The Paperless Supply Chain

As a sustainable organization, you’re constantly strategizing ways to reduce the amount of paper you leave in your wake. Fortunately for those of us in supply chain management, going paperless can be an easy battle to win with technology.

There is a plethora of ways to reduce paper waste across the supply chain – some more technical than others. The advantage to any initiative like this is that when you move towards improving overall processes, it tends to have a broader positive effect than initially intended. Through the right technology and processes, your organization will not just save paper but improve efficiencies in communications and information delivery at every level.

By now, we’ve all probably signed up for paperless banking, paperless utility statements and other personal e-updates to streamline our lives. Reading your favorite news online, requesting e-receipts at point-of-sale retail locations, paying bills online: all these activities are supported by going PAPERLESS! So, good job on that! But now we must ask ourselves these 2 questions:

1. How does that work at a corporate level?
2. How far can we take it to improve our overall supply chain functions?

When we think about our daily interactions with logistics management, it makes sense to apply the logistics of paperless initiatives into the corporate supply chain. Just imagine taking those same basic concepts we noted earlier a step further by incorporating them into a business setting.

Well, that’s an easy leap when we think of what most companies already have in place: direct deposit paychecks, online timecards, intranets, and work email accounts. All of these interactions cut down the amount of paper generated, used, abused and discarded. And while it may require some level of commitment to implement these practices, the reward will make it worthwhile. As an organization, you’ll save on valuable resources while gaining efficiencies from the related controls being applied. It’s a win-win, really.

Eliminating unnecessary paper from your corporate culture may seem like a daunting task. But let’s be fair, you didn’t set up your own personal e-business preferences in one day, right? So, don’t feel too overwhelmed about taking it to the next level for your corporation. Take the time to assess opportunities for improvement and consult a Supply Chain expert for design, build and implementation support. Start with the easier transformations and work your way towards the bigger goals. In the end, it’s all about the first step. So, throw away those post-it notes and let’s get started!

Technologies Driving Enterprise Supply Network

Transformation of the traditional supply chain comes about with the integration of emerging technologies like blockchain, Internet of Things, robotic process automation, big data, artificial intelligence, and predictive analytics.

A digital supply chain management is an integrated ecosystem where barriers between processes are removed through innovations driven by digital technologies. Digitization aims to streamline suppliers’ capabilities, manufacturing process, warehouse management and logistics management. This, in turn, helps in removing data silos, enhancing transparency, eliminating redundancies, automating tasks, enabling data-driven decisions, and predicting future trends, the combined effect of which helps improve customer satisfaction.

Smart technologies can ensure inter-connectedness between critical phases across the supply chain, thereby bridging the knowledge gaps to make supply chain agile, connected, predictive, and smart.

To transform a traditional supply chain into a digital supply chain, an organization needs the strategic vision, commitment to the continuous investment in digital technologies, and effective change management to execute this digitization.

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Source Link - https://katalysttech.com/blog/the-paperless-supply-chain/

Katalyst Technologies Inc. is a best-in-class software, products, technology services, and solutions provider. The core areas of expertise are in ERP, supply chain and logistics, engineering & manufacturing, digital & e-commerce, professional service