Supply chain disruptions have been an unavoidable challenge for businesses of all sizes for decades. As supply chain networks have grown and expanded, both digitally and geographically, the issue has only grown. And that was before 2020 changed disruption from the exception to the rule.
To overcome obstacles like supplier closures, materials shortages, and delivery delays, businesses need to be able to get a bird's eye view of their supply chains and product movements. Not only that, but they need technology that empowers them to make strategic decisions and execute on them.
For example, in 2020, the first COVID-19 outbreak shut down large swaths of manufacturing plants in Asia. Businesses that relied on these areas for raw materials like textiles needed new sources.
Companies with secondary and tertiary suppliers needed to act fast to keep orders moving. At the same time, businesses without these resources needed to forge new partnerships rapidly.
The most successful players were those who used technology to their advantage. For those with existing secondary and tertiary suppliers, integrated solutions like electronic data interchange (EDI) and B2B eCommerce platforms made it easy to create new orders fast. For those without, supplier enablement platforms helped onboard new suppliers quickly to avoid supply chain stoppages.
The key to these technologies lies in changing the way businesses think about the supply chain. By automating the day-to-day tasks, solutions like TrueCommerce's Microsoft Dynamics 365 integrations empower business owners to take a step back and get an unobstructed view of their supply chain. The increased speed offered by automation also results in near-real-time data and lightning-fast communication, which help businesses make more intelligent, strategic decisions more quickly.
That's not all. While automation increases visibility and supply chain resilience, cloud-based solutions have the added benefit of scalability; they can support sustained and sudden changes in order volume. As one TrueCommerce customer put it, "Whether you're doing 100 or 10,000 transactions a day with a customer, the impact on the platform is negligible. It scales extraordinarily well."
Plus, with cloud-based integrations for Microsoft Dynamics, business owners can manage their supply chain from anywhere. In doing so, they can stop supply chain disruptions in their tracks and clear the road to do business in every direction.
To learn more about the benefits of connected technology, click below to watch our webinar.
