At a time when data is the lifeblood of decision-making, organizations are grappling with the challenge of data silos. These isolated clusters of information, scattered across various systems, make data-driven decisions a herculean task. To overcome this, businesses are transitioning towards a single source of truth (SSOT) model, where data …
Changes on the product floor are a part of doing business, unavoidable. You might as well embrace change by automating it. How do you track the changes today? Relying on your ERP system from our experience doesn’t cover all that change typically entails. For example, how do you track if approvals are required, bins need …
As you probably know, supply chains remain in chaos, and while in some aspects of the overall situation, there may be some light at the end of the tunnel, it remains crucial to ensure that you get things right the first time. Part delivery is slow and costly enough. You …
You know your supply chain is a logistical nightmare with poor communication, a lack of standards, and little transparency. On top of everything else, you are too busy putting out fires to think of a solution. For most, it comes down to two solutions: 1) Trying to fix the issues by changing your ERP system. It is …
There are many reasons why 3PLs and manufacturing companies have inefficiencies with their processes. These inefficiencies cause disruption in material flow, increase downtime, and cause delays which ultimately cost businesses time and resources. Here are 5 ways to improve your Process Automation Improve Communication – Poor communication is the root …
Companies have increasingly been adopting newer technologies in recent months to get a jump start after the Covid-19 slump. With customer demand being so volatile in many industries, it has often been a task for 3PL and 4PL companies to adjust their business processes to combat these disruptions. Business closures, …
In this time of volatile markets, supply chains are struggling to find the right balance between keeping lean manufacturing practices with just-in-time (JIT) inventory strategies and buffered inventory levels with plenty of safety stock. According to Gartner VP of Supply Chain Research and Advisory Geraint John on Supply Chain Dive, …
Unexpected weather events can wreak havoc on domestic freight transportation and the 4 ‘ways’: roadways, railways, runways, and waterways. Trucking (on roadways) is the largest (70% of the manufacturing and warehousing industries) and often the hardest hit industry for that reason during these big storms. The Superstorm in 1993, Hurricane …
According to The Economist, when the swine-flu pandemic of 2009 happened “companies ramped up production…only to be driven to the verge of bankruptcy when demand fell back to normal”. Building resilience in your company to plan for changes is vital to staying competitive year after year. But how do you …
StrataFlows Featured as an Expert Columnist in Supply & Drive Chain Executive Material Flow Analysis (MFA), or Process Flow Analysis (PFA), is fundamental to any material handling strategy. MFA aims to map, inspect, and evaluate all flow of materials from suppliers, to storage locations, and finally to the point of …
Resiliency has been the overwhelming theme in the past year as companies have grappled with changes in the supply chain due to Covid-19. As the ProMatDX approaches in April, manufacturers are reminded of software solutions that give them more visibility in their supply chain as they recover and prepare for …
The Fourth Industrial Revolution, also known as Industry 4.0, has been a decade in the making. It is the converging of IT (Information Technology) and OT (Operational Technology) and is driving the transformation of connectivity, intelligence, and flexible automation in the manufacturing industry. Industry 4.0 is a sort of technology toolbox with the goal of digitizing data, in real time, …
Supply chain professionals at every stage of their career know there is increasing risk in our global supply chain – they see it, and at times, they really feel it. It may not have been as easy to quantify, though as it is now, thanks to the McKinsey Global Institute …
Paper. Email. Spreadsheets. Compared to the automated, fast-paced environment of manufacturing, these tools are antiquated, cumbersome, and slow. Yet supply chain managers rely on paper, emails, and spreadsheets every day for critical functions including material handling. This often leads to costly production outages due to material flow or other avoidable …
