5 Areas Supply Chain Leaders Must Master in the New Year

Senior supply chain leaders identify five areas that manufacturers and distributors need to master to succeed in the coming years.

Supply Chain Leaders Need to Master 5 Areas to Succeed in the New Year

The need to better-develop internal talent is one of five areas supply chain professionals need to master in order to thrive in the New Year. Find out what else was revealed in The Chief Supply Chain Officer Report 2013, a survey of 750 senior supply chain professionals by SCM World.

While it can be tempting to believe that a mature industry with as much history and development of leading organizations in the U.S. supply chain bring to the table, it’s important to remember that the marketplace is ever-evolving with the emergence of new technologies and efficiencies, leaving the door open for innovative new competitors to gain market share.

If your organization is part of the supply chain landscape, findings in The Chief Supply Chain Officer Report 2013, a survey of 750 supply chain leaders, indicates that there are five main issues that professionals in manufacturing and distribution need to master in order to succeed in the coming years.

5 Areas Supply Chain Leaders Must Master to Thrive in the Years Ahead

1. Reducing costs, while – at the same time – improving customer service, expanding into new markets and supporting the launch of new product lines.

• 68% of respondents (up from 64% last year) said that reducing costs was “very important”
• 53% say new product introduction and launch capabilities are essential for the supply chain (up from just 18% in 2011)

2. Managing the complexity of omni-channel selling and customer fulfillment.

• 55% said they had to keep more inventory on-hand to meet demands of e-commerce and mobile-enabled shoppers
• Nearly 55% are building new distribution centers
• 48% are developing direct-to-customer fulfillment capabilities

3. Lowering costs and increasing efficiency.

• 47% said they are expected to lower costs and improve efficiency (up from 43% from the prior year and well over the 32% who said this in 2011)

4. Reducing the number and severity of safety and quality problems.

• 37% say they were “very concerned” about this for 2013-2014 and an additional 35% were at least somewhat concerned

5. Developing internal talent and facilitating career progressions for top talent in order to demonstrate a return on future (talent development) investments.

• 76% said that providing ‘compelling career options’ for talented staff is challenging (up from 66% from the previous year)
• 53% say they don’t track their return on talent development investment

Accessing the Working Capital Needed to Address Supply Chain Challenges

If your organization shares the desire to master one or more of these supply chain industry issues, you may need to access the working capital that is locked down in your customer receivables. Invoice factoring can be a fast, cost-effective way to gain immediate access to the money represented by a customer invoice – without waiting for your customer to pay.

For a supply chain business such as a manufacturing or distribution company, access to working capital could be the key to:

• Expanding into new markets
• Launching new product lines
• Increasing inventory to meet demands of e-commerce and mobile shoppers
• Creating a direct-to-consumer shopping channel and fulfillment capability
• Building a new distribution center
• Improving process efficiencies
• Replacing obsolete equipment with more efficient equipment that costs less to operate
• Investing in talent development
• Improving safety and quality assurance programs and training

***

We offer supply chain finance tools including invoice factoring (also known as receivables financing) for manufacturers and distributors. From low fees to high advance rates and stellar customer service, find out more about the top supply chain factoring companies with flexible, tailored options like:

• Factoring fees as low as 1%
• Advances up to 98% of invoice amount
• Fast same / next day funding
• No long term contracts
• No monthly minimums
• No administrative or hidden fees

There’s no cost or obligation to request a quick quote or apply, which means no risk to find out whether this business finance tool could help your organization. Complete the quick quote form below to request information about supply chain financing or find out how to get started factoring invoices in order to access working capital to grow your business.

You Might Also Like: Increase Supply Chain Revenues by Improving Supply Chain Processes