How Can Procurement Drive an Agile Supply Chain
In an increasingly competitive world, organizations who have the ability to quickly and effectively transform, adapt and respond to the changing needs of the market survive and flourish.
Agile organizations have the capability to satisfy its customers through peaks and troughs of demands and consistently offer products and services that reflect evolving requirements or appetites. Delivery has emphasis on speed yet quality is not sacrificed.
Most organizations undertaking the steps to become agile prioritize the transformation of its IT, logistics, procurement, manufacturing, product development and new product launch.
The questions is: how can Procurement support or drive an agile supply chain ?
- Streamline processes not only to be effective and efficient, but implement a mechanism to easily reconfigure and quickly improve processes.
- Streamline approval process and enforce accountability at all levels, and encourage decision-making.
- Invest in a system that allows flexibility and have the ability to cater to change. An enterprise-wide system that provides visibility of information across relevant functions.
- Procurement must engage suppliers that are flexible and responsive. Lay down the path for current supply base to become agile.
- Treat suppliers as partners and provide transparency to real-time information to changes to supply and demand.
- Where possible, reduce multiple tiers in the supply chain.
To build an agile supply chain can be both painful and expensive, but if successful, organizations can enjoy excellent bottom line benefits and more importantly, ensure its long-term survival in a free-market world where customer demands are constantly evolving.