The Full Guide to Supply Chain Visibility Solutions
The Full Guide to Supply Chain Visibility Solutions
Supply chain is an intricate, interconnected organism. If your supply chain management suffers from gaps and outdated practices, you run the danger of dealing with customer unhappiness and large losses. What can help you ensure that doesn’t happen is a comprehensive software solution that brings transparency and automation.
TRIARE is a reputed development company with expertise in logistics software that combines experience and innovation. If you want to make your transportation and warehouse operations more agile and manageable – we’ve got you covered.
In this post, we are answering 9 of the most frequently asked questions about supply chain software development: its specifics, pros and cons, and alternatives to custom software. Without further ado, let’s begin!
1. What is supply chain visibility?
Supply Chain Visibility (SCV) is the capacity to follow or trace product orders and actual product shipments from the point of manufacturing to their final destination. This comprises the condition of the events and milestones that occur prior to and during transit, as well as logistics-related operations and transportation.
By facilitating easy access to information for all stakeholders, including customers, SCV aims to improve and empower the supply chain. Different supply chain departments within a business can obtain accurate, real-time information on stock, orders, and deliveries in their incoming and outgoing networks through the integration of SCV tools or systems.
2. What problems can supply chain software solve?
Supply chain software is a powerful tool, which provides many opportunities to reach great heights in the market of transportation services.
The supply chain management system (SCM system) has many problems that can be tackled by high-performing software. Here are some of the common problems in supply chain management and how they can be avoided with the help of software solutions.
Limited Transparency
Lack of transparency in supply chain operations is a common issue, which frequently results in operational losses from disruptions like cargo theft, fuel theft, and rerouting. Businesses may virtually eliminate the lack of transparency in their supply chain by integrating supply chain visibility solutions in app development. Software technology will help to track and trace the supply chain in real-time.
Failed customer expectations
Supply chain management often has difficulties in fulfilling client expectations. Indirect procurement requests, project and manufacturing requirements, and demands from external customers all need to be catered to. Supply chain software will enables you to enter requests and approve orders from one platform with the correct spend management technology, eliminating the need to follow-up with the requester (which will delay orders).
In the end, this gives you visibility into your supply chain and enables everyone—not just you—to follow orders all the way to invoice payment.
Management issues
With the growth of the company it faces more difficulties and dangers in their supply chain management. Controlling suppliers goes hand in hand with managing customer expectations. Software solutions can help you align expectations with suppliers by engaging and communicating with them about concerns such as scheduling, quality, and delivery before they arise.
Having positive working connections with your suppliers is essential for efficient supply chain management. You can reduce a number of significant hazards with the right software solutions.
Quality loss
An issue with global supply chains is the uncertainty around the sustainability and quality of goods produced abroad. This is especially true when product parts must adhere to legal requirements. Quality of the supply is the company’s reputation, and you’ll need a tool to help you accomplish quality control in the modern, globally integrated supply chain.
Software solutions and third-party inspection services are made to gather and track supplier safety and environmental data.
3. How to achieve supply chain visibility with custom software?
Custom software provides a wide range of opportunities to optimize business processes and increase revenue. A smart approach to improving your supply chain visibility starts with better, smarter software to meet customer demands and fix management issues. When these factors no longer have an intense impact on business development, speed and accuracy will be the point of change.
The use of technologies like IoT, AI, Big Data and Blockchain will further improve the supply chain visibility and simplify more processes. Moreover, these technologies will enable companies to significantly improve efficiency at every level of service delivery. Custom software can be a solution if you want to increase visibility in your supply chain.
4. Pros and cons of SaaS solutions in supply chain.
Why does custom development have no alternative in this case? Software as a Service, or SaaS as it is more frequently known, is a way of hosting and delivering software applications over the internet as a standard solution. There are both pros and cons of SaaS solutions in the supply chain. Let’s take a closer look at them:
Pros of a SaaS solution in supply chain |
Cons of using SaaS in supply chain |
| Accessibility
The degree of accessibility you receive while using a SaaS provider is one of its main advantages. You can normally view your dashboard from anywhere because everything is done online. In fact, the vast majority of SaaS companies also include a mobile app for all of your remote work requirements. |
Limited control
The fact that a supply chain visibility software provider controls the cloud system and is completely accountable for the system’s backend is one of the main drawbacks of employing them. Customers have little to no influence over how that portion of the server is run. |
| Reliability
Even the most seasoned IT professionals may find it challenging to manage a server, let alone all the software that it undoubtedly runs. However, if you use a good SaaS provider, this won’t be a problem for you. You are paying your provider for that, after all. Many of the leading SaaS companies can supply you with 99.9% uptime. It’s difficult to manage a full warehouse or supply chain while also trying to maintain your server online and trouble-free practically constantly. A SaaS solution can help you handle your supply chain with high reliability. |
Security
The drawback in security of SaaS solutions in the supply chain can be in entrusting the solution provider your private information, which can be leaked. If information gets into the wrong hands, it might be terrible for your manufacturing processes, inventory control, or your entire staff database. When using the cloud in a public setting with multi-user systems or servers that permit numerous users to connect to the same home network at once, there is a genuine risk of having databases compromised. Ask a potential SaaS provider about their security measures before choosing one. |
| Income From Return on Investment (ROI)
You want to be certain that you can profit from any tools, technology, or service you buy, right? Eliminating your in-house or on-site solutions and signing up for a respectable SaaS package is one of the finest ways to achieve this. |
Growth constraints
SaaS is OK for testing a product or starting a new business vertical. However, it’s unsustainable in the long term. If you are building a mid-sized or large enterprise, a custom solution is the answer. |
5. How will the supply chain software help capture incidents on the road?
All incidents and near-misses, including injuries and illnesses, spills, property damage, vehicle incidents, security breaches provide problems in the supply chain. They can be recorded, tracked, investigated, analyzed, and reported using incident management software. A comprehensive report about the incident investigation, including trends and corrective and preventative actions, is produced by incident management software.
6. What functions do RFID sensors have and how can custom supply chain software use them?
Throughout the supply chain, RFID (radio frequency identification)is utilized to precisely count, correct, and trace each individual item and carton. This begins in the factory where products are source-tagged, continues to the distribution center where orders are sorted, and ends with orders being dispatched to stores.
How does RFID function?
Three parts make up every RFID system: a scanning antenna, a transceiver, and a transponder. An RFID reader or interrogator is the term used when the scanning antenna and transceiver are integrated. Fixed readers and mobile readers are the two different categories of RFID readers.
The RFID reader is a network-connected gadget that can be carried about or fixed to a surface. It sends signals that turn on the tag using radio waves. The tag sends a wave back to the antenna after activation, where it is translated
RFID impact on the supply chain:
- Reduction of stock outages and top-line growth
- Brand defense against black and gray marketplaces
- Reduced consumer chargebacks for charges related to accuracy
- eCommerce fraud identification
- Tracking and minimizing supply shrinkage
- Auditing for accuracy across the Inbound, Outbound, and Returns processes
- Increase of item throughput
7. Why is it important to implement custom supply chain tracking software now?
Market trends are continually shifting, and people’s lives are being changed by new technologies every week. The companies must also accept and adopt the changing technology environment. The traditional methods of doing things are losing effectiveness day by day, and eventually the “hand”-run business will stop making money.
In a company environment that is changing quickly, timely implementation of new methods, like the SCM, can not only save money but also help to stay “on the wave.”
The three primary business sectors for which custom-developed online and mobile apps for logistics management automation are most pertinent are as follows:
- Sales. The software implementation in the supply chain opens up opportunities for more effective management and permits a reduction in the need for staff. The need for website support staff can be decreased with the help of custom app development.
- Control over storage inventory. The quantity of commodities in the warehouse’s inventory should be constantly high when employing conventional business methods. The amount of items in warehouses will be kept at a level to correspond with projective sales thanks to the automatic market analysis, which will lower the cost of purchasing supplies and goods.
- Market research. The use of software in the supply chain helps to analyze the market and make precise predictions of the sales amount. Through ongoing market research, you will be able to foresee the desired trends in products that will be popular in the future.
Technologies and solutions for real-time product tracking assist producers in achieving real-time visibility of each unit throughout the supply chain. As a result, they are able to schedule, track, and keep track of each product’s route to the final consumer.
8. What skills and experience should supply chain software developers have?
In many ways, software development is no mean feat. Few would contest the significance of their work, the real impact it has on business initiatives, or the extent to which it can affect the entire organization. Yes, if you have a talented developer, they can do a lot of wonderful things for your supply chain.
A can-do attitude
Supply chain developers need to keep the system’s performance, design, and user experience up to the required standards. The software system development cycle must overcome a range of obstacles. But a developer may find creative answers to any problem they encounter with the correct tools, algorithms, and superior analytical abilities.
Outstanding problem-solving abilities, self-assurance in one’s abilities, and a can-do attitude toward any issue are crucial software developer talents that elevate a developer’s value in developing a supply chain software.
Logistics expertise
Logistics software developers use their expertise to make sure that supply chain activities are efficient. The activities involved in logistics operations include gathering, holding, and moving materials to their destination. The supply chain developer should have previous experience with similar projects so that they understand what it takes to build an effective supply chain solution.
Adaptability
Supply chain managers may face specific obstacles as the market changes as a result of things like market demand, and they will need flexibility and agility to get through them. Flexibility and adaptability foster creative thinking, which enhances innovation in the supply chain.
9. How much does custom supply chain visibility software development cost?
Supply chain software development is usually done in sprints, and for complex projects, it can take months and even years to complete. The cost of supply chain software development depends on different factors: the team, their location, hourly rates, and other expenses.
The best course of action in this situation is to speak with an expert, who can help your business realize what you really need and how it will improve your supply chain. Contact TRIARE to discuss the terms of your software development and calculate its cost.
Final Thoughts
Solutions for supply chain visibility help businesses to better manage their transportation and inventory needs, which results in higher profits. Distribution firms and departments, as well as procurement and supply planning managers from suppliers and manufacturers, all employ supply chain visibility software.
TRIARE provides custom supply chain visibility software development for logistics that enables to keep complete records and control the necessary data. It will also help you reduce costs and efforts for supply chain management control.
