Logistics and Supply Chain Management (SCM) professionals have always faced some challenges due to the drastic ups and downs of markets during crises.
Some of these issues are due to the changing user behaviour while others are because of increased procurement costs.
In this article, we will cover the five key challenges for Logistics and Supply Chain Management professionals.
1. Managing Volatility
Supply chain management experts had probably never seen uncertainty quite as extensive as what they saw during and in the aftermath of the pandemic. The challenge now is to create strategies to bring stability back to the supply chains and manage the fluctuating demand, inventory shortages, inaccessible suppliers, and reduced import and export with fewer bad outcomes.
2. Understanding the Role of Analytics
Another key challenge for logistics professionals is to efficiently gather current data from customers, suppliers and competitors, and then analyse it to guide future strategies.
There are four major types of SCM analytics and each of them is crucial, especially during times of inconsistency.
Large amounts of data are useless without analysts who can extract value from them and offer you information to guide strategies.
3. Removing Outdated Technology
Supply chains suffered tremendously in recent times due to old management systems and outdated technology. You have to introduce and get all workers acclimated to the modern systems for tracking orders, predicting demand, and inventory management and routing.
This will increase the visibility of the supply chain and help in identifying frauds and malpractices.
4. Exploring Multiple Procurement Options
No business will rely on a single supplier after the lessons from recent crises because it dramatically increases the risk of the entire supply chain shut down, should the supplier become inaccessible. The logistics department has to resolve such issues by finding sustainable options for decentralising the supply chains5.
5. Home Deliveries
Deliveries of the products to the retail stores or homes of the customer need to be improved. These last-mile deliveries pose challenges for logistics management.
The key issues include the speed of delivery, safety and tracking of products, reducing costs and effective route planning.
Research shows that this step is the most inefficient and costly segment of the supply chain for businesses. A survey shows that 7 out of 10 Transportation and Logistics companies in Canada use outdated technology when it comes to deliveries, and thus fall behind competitors.
Conclusion
Working professionals are currently managing many industry-specific challenges, but these are some generic ones that most Logistics and SCM experts are dealing with.
The aforementioned challenges are due to the unprecedented circumstances but changes in user behaviour and other factors are likely to bring up more issues in the future.
Challenges present a learning opportunity. So if you are a professional in the industry, especially with a few years of experience, then you should join SNATIKA's UK Masters in Logistics and Supply Chain Management program to learn how to tackle contemporary challenges using best practices.
You will earn two district UK qualifications within just 12 months at a reasonable cost. Check out what SNATIKA can save for you here.