After the COVID-19 pandemic, many businesses are facing challenges in managing their operations to supply goods or services for the clients at the right time, right cost, and right quality. During COVID-19, most of the small scale businesses have closed their businesses due to the cash flow shortage, raw materials shortage, no implementation of system software, employment shortage, logistic cost raise, no knowledge of Information Technology (remote access unavailability, no system implementation), and so on.
Accordingly, Ernst and Young have surveyed 200 Supply chain Executives in large-scale industries to gather information on how COVID-19 disrupted businesses in terms of supply chain activities. Read article https://www.ey.com/en_gl/supply-chain/how-covid-19-impacted-supply-chains-and-what-comes-next
It was observed that, during COVID-19, 92% of the companies continued to invest in advancing Information Technology in their businesses to meet customers' demand with the Quick Response strategy. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many companies including IT system updated companies also faced challenges in supplying essential products such as food items, pharmaceutical products, and personal hygiene products in delivering to customers on the required time due to a workforce shortage and transportation difficulties (fuel crisis). However, they are resilient to the updated technology to overcome internal and external coordination issues and have efficient demand planning, production planning, delivery arrangements, shipment, and clearance planning.
Further, an organization operating with visibility, quick responsiveness, maintaining the database, and engaging with technologically knowledgeable employees has succeeded in the COVID-19 pandemic with minimal loss. Companies that adopt new IT application software by Cloud-based systems, IoT, and Artificial Intelligence to ensure process visibility, volatile to market needs in forecasting and supplying and adapting to sustainable supply chain.
Digital transformation in supply chain operations improves visibility, agility, flexibility, efficiency, and resilience in future business to establish smooth operations. While transforming to a smart system software, companies need to focus on the appropriate supply chain strategy in line with the business strategy, such as maintaining real-time transparent data, cost optimization with effective inventory planning, manufacturing, and operating sustainably with zero waste to the environment and being agile to customer expectations.
Finally, it is understood that COVID-19 has made the stakeholders understand the importance of the supply chain in the organization and its need to be digitalized to compete in the upcoming decade in line with the circular economy.
This is an era to move forward ……………….
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