visibility platforms (software + tracking devices) compile and analyse real-time data across the shipping journey to provide end-to-end shipment visibility across different industry applications.

This means a commercial customer has the ability to track-and-trace assets or inventory live and in real-time, e.g. from the point where the item/shipment leaves the farmer's, manufacturer’s, supplier’s, or service provider’s warehouse/distribution centre up to the point where it arrives at the destination, allowing you to keep track of the current location, condition, and status of these items throughout the journey.

• Visibility platforms are frequently used for supply chain visibility but can have other related applications, e.g. large and complex business operations. It is important to understand that the visibility requirements can vary somewhat between e.g. a logistics business/farmer/manufacturer/distributor/retailer/importer/exporter, which could be very different from the visibility requirements of a bank or a pension fund.
• Different technologies are on offer and the platform can obtain data via API, directly from telematics or other types of tracking IOT devices.

6 Reasons why your business needs visibility

Consider how your company could profit from having Real-Time Visibility into your operations and access to a Single Version of the Truth:

1. Transparency - having real-time end-to-end IOT visibility on where your operational assets/inventory/shipments are, with hyper-accurate location information, despite using numerous 3rd party logistics providers or channels, such as warehouses, handlers, or distributors in multiple locations
2. Tracking important performance data - Key indicators such as transit time, stops and halt periods, loading times, or whether unauthorised pauses or unexpected delays occurred are all available on the fly. This provides you with knowledge, allowing you to forecast if your operational assets, inventory, or freight will arrive on time, ahead of plan, or behind schedule. And allows you to keep track of supplier performance.
3. Auditability - Having an audit trail to prove real-time conditions of fragile or high-value inventory / perishable shipments. Knowing if the cargo was handled in accordance with SLA and or regulatory compliance requirements for the duration of the trip.
4. Real-time condition reporting - Knowing the condition of your perishable/fragile shipments in real-time, and being able to pinpoint and allocate accountability for damage if and when it occurs.
5. Real-time actionable insights to:

• Make fact-based decisions to respond to and manage exceptions,
• Reduce costs and minimise damage to fragile and perishable goods, shrinkage and or losses of high-value goods,
• Identify operational bottlenecks,
• Make data-driven decisions to develop business cases, mitigate risks or loss prevention strategies,
• Improve the quality of forecasting and inventory management,
• Maximise operational efficiency,
• Increase customer satisfaction,
• Improve profitability,
• Withstand and defend against disruption.

The aforementioned cover some of the advantages that Visibility platforms have to offer – including aggregated, real-time data about the movement of freight along the shipping journey, providing end-to-end shipment visibility.

6. For rather obvious reasons, then, it comes as no surprise that research by the authoritative market intelligence and investment advisory firm, CBInsights, emphasised the importance of prioritising supply chain and operational visibility platforms as a focus area for retailers. What’s good for the goose …er retailer, is probably worth seriously thinking about for other players across different value chains and different industries, too.

So, if given a choice, you would not drive blindfolded, right? Where do you see Visibility adding the most benefit to your business?

Need more information? Want to start a pilot project? Please contact us

If you have found this article useful or thought-provoking, please share it with others in your company or industry.

#IOT #retail #supplychain #riskmanagement

Photo-credits:

All media belongs to their respective owners.

Shark photo Jacob Owens + Warehouse Photo by Bernd Dittrich found on Unsplash

HOW CAN CONSULTING HELP YOUR BUSINESS NAVIGATE PANDEMIC IMPACT

WHICH SOLUTIONS ARE AVAILABLE TO ASSIST BUSINESS EXECUTIVES AND BUSINESS OWNERS TO SUCCESSFULLY NAVIGATE THE PANDEMIC IMPACT AND POST-COVID SITUATION?

SYNOPSIS: Covid-19 and government responses thereto has significantly disrupted many industries and related business operations. Business executives and owners alike are searching for solutions to the many business challenges and increased risks they now have to manage daily.

Original article published on Quora.

ESTIMATED READING TIME: 2 min

Since early 2020 millions of businesses of all sizes all around the world have been affected by the impact of Covid-19 and, more specifically, negative and compounding impacts directly resulting from government regulatory responses to the Covid19 pandemic.

Businesses have been affected in different ways, including but not limited to:

• Significantly increased supply chain volatility and risks: Loss of suppliers, late delivery, unavailability of raw materials, looting or hijacking of supplies or deliveries
• Clients going out of business, increases in bad debt, slower inventory-to-cash-turnaround cycles, or inability to buy traditional order sizes, significantly loss or reduced demand,  volatility in demand from one period to the next, difficulty in accurately predicting sales or stock volumes
• Disruptions to business operations - temporary or longer-term shutdowns of infrastructure, changes to key markets, inaccessibility of facilities, additional business restrictions or compliance requirements, working from home, adjusting to a distributed work-force 
• Significant technological innovation and disruptive technologies gaining momentum
• Increased business disruption, loss of revenue, increases in unbudgeted costs, increases in unanticipated risk, inability to settle debts and pay running expenses
• Increased cybercrime, fraud, corruption, money-laundering
• Loss of key personnel and expertise
• And sadly a number of businesses have had to shut down altogether. 

While some like to believe everything will go back-to-normal and the good old days will return as soon as we reach herd immunity in our town, district, province or country, that is unlikely to be the case. The expected impact of the pandemic and related lockdowns and business interruptions will be felt for months and possibly years to come. Some industries are undergoing significant pressures and changes such as digitization are disruptively changing entire industries and business sectors. 

Different categories of Business and Management Consultants can advise and assist businesses with a variety of Covid19 and lockdown related business challenges (in no specific order):

• Reviewing and developing Strategies, redesigning Business Models to adjust to the “new normal”
• Identifying, mitigating and limiting supply chain risks, reshoring, nearshoring and replanning supply chains, sourcing new suppliers
• Rebalancing / optimising manufacturing/logistics/broader business operations impacted by changes in sales/legislation/business improvement: maximise revenue, reduce expenses, improve customer experience, risk management
• Improving access to information and decision-making with the use of data analytics/Adjusting or optimising KPIs and Metrics
• Asset disposal
• Business Rescue focussing on the rehabilitation of financially distressed companies (businesses unlikely to pay all of their debts as these become due and payable)
• Business Turnaround focussing on developing and implementing a set of actions required to save an organisation from business failure and return it to operational normality and financial solvency
• Balance sheet restructuring, working capital, bridging finance, debt restructuring, repayment relief and debt relief, new sources of debt, trade financing solutions
• Restructuring and Reorganising business entities
• Mergers & Acquisitions, Listings/IPOs, raising funds
• Optimising financial and tax planning, insurance, reducing financial risks
• Improving Governance and compliance with changing legislation
• Forensic investigations, developing and implementing controls to identify, prevent or report risks
• Plan, execute and de-risk projects and programs
• Embracing digital transformation (4ID), ranging from e.g. process automation, setting up data lakes, optimising architecture, to implementing Artificial intelligence, Machine Learning or IIOT solutions, identify risks and network vulnerabilities, improving business resilience and business continuity
• Interim management
• Crisis management
• Human Capital, Cultural and HR aspects - workforce planning, HR transformation, organisational design
• Improving marketing ROI, venturing into or improving existing e-commerce operations

This is a broad and non-exhaustive summary of what consultants can do for businesses impacted by Covid19. There is a wide range of consultants focusing on different industries and functional competencies - reach out today if you need assistance.

             

Have you given any thought to using consultants in your business or have any questions? Please comment in the comment section below.

If you have found this article useful or thought-provoking, please share it with others in your company or industry.

Impact of Capacity on Revenue Potential

Considering Capacity Cuts?

SYNOPSIS: When trying to rebalance cost structures in the face of business disruption or uncertain demand, it is important not to underestimate the role of capacity in revenue management or the potential impact of permanently removing capacity. 

This article was republished on LinkedIn.

ESTIMATED READING TIME: 3.5 min

Waves of Disruption

As the economic tsunami (substantially caused by the Covid-19 pandemic) continues to pummel economies, many industries have had their hands forced by a combination of economic realities and or lockdown regulations. The disruption and economic fallout thus far have not been limited to a specific industry and it seems no, or preciously few, industries have been spared. Then there is the knock-on effect – the reverberations in one industry is felt in many others.

• According to the Restaurant Association of SA, nearly a third of SA restaurants had already shuttered since the onset of the lockdown[1], their best efforts to stay open notwithstanding. Comparatively, in the US, restaurant closures by July 2020 represented the highest total business closures in the country, surpassing retail [2].
• South African motor vehicle financing transactions (and possibly to an extent total vehicle sales) in Q2 is down by -71% compared to the number of new and used cars financed over the same period in 2019. In Europe, sales for the half-year reduced steeply by between -35% (Germany) to 51% (Spain)[3]. Russia is down -23%, Brazil -39% and Japan around -23%.
• South African factory output had dropped 49.4% by April[4] compared to EU figures indicating -20.9% [5].

Adjusting to changing market conditions

As a result, business executives are forced to strategise, and where possible re-calibrate overheads and variable costs to right-size the cost base in the face of reduced demand or increased demand uncertainty (#NewNormal). Some common cost savings strategies deployed to date include:

• Retrenchments
• Salary cuts
• Reducing shifts
• Temporary factory shutdowns
• Reducing stock and reviewing re-order levels

It is becoming clear that some industries (notably capital-intensive industries) have been forced into taking a longer-term view, while others have already been dealt their cards and seriously handicapped by the fallout:

• To date, the container shipping industry has responded with an unprecedented high number of blank sailings (tactical sailing cancellations) - resulting in 10% of the global fleet sitting idle in May and June[6]. 

• Owners are now looking at more serious measures to right-size capacity, resulting in shipping lines such as Hapag-Lloyd (5th biggest container shipper line in the world) announcing an indefinite postponement of an order for a new fleet of 23,000 TEU mega-ships [7]. 

• This type of decision impacts industry capacity which, in turn, has a knock-on impact on e.g. ports and harbours - now resulting in planned port capacity expansion being curtailed by 40% over the next 5 years[8].

• The biggest cruise line operator in the world, Carnival Corporation, confirmed its plans to sell a total of 13 of its ships this year, in a bid to deal with the losses faced due to the COVID-19 pandemic [9]. 

• Due to Covid-19 factory lockdowns, commercial airline manufacturers such as Airbus and more notably Boeing, have fallen behind with deliveries of new airlines[10]. Boeing has also specifically been hit by customers cancelling orders in 2020, resulting in it bearing the brunt of 800 or more cancelled orders[11] to date.

Considering the Impact of Capacity Reduction

Why is Capacity Reduction a much more serious decision than e.g. reducing shifts or salary cuts? If we break it down (simplistically speaking): 

Revenue is a function of Price x Units sold 

Subject to the constraints of: 

• Market demand, 
• The Business Model, 
• Internal Capacity and 
• Productivity.

For capacity-driven operations, maximum revenue is thus limited by inter alia demand and capacity. It is difficult to increase demand, and even more unlikely for sales to exceed demand. Attempting to sell more than available capacity permits, or to sell more than productivity allows is not sustainable or feasible in the long run either. Optimising productivity to match capacity is also difficult.

However, once the capacity has been reduced, the supply curve moves left and maximum income potential shifts down. This means maximum income potential has been fixed at a permanently lower level unless a way can be found to significantly increase the following to sufficiently compensate for the loss of Capacity:

• Demand, 
• Productivity and or 
• Price 

For industries and companies where capacity is a key driver of costs and revenue-generating ability, while any cutting back of capacity could yield significant savings, it could equally impact revenue management and (depending on costs structures) possibly even the ability to break-even. While it does not make financial sense to have unused capacity sitting idle for extended periods of time, cutting capacity is still not a decision to be taken lightly. 

In some cases, notably the likes of Airbnb and Uber, they rely on in-sourced (crowd-sourced) capacity and they are not hamstrung by their infrastructure or capital. For more traditional companies, however, such as rental fleet operators, logistics companies, transport, manufacturers, warehouses, office buildings, hotels and recreation, a cut in capacity has more strategic and longer-term implications:

• Capacity influences the ability to retain or gain market share.
• Reduced capacity will have a more significant impact on the variability and certainty of revenue e.g. 1 out of 10 units becomes unavailable vs. if 1 out 5 units were unavailable.
• If participants in any industry start shedding capacity (equipment, buildings, vehicles etc) simultaneously, e.g. by selling it in the open market during a period of low demand, this can result in oversupply, prices will fall further and this can result in losses.
• If any hypothetical future economic improvement occurs or if demand increases there could be significant competition to regain capacity. This could result in long delays - meaning everybody will have to wait their turn and it could take years to get back to historic capacity levels.
• If suppliers of capacity have been significantly affected themselves (e.g. Boeing) and they are still catching up with the backlog or have had to scale down permanently, this could lead to significant cost increases, specifically in the event of a bidding or price war, until the market has self-corrected again.
• If capacity is sold and the cash is used to e.g. pay for day-to-day expenses or to service debt, it might influence the business's ability to expand capacity again in future.

When considering strategic alternatives and definitely before finalising any decisions, consider the following:

• Experiment with your digital twin or conduct financial and operational simulations to better understand the impact of proposed capacity cuts on both the business and bottom line.
• Consider possible alternatives such as outsourcing excess capacity, re-allocating capacity to different product lines, hybrid shared-capacities, licensing or shared operating agreements.
• Thoroughly assess market conditions, current demand, disposal costs and the probable range of net realisable values before you decide to sell.
• Evaluate and decide on a case-by-case or unit-by-unit basis.

How do you suggest dealing with the thorny issue of excess capacity? Please comment in the comment section below.

If you have found this article useful or thought-provoking, please share with others your company or industry.

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[1][1] https://www.iol.co.za/business-report/opinion/facing-an-existential-crisis-the-restaurant-industry-starts-fighting-back-3734ccf4-09f1-45dd-b57f-ccce1f38dfcb

[2] https://www.barrons.com/news/pandemic-an-apocalypse-for-restaurants-in-us-01596340207

[3] https://www.spotlightmetal.com/international-automobile-markets-slumped-sharply-a-950697/

[4] https://www.news24.com/fin24/economy/factory-output-falls-by-the-most-on-record-in-april-20200709

[5] https://www.reuters.com/article/us-eurozone-economy-industrialoutput/euro-zone-industry-output-recovers-less-than-expected-idUSKCN24F0XI

[6] https://www.joc.com/maritime-news/container-lines/carriers-could-make-permanent-capacity-cuts-prolonged-downturn-drewry_20200714.html

[7] https://www.porttechnology.org/news/hapag-lloyd-postpones-mega-ship-order/

[8]https://splash247.com/pace-of-boxport-capacity-expansion-forecast-to-contract-at-least-40-in-the-wake-of-coronavirus/

[9] https://www.marineinsight.com/shipping-news/worlds-biggest-cruise-line-operator-to-sell-13-ships-to-cope-with-losses-due-to-covid-19-pandemic/

[10] https://www.statista.com/chart/19713/airbus-vs-boeing-deliveries/

[11] https://www.seattletimes.com/business/boeing-aerospace/boeing-has-lost-more-than-800-orders-for-the-737-max-this-year/