We will go over what the velocity of supply chain and what it does. In the realm of online retail, speed is a must-have. Customers want accurate orders delivered as quickly as possible, but fast last-mile logistics alone will not suffice to keep up with this demand.
A company’s entire supply chain must move at a fast pace in order to consistently provide the rapid delivery that clients want.
Maintaining a high supply chain velocity has several advantages. Not only can increased its velocity enhance customer happiness and speed up the procedures, but it may also cut delivery times and costs, establish a better inventory tracking system, and make your operations more lean and cost-effective.
In this post, we’ll look at what supply chain velocity is, why it’s crucial for businesses, how to improve its velocity, and how a 3PL can change the customer experience.
What is supply chain velocity, and how can it be improved?
The supply chain’s velocity is measured in terms of how fast activities inside the chain are completed, as well as how quickly orders go through the chain from start to finish.
The speed at which it moves throughout its phases and processes, including buying from a manufacturer, production lead times, warehouse receiving, inventory management, order processing, picking, packing, delivery, and last-mile logistics.
High supply chain velocity improves consumer satisfaction, lowers expenses, and automates management. High supply chain velocity implies that clients will receive purchases with a short time interval between placement and delivery.
Supply chain is crucial in today’s environment
High supply chain velocity is both a competitive advantage and a necessary condition for your firm’s survival. Here are some of the reasons why a strong speed is significant for company owners.
- Customer satisfaction, brand loyalty, and repeat purchases can all be improved.
Today’s online customers want their purchases to arrive as quickly as possible. According to one survey, 67 percent of customers desire 2-day delivery, and 46% find rapid delivery more important since the COVID-19 epidemic began.
The demand for speed has a big influence on consumer purchase decisions (with 85% of customers indicating they are more inclined to buy when 2-day delivery is available) and customer satisfaction levels.
If your supply chain can get completed items to a customer’s hands in two days, they are more likely to promote your company, give positive evaluations, and buy from you again — all of which add to brand loyalty and help your company’s bottom line.
2.ROI and cost savings from your investments
Increased sales and revenues may be the result of being able to move items more quickly.
More streamlined and efficient operations almost always result in lower operating and labor expenses, as well as more work done in the same amount of time. Saving money on operations allows small firms to increase their earnings or reallocate funds elsewhere.
- It plans for any difficulties that may arise.
A fast supply chain — one that can process orders quickly and has minimal operational costs — is more adaptable than a sluggish one. This implies that, in the face of uncertainty, high-velocity may simply be converted to avoid risks and capitalize on possibilities.
When it comes to supply chain resilience, most businesses are concerned about a lack of capacity. If your supply chain is able to support high-speed operations, it will frequently have enough resilience to handle unanticipated delays or bottlenecks.
Obstacles to rapid performance when it comes to supply chain
Velocity is harder than ever before to achieve, with unexpected global supply chain disruptions and a growing emphasis on supply chain sustainability.
Its difficulties will come on board for every business at some point, but many may be overcome if you are ready. Here are a handful of frequent supply chain management problems that businesses face.
Disruptions
Supply chain disruptions can occur at any time, and recent events have shown how significantly and severely they may damage the supply chain. Disruptions make it difficult to keep supply chain velocity even if it’s an isolated event such as the Suez Canal closure, or a worldwide disaster like the COVID-19 pandemic.
Unforeseen problems may halt stuff or orders from progressing through your pipeline, affecting the entire supply chain.
Infrastructure/inventory shortages
When a product is in short supply, it creates bottlenecks that make it tough to maintain velocity.
Warehouses become full, and only the biggest firms have enough money to pay for additional movers or storage containers. Lack of accessible warehouse space, a scarcity of freight containers that drives freight forwarder pricing to rise, restricted raw materials, or insufficient buffer inventory cause products to come to a halt and necessitate innovative solutions.
Growing demand
Every company’s ambition is to have a larger customer demand for new goods, but growing demand outstripping your operation’s capacity to keep up becomes an issue.
If you have a sudden increase in demand for your items, you could burn through your safety stock and suffer from stockouts and backorders before replenishment. These problems tarnish your company’s success, result in lost profits, and might even deter consumers from returning.
Holidays and busy seasons
Even the most efficient supply chains are bound by predictable delays and shortages at particular times of the year. It can be tough to maintain the velocity high around the winter holidays in the US due to an increase in order quantities and labor demands.
Many firms also neglect to account for foreign holidays, resulting in additional delays and disruptions.
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