Managing a supply chain used to involve cumbersome spreadsheets, endless emails, and hoping for the best with demand forecasting.
Those days are behind us. Thanks to SaaS platforms, supply chain teams can streamline complex workflows without being bogged down by legacy systems and outdated processes.
And demand is proving it…
The SaaS based supply chain management market size is valued at over $9 billion as of 2023 and is projected to reach $30.6 billion by 2033. That doesn’t just happen.
These platforms are simplifying supply chains for real businesses in a big way.
Let’s dive in.
What you’ll learn:
- Why Supply Chain Workflows Are So Complex
- How SaaS Platforms Help Simplify Everything
- Introducing Collaborative Demand Planning
- SaaS Features That Will Streamline Your Workflows
- How To Get Started Implementing SaaS Supply Chain Tools
Why Supply Chain Workflows Are So Complex
Here are a few things about supply chains…
They’re complicated.
Between procurement, warehousing and logistics, forecasting, supplier management, and customer fulfilment teams, there are many facets to successful supply chain management.
When one link breaks down… Everyone feels it.
The biggest issues are typically rooted in:
- Siloed teams that fail to share data/information
- Manual operations that are tedious and more prone to errors
- Lack of visibility across key areas of the supply chain
- Inaccurate demand forecasts that lead to mismanaged inventory levels
And all of these things are amplified when companies scale and their supply chains grow with them.
Adding more products, suppliers, warehouses, and customers only creates more complexity.
That’s why traditional tools like spreadsheets and on premise software just don’t cut it anymore. And that’s also where SaaS platforms come in to help.
How SaaS Platforms Help Simplify Everything
Supply chain SaaS platforms put everyone on one cloud-based system. Information is accessible to everyone, in real-time, from anywhere with an internet connection.
Sounds great, but why?
When everyone pulls data from the same place and works from the same, updated information, there’s no longer any disconnect. Supply chain workflows improve across the board when procurement knows what logistics is doing and sales has visibility into current inventory levels.
Software simplifies tedious workflows by:
- Allowing teams to work off one central source of data
- Automating repetitive tasks like purchase orders, inventory notifications, and supplier communication
- Giving teams real-time visibility into inventory, orders, key metrics, and more with dashboards and analytics
Everything from decision making to fulfillment operations becomes quicker and more accurate.
Introducing Collaborative Demand Planning
Hold up. There’s something important to add.
Collaborative demand planning is one of the many ways SaaS improves supply chain efficiency. Essentially, it allows sales, operations, finance, and supply chain teams to work from one unified forecast.
Think about how important demand planning is to every other aspect of your supply chain.
If your demand plan is off…
Your inventory levels are off.
If your inventory levels are off…
You can’t properly fulfil customers’ orders.
If you can’t fulfil orders…
You start losing money.
Businesses that leverage advanced demand forecasting can lower inventory levels by up to 30% while also increasing service levels. That’s according to McKinsey.
And while demand planning used to be done by each department independently of one another (creating different forecasts with little to no alignment), collaborative demand planning uses SaaS-powered demand planning tools to bring everyone together.
Multiple departments work within the same system to create one agreed upon forecast. Simple as that.
Better inventory management = more confident businesses.
SaaS Features That Will Streamline Your Workflows
Just because a platform provides the space for your teams to work from one forecast doesn’t mean it will simplify your supply chain management.
Here are a few features to keep your eye out for when shopping for the right SaaS platform for your business:
Real-Time Dashboards
Say goodbye to outdated reports that take days to compile.
Your SaaS platform should offer real-time dashboards that display live inventory levels, orders, key metrics, and more. This will help you identify problems early on before they turn into giant headaches.
AI Demand Forecasting
What if there was a way for you to create better demand forecasts every single time?
Well, there is. Some of the best supply chain SaaS platforms use AI technology to make your demand forecasts smarter with every new inventory purchase.
By using historical sales data, market trends, and external signals your platform can “learn” over time what your customers want and when they want it.
Integrations
Your new software needs to seamlessly connect with your current systems. Whether that be your ERP, CRM, WMS, or otherwise.
If the software isn’t compatible with your current technology stack, it will only create more barriers for your data to flow through (counterproductive to what you’re trying to achieve and why you want a SaaS platform in the first place).
Scalability
This should almost go without saying; however, you’ll want to ensure that the SaaS platform you invest in can scale with your business.
No one wants to spend thousands of dollars on software that only works for their company right now. What happens when you want to add more users? Upgrade plans? Implement new features?
The right platform will be able to scale right along with you.
Supplier Integration
Another huge component of your supply chain you don’t want to overlook is your suppliers.
Many suppliers still rely on outdated processes like emailing documents back and forth. Not only is this inconvenient, but it also creates unnecessary lag time.
See if your SaaS platform has any built-in supplier integrations or allows for easy connectivity. It’ll save you tons of time and frustration in the long run.
How To Get Started Implementing SaaS Supply Chain Tools
Ready to simplify your complex supply chain for good?
Here are a couple of tips to help you identify what your business needs from a supply chain SaaS platform.
Figure out where the pain points are.
Maybe it’s ordering processes. Or inventory management.
Whatever it is, know what you’re hurting for before you start researching software solutions.
- Evaluate current processes and determine where problems are happening.
- Figure out what “good” looks like. More efficient ordering? Faster fulfillment? Decreased inventory costs?
- Collaborate with other departments. Remember that your supply chain doesn’t operate in a silo? This applies to improving it as well. Keep other departments in the loop and collaborate on goals and plans.
- Implement in phases. You don’t need to do everything at once. Take it one step at a time and measure your results as you go.
Did you know 77% of businesses are investing in tech to help improve supply chain visibility?
Of those businesses who have taken action to invest in new tech, they are reportedly twice as likely to avoid supply chain disruptions.
That says it all.
Wrapping It All Up
With global supply chain disruptions becoming more prevalent than ever, businesses have no choice but to improve processes internally.
SaaS platforms are doing just that by allowing teams to collaborate in real-time, automating tedious tasks, and providing visibility like never before.
Demand planning is at the forefront of this movement. Teams are coming together to create one forecast that will dictate how they order, sell, and fulfill inventory.
Ensuring your business has the right tools to stay agile in this complex landscape is critical to your company’s growth.
Don’t get left behind.
Investing in the right SaaS tools today can put you miles ahead of competition who are stuck doing things the same way they always have.
You’ve got nothing to lose.