Why concurrency is the key to achieving a resilient supply chain

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Altogether now: Businesses are increasingly turning to concurrent techniques to orchestrate the end-to-end supply chain ( iStock)

Kinaxis is a Business Reporter client.

In life, we’re often told that long-term goals are best reached in increments. Want to run a marathon? Start with 10-minute sprints, and slowly increase time and distance. Building a new home? Don’t rush through construction and instead follow a sequential blueprint.

The same was true in traditional supply chain management, with companies focused on optimising each individual function in the belief that it would optimise the entire supply chain. Yet, in today’s volatile business environment, this slow, sequential approach is no match for the task at hand.

Today’s supply chains are on the hook to deliver top- and bottom-line financial results and be stewards of regulatory and environmental compliance. All while keeping up with rapid technology advancements, increasing consumer expectations and disruptions of all shapes and sizes.

In that context, leading companies are increasingly turning to concurrent techniques to orchestrate the end-to-end supply chain, driving unprecedented agility, transparency, intelligence and trust.

Everything, everywhere, all at once

Concurrent supply chain management is the process of making and managing unified plans across multiple time horizons, business processes and organisational boundaries at the same time. It synchronises data, processes and people to collapse decision-making time, break down organisational boundaries and dynamically balance the end-to-end supply chain. If one person makes a change, everyone else instantly understands the impact on themselves, their team and the organisation.

The result is a responsive and resilient supply chain designed to drive efficiency, withstand disruption and create competitive advantage.

Optimising the triple bottom line

In traditional cascaded supply chain management processes, siloed thinking and latent data add up to excessive capital costs, high emissions and a frustrated workforce.

By synchronising and optimising the end-to-end supply chain, concurrent techniques unlock efficiencies and remove wasted time, effort, money and CO2.

With the ability to pivot swiftly as changes occur, companies no longer need to hold huge amounts of inventory to buffer for any eventuality. Optimised order fulfilment and transportation routes maximise resource utilisation and reduce empty miles. And, thanks to improved visibility, collaboration and augmented intelligence, your teams are empowered to make faster, better decisions instead of continually firefighting.

It’s a win-win for your company, the planet and your people.

Technology that transforms

The journey to concurrency starts with a change in mindset: a more holistic approach to supply chain management that breaks down silos and the limitations of old technology. But achieving a truly concurrent supply chain also requires advanced technology to synchronise your people, processes and data on a single platform. Trusted by top brands across multiple industries, Kinaxis gives people the confidence to know they are making the best supply chain decisions to maximise business performance. Using our unique concurrent technique and single integrated platform, customers can realise higher revenue, lower costs and fewer risks.

Navigating the new normal

Yesterday’s planning tools and techniques are no match for today’s complex global supply chains and the volatility they face every day.

The nature of managing a business on a global scale is undergoing fundamental change, and it’s up to the world’s supply chains to keep up. With concurrent supply chain management techniques, they can.

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Ready to drive the outcomes that create true resilience in an uncertain world? Discover how concurrency can give you the speed and accuracy to optimise your end-to-end supply chain.