Any discussion about supply chain challenges is likely to include the topic of visibility. After all, you can’t manage what you can’t see. Reports indicate that 69% of companies do not have total visibility into their supply chains, and only 22% say they are confident they can shift to meet supply and demand changes.
But there’s good news. Organizations that implement Industry 4.0 tools such as digital dashboards and robust scenario planning for end-to-end supply chain visibility are twice as likely as others to avoid supply chain problems. And, while many organizations are expanding visibility into their Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers, there’s a good argument to be made for using digital tools such as these to take a deeper dive into an organization’s own operations for improved agility.
Here are two user stories that illustrate how gaining visibility at the parts level helped them improve process flows and mitigate disruptions.
User Story #1: Bring bottlenecks into focus
A manufacturing organization was experiencing bottlenecks in its operations due to parts issues. Unfortunately, their current monitoring solution was not detailed enough to allow the production planner to pinpoint exactly which parts were causing the problem. Incomplete information left the planner wondering how to tackle the issue, which was starting to affect customer deliveries.
A multi-dimension monitoring solution allowed them to break through the bottlenecks. The solution pulls data from their existing systems such as enterprise resource planning (ERP) and manufacturing execution systems (MES), using digital twin technology to monitor the supply of parts in real-time against the planned sequence, comparing inventories, shipments, and production. A detailed dashboard allows the planner to drill down to the parts level to identify any potential problem areas. Parts responsible for bottleneck situations are defined and compared to the saved stocks for planned production. Orders affected by the constraint are filtered and displayed.
The solution then checks the ability to deliver and identifies which requirements are covered and which cannot be met. The supply chain management system automatically sifts through alternatives for the planner to consider. The end result is greater shop floor transparency and the ability to identify potential roadblocks before they occur, so they can be mitigated before negatively impacting customer deliveries.
User Story #2: View parts availability and capability to produce
Another organization was looking to reduce the frequency of missing parts, which was causing interruptions in the production process. They needed a connected and holistic view across the supply chain—including production, logistics, stock management and transportation—to better understand parts availability and the capacity to produce products at any given time.
This is where the value of a real-time integrated supply stream becomes apparent. Whether it is planning strategy, material procurement, order allocation, or warehouse and container management, real-time insight into the supply pipeline through intelligent solutions and software can form the basis for more efficiency and productivity for planners and managers.
The organization linked their Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) solution via an interface with a real-time monitoring module to visualize the supply situation and provide reliable transparency into constraints, ranges of coverage, and inventories. The cloud-based supply chain management software provided the company with transparency in real-time, with clear presentation of the current situation on parts and order levels across the enterprise. The simulation environment for analyzing different scenarios put the production planner in a proactive role—controlling instead of reacting to changes in orders, parts availability and production capacity.
As a result, the organization experienced a reduction of missing parts, fewer interruptions in the production process, and an increased ability to meet delivery targets to customers.
Leading organizations are using advanced technologies to significantly improve visibility and become more responsive to major disruption and variability within their domestic, regional and global supply chains. Those that use digital technologies to go deep inside their own supply chains can reap even greater rewards.
For more details get our product information Multi Dimension Monitoring
Learn more about
- The Advantages of Multi Dimension Monitoring
- Perspectives of a Production or a Tansport point of view
- Potentials for Planners and Dispatchers
