Alexandra Levits Water Cooler Wisdom Supply Chain Strategies for Smaller Businesses

Alexandra Levit's Water Cooler Wisdom Supply Chain Strategies for Smaller Businesses Supply chain management refers to overseeing the processes that transform a raw material into a final product and ensuring that goods and services proceed smoothly from initial manufacturing to customer delivery. Effective supply chain management involves streamlining the flow in a way that maximizes the organizations bottom line and the end customers value. Experts believethefutureof supply chain management will include increased automation,along with a focus on analytics, sustainability practicesand complex supplier relationships. And womenareleading the chargeâ€"according to a 2018 survey conducted byGartner Research, there has been sustained strong representation of women in the senior-most ranks of supply chain organizations relative to other functions. We also find more supply chain leaders spearheading their own initiatives to attract, retain and advance women. To that end,I askeda few womensupply chain leaders what theyare doing to further their careers as well as the missions of their organizations. Smart Analytics Collecting datafrom a variety of sources and using it to derive relevant insights for the business can have anpositive effect on supply chain performance. Jill Keto, CMO ofEasy Metrics, a cloud-based supply chain visibility provider, has moved up in her career by developing tools that help organizations optimize their largest controllable expenseâ€"labor. “Using big datain warehouse environments to track labor is a strategy that has paid huge dividends, Keto says. “My customers see improved team engagement, 40 percent productivity improvementand 15 percent labor cost reduction simply by using data to capture the labor costs of every action. “In a tight job market where labor demand is outpacing supply, she continues, and where customer requirements like same-day shipping and small orders are the norm, distribution operators are running into challenges that didnt exist before. Keto leverages the interplay of the Internet of Things, machine learningand big data to bring a degree of calm to the chaos. Sustainability Focus Before founding her companyvirtue + vice, which advises fashion brands on impact sourcing and sustainable supply chain management,entrepreneurMelanie DiSalvo worked in supply chain management, product developmentand production for major fashionbrands. DiSalvosintimate experience with the fashion supply chain and globalmarket trends, particularly strategic regional sourcing and operations, provided the know-how to launch her own company. “My in-depth understanding of how each level of the supply chain works has gotten me ahead, she says. “My time spent living and working overseas in factories and mills was invaluable because it taught me exactly whats possible and what isnt, and shapes how I solve problems for my customers every day. Because I know what goes into making each component of a clothing item, I can come up with environmentally sustainable workarounds that most people would never think to try, she adds. For more insights, check out the full piece on the AMEX Business site.