The pandemic has brought significant changes to the marketplace, in particular supply chain disruption that continues to impact people and businesses worldwide. The limitations of existing supply chains are being exposed due to the pandemic, and environmental factors like natural disasters, extreme weather, road/port closures, and other manmade disasters along with government orders have stretched them further, requiring businesses to adjust and find supply in other regions.

The evolution of supply chains to this global, interconnected scale has prompted the need for a more agile, market-driven platform along with supply chain visibility. This resilient kind of platform will not only support business continuity today but enable organizations to renew and grow. And while that may sound lofty, there are some practical steps your organization can take immediately to accelerate supply chain transformation.

Three approaches to gain supply chain intelligence
Understanding your supply chain complexity, technology needs, and risks are necessary for any organization to be resilient, sustainable and ready for disruption and opportunities. We here at Avanade have developed three approaches to help you on your journey to an intelligent, sustainable supply chain business.

1. Assess your supply chain agility
   When it comes to supply chain management, logistics, process and enterprise resource planning technologies, ask yourself: is your business agile and proactive, or are you reactive and implement short-term solutions rather than a proactive approach?
   Agility has become increasingly critical, enabling organizations to respond faster to customer needs and market conditions – radically shifting production lines, revisiting supplier networks and finding new ways of collaborating, among other things. Our team of supply chain consultants can help you determine risks in your supply chain and develop approaches to help address those risks. We have years of experience in supply chain and will bring best practices and templates to help you start your journey.


2. Consider your supply chain visibility
   Siloed technology platforms, cost, and lack of quality data are some of the factors which cause operational inefficiencies. How confident do you feel about where your inventory is, and what is needed and when? How well are you able to predict customer demand? What level of insights into your supply chain are used regularly, from order to fulfillment?
   By moving your ERP platform to the Microsoft Azure cloud, and digitizing your supply chain, you can combat disruption, keep up with the pace of change and limit your exposure to cyber risk. Avanade has developed an ERP-driven supply chain Control Tower solution that enables businesses with data and insights to help mitigate potential disruption. Organizations can use this to visualize what is happening in their supply chain and react quickly to potential disruption, whether it is climate, pandemic, energy related and so on, giving their business the insights needed to make proactive, effective decisions.


3. Begin to embed more intelligence around supply chain
   With agility and insights at the ready, you may look to improve your supply chain organization’s ability to be predictive. By leveraging Azure micro-services along with machine learning (ML) and AI, we’ve developed intelligence, on top of your data, which can enable you to predict, plan and execute, to provide intelligent planning and fulfillment.
   Our global clients are leveraging these kinds of solutions for sales forecasting, effective inventory management, and supply/risk planning. By analyzing your data with ML and AI, you will be able to visualize a comprehensive view of your business, make decisions and bring the information back to your ERP to execute and deliver.

Act now to build a more resilient supply chain
Companies can no longer be just reactive to changes by making short-term solutions. By digitizing your supply chain and leveraging the use of Azure cloud and ERP, like Microsoft Dynamics 365, you will be better positioned to become an agile and proactive supply chain business. You will be able to respond quickly and predict change, limiting your risk from possible future disruptions.

If you’re seeking to take these kinds of steps, Avanade has privileged access to Microsoft, industry expertise, and supply chain consulting professionals who can help you on your journey to supply chain resilience. Those are just a few reasons why we were named Microsoft 2021 Global Partner of the Year for Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management & Finance.

Read our short guide to learn more about how we’ve helped clients worldwide increase supply chain transparency, increase operational efficiencies, and accelerate time to market.