A 360 supply chain overview: improving efficiency and ensuring the optimal product supply throughout the dynamic market landscape
Real-time monitoring of market coverage
Dynamic overview of global supply flows
Easy access to alternate suppliers in edge cases
Problem
Our client, a medical device company, was looking for a way to solve two main supply chain issues – how to best shorten the production process for maximum efficiency and faster delivery; and what centers could be used as an alternative in case of unforeseen circumstances and how would that lengthen the process or increase the price. Operating in the medical device industry, they had to ensure that any downtime that occurred would influence their clients in any way because it could be a matter of life and death. So, the question that was presented to us was “how?” – How could they diversify the production risk and keep using optimally their available resources (parts/products)?
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Solution
We built a dashboard that provided our client with an easy overview of their market coverage. With a simple hover over a production center on the map, they could find out the current inventory, the average weekly demand, and how long they could afford to act as a main supplier for that part, material, or product. This information was attained straight from the supply center and was updated daily. It allowed them to quickly respond to supply delays or inventory shortages and answer the evolving market demand.
Our client couldn’t just produce more goods, since some of the materials had expiration dates. Overstocking was never an option. Using the dashboard, our client could monitor and analyze the situation dynamically and make sure that if something went awry, they could at the very least find alternate materials that could be interchanged.
Success
Using our solution, a medical device company was able to quickly and effortlessly react to any issues that may occur due to unforeseen events like natural disasters, transportation failures, geopolitical instability, etc. They can now make data-informed decisions when determining new and more optimal paths for their supply chain. And finally, our client could dynamically respond to an evolving market and focus on maintaining an optimal product balance to avoid loss of revenue due to product/material expiration.