Is Your Supply Chain Resilient Enough? Time for Digitalization.

The Buzz 1: “Supply chains are everywhere. From the biggest company in the world to running your household. We all have supply chain experience even if we don’t know it.” (Dave Waters, Senior European Supply Chain Manager, STERIS Corporation) The Buzz 2: “The importance of supply chain in the c-suite is immense. At one time supply chain was an after thought. Now with companies like Amazon, Apple and Walmart showing the importance of supply chain, no one can take the credibility away. Supply chain was discussed in the c-suite constantly in 2020 because of COVID-19.” (www.supplychaintoday.com/supply-chain-leadership-business-quotes/) This past 18 months, with the world disrupted by a global pandemic, have shown us the importance of supply chain management. The results are being felt today in many industries and the consumers who rely on them. To effectively cope with ongoing disruption, your company’s supply chains need to be transparent, connected and resilient. Lesson learned: Industrial manufacturers that had already invested in digitalization and Industry 4.0 were better able to seize the opportunity to reinvent supply chains and respond with agility to new business opportunities – new markets, customers, business models. Good news: By using real-time demand data throughout the supply chain and factory floor, newer and better ways to make and deliver things are now possible. We’ll ask David Dreyer and Chao Yi at SAP for their insights on how digitalization and Industry 4.0 innovation can help make manufacturing and supply chains nimbler and more resilient.