Unlocking the potential of Supply Chain Control Towers for Real-Time Management

Posted on : August 7th 2024

A supply chain control tower (SCCT) is a centralized hub providing real-time visibility and insights across the entire supply chain. By leveraging data, SSCTs offer real-time alerts, predictive analytics, scenario modeling, and enhanced communications. They provide a comprehensive view of the supply chain, supporting both operational tactics and business strategies.

Supply Chain Control Towers: The Basics

According to IBM, a SCCT is a connected, personalized dashboard of data, key business metrics, and events across the supply chain. Here are some key features:

1. Enhanced Issue Resolution: It enables organizations to understand, prioritize, and resolve critical issues in real-time.
2. Cloud-based Solutions: SCCTs utilize the latest technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and the Internet of Things (IoT).
3. End-to-End Visibility: They offer real-time visibility across an organization’s entire network, including suppliers, manufacturers, and business partners.
4. Comprehensive Data Collection: SCCT systems collect large amounts of up-to-date data to provide a 360-degree view of the supply chain in real-time.

Utilizing the Data Collected by SCCTs

SCCTs leverage real-time data from various sources such as IoT sensors, enterprise resource planning (ERP) platforms, and transportation management systems (TMS). This data is used for:

1. Driving what-if analysis and comparing scenarios.
2. Running simulations of demand and supply changes.
3. Identifying issues and addressing them quickly with customer alerts.
4. Collaborating with partners across the supply chain.
5. Automating exception flagging and handling.

Evolution of SCCTs

Generative AI is driving the evolution of SCCTs, enhancing them in several ways:

1. Pattern Recognition: addressing supply chain anomalies.
2. Route Optimizations: Determining the most efficient transport routes and schedules.
3. Sourcing Intelligence: Suggesting alternative suppliers based on real-time market information.
4. Demand Forecasting: Predicting shifts based on patterns and external factors.
   Inventory Management: Optimizing stock scenarios.
5. Supplier Risk Evaluations: Assessing suppliers for potential risks.

What are the Benefits

A rich store of valuable supply chain analytics enables end-to-end control, facilitating dynamic planning and real-time routing. This capability significantly enhances the speed and scale of inventory tracking and exception flagging. Thus, some key benefits of SCCTs are:

1. Eliminating information silos and blind spots.
2. Providing a ‘Single source of truth’, with a unified data dashboard.
3. Enhancing communication and collaboration internally and with suppliers or business partners.
4. Ensuring end-to-end traceability.

Types of SCCTs

The capacity of SCCTs to capture information and adapt to rapid changes unlocks business value and strategic opportunities. According to IBM, there are five SCCT types:

1. Logistics/transportation control towers: Offer advance shipping notifications, delivery data, and track-and-trace information.
2. Fulfillment control towers: Assist in expediting orders and reducing overall cost-to-serve.
3. Inventory control towers: Provide real-time insights into inventory management to prevent stock-outs and shortages.
4. Supply assurance control towers: Ensure adequate supply availability and planned delivery.
5. E2E supply chain control towers: Provide visibility across internal and external systems and processes, applicable to various departments or entities.

Key Players in the SCCT Market

According to Xenon Market Insights, the key players in the SCCT market are:

1. Elementum
2. Blue Yonder Group, Inc.
3. PearlChain
4. Kinaxis
5. Viewlocity Technologies Pty Ltd.
6. Llamasoft
7. One Network Enterprises
8. E2open, LLC
9. SAP
10. Infor

Conclusions

Emerging technologies like advanced analytics and generative AI are enabling better decision-making and future scenario predictions. SCCTs leverage these technologies with an array of specialized AI solutions. Tailored to a company’s unique supply chain needs and benchmarks, SCCTs deploy AI-enabled processes in complex environments, ensuring efficient and effective supply chain management.