Supply chain analytics uses data from a variety of sources to measure inbound and outbound logistics performance.
A central component of electronic data interchange is the availability of real-time pricing and shipment update capabilities. This data can include everything from inventory turnover rates to warehouse receiving turnaround times to order accuracy ratings, as well as on-time shipments and overall fulfillment costs.
External applications may be utilized to obtain insights from the entire supply chain, including third-party performance (suppliers, carriers, and 3PLs), as well as distribution metrics related to several sales channels and distribution centers.
Various supply chain analytics techniques and best practices
Here are some pointers and best practices to get you started if you’re looking to use supply chain analytics in your company.
When it comes to supply chain ensure your tech stack is connected
Data from a variety of sources is used in supply chain analytics. This might include information from your inventory management program, physical store(s), manufacturer(s), warehouse (s), fulfillment operations, and so on for ecommerce companies.
To obtain a clear picture of your supply chain, you’ll need to combine all of these data sources in order to get accurate supply chain analytics that are relevant and tell the whole tale.
Even if you’re not managing your supply chain in-house, make sure you’re working closely with your SCaaS or 3PL partner to bring all of your data sources together.
Gather sentiment data from social media
The Internet is also a great tool for gathering customer feedback, which can be useful in improving supply chain performance. Online reviews, comments, and discussions on social media may occasionally offer qualitative data about supply chain performance that directly affects a client’s experience.
Gaining access to information on social media can assist you in gaining insights into your consumers’ thoughts, allowing you to spot possibilities for optimizing your supply chain and enhancing your social commerce plan.
Are individuals discussing their plans to purchase a certain item for the holidays? This may be used to complement demand forecasts in order to produce more reliable predictions about future demand.
Visualize your data to make it easier to digest
Using tools to visualize supply chain data may help you understand it all better.
A visual overview of your supply chain allows you to quickly understand the data, connect the dots, and make assumptions and conclusions with ease. As a result, you may spend more time improving rather than analyzing it.
Using Launch Fulfillment’s advanced data and analytics reporting, you can get a quick view of how your supply chain is performing. Digestible tables and graphs are provided so that you may easily access information on:
- Fulfillment performance and SLAs
- Current inventory distribution vs ideal distribution
- Transit times, shipping methods, and destinations
- Historical stock levels
- Logistics costs associated with storage, fulfillment, and shipping
In supply chain it is important to look for location-specific insights
If your inventory is distributed across several warehouses, extracting insights based on location may be quite beneficial.
By utilizing data to support distribution, you’ll be able to keep track of how a certain location is progressing, the unique challenges it’s facing, and the appropriate solutions that may not always apply to other locations.
The same warehouse management system (WMS) that powers Logistics Network ‘s network uses the data, which is automatically pulled and provides insight into the best distribution strategy.
When you split your inventory according to where your clients are, not only can it speed up delivery, but it may also make 2-day shipping available to more of your consumers by lowering costs.
Use predictive analytics to set ideal minimum inventory levels
Managing stocks while attempting to save money is difficult without the capacity to anticipate demand. Despite the fact that forecasting is never precisely right, it does give you with enough data to manage inventory levels effectively.
Among other data that may assist you better predict demand are:
- Average units sold per day
- Production lead times
- Receiving turnaround times
If you have a lot of comments, apply them to figure out what your customers want before they even realize it themselves. To decrease the restocking process, utilize these results to predetermine reorder quantities and establish automated reorder points.
By providing all of the data and insights you need in one dashboard, ‘Launch Fulfillment’s technology makes it simple to establish optimized reorder points.
See what your ERP or SCM software already offers
Enterprise resource planning (ERP) and supply chain management technology already have robust supply chain analytics and reporting capabilities built in. So, depending on your needs, you may not need to invest in a distinct analytic software package.
However, ERPs and other tough supply chain management solutions are expensive. While integrating analytics in one place may be worthwhile, there are less costly but just as effective alternatives to gather data.
For example, SmartShip’s software enables you to track and manage inventory, gain insights into the fulfillment and shipping process, and interact with a variety of ecommerce solutions via built-in inventory management tools, insights into the fulfillment and shipping process, and direct integrations with the top ecommerce platforms.
With Launch Fulfillment, you may link your whole supply chain technology platform with your retail fulfillment solution and gain access to all the data you want in one location.
Reduce shipping time by using predictive route planning
By accounting for anticipated delays and allowing you to avoid them, supply chain management software may help you optimize your supply chain. This can assist you in accelerating the shipping process while also lowering freight expenses.
Launch Fulfillment works together with major delivery management systems such as Route and AfterShip to give more data, visibility, and transparency into the shipping process.
Supply chain analytics for ecommerce
For many developing direct-to-consumer (DTC) firms, outsourcing their ecommerce supply chain management and analysis is frequently the best option.
An outsourced supply chain may include collaborating with a third-party logistics (3PL) firm to manage logistics processes while also giving complete insight into operations.
3PL Service Provider: 3PL provides best-in-class supply chain management services, which include everything from warehousing to inventory management, fulfillment, and automated shipping.
Watch the video below to get a 3D tour of how Launch Fulfillment works:
Launch Fulfillment also offers a simple, digestible dashboard that combines all of the supply chain analytics and information you need to boost supply chain efficiency, as well as ensuring that we are held accountable for our performance.
With its custom-made international fulfillment network powered by a leading technology that gives important insights into your supply chain, among other things, Launch Fulfillment’s ships are accompanied along their journey to ensure that they arrive in perfect condition:
- To assist you with your procurement and distribution, we can provide real-time demand forecasts. You may discover seasonal changes in demand, determine when to reorder inventory, and see whether certain fulfillment centers require more product at the SKU level.
- Learn about shipping costs and schedules.
- To assess the most effective method of allocating and distributing inventory between several warehouses, you’ll need a map like this.
Click the button below to begin a conversation with our team about how Launch Fulfillment may help you better manage supply chain analytics.