Bottlenecks are constraints that make processes less efficient. In a supply chain (or the network of a company that produces goods and suppliers that deliver them to the final buyer), causes of bottlenecks are wide-ranging — from lack of thorough planning to poor technology integration. However, these are things that can be prevented. And one solution is conducting a Supply chain management simulation.
Why Avoid Bottlenecks
Bottlenecks are costly. Not only do they unnecessarily prolong your production timeline, but they also cause stress on your employees. This could lead to lower human resource productivity or even decreased employee retention.
The consequence also reaches your customers. With delayed production, product delivery is also affected, causing lower customer satisfaction and profit loss.
How Supply Chain Management Simulation Can Help
Product designers and business process specialists utilize simulation to subject products and processes into different real-life scenarios before they even happen. This helps them:
* Assess how their products/processes would fare once they’re made available to the public/implemented
* Identify potential issues that could affect the quality of their products/efficiency of their processes
* Design and implement the necessary modifications to address these issues
Examine the impact of these changes
In supply chain management — where several factors can affect its overall efficiency — conducting simulations has proven to be effective in overcoming potential disruptions.
Though there are factors that simply can’t be controlled (e.g. Weather conditions that prompt delays in delivery), there are those that can still be accounted for in advance. And through a simulation, you can scrutinize your supply chain management and pinpoint and define these bottlenecks.
Before you apply any desired changes to your processes, you can also first analyze their impact by conducting another simulation. This will give you a picture of how helpful it will be if these modifications are made in real life.
Keep in mind that every supply chain is unique; there’s no one-size-fits-all solution on how to make its management seamless and optimal. Simulations will help your business design and implement a customized supply chain management plan that can keep the costs of bottlenecks to a minimum.
Other Solutions
There are different challenges that people working in and managing the supply chain encounter. But the goal is to make processes as cost-effectively as possible.
Apart from supply chain management simulation, there are other ways wherein you can conjunctively do to address bottlenecks.
Automation. Automating certain processes helps save money and time in different ways. One, human errors can be minimized. Two, labor-insensitive operations (e.g. Picking products) can be made more efficient. Three, You can reduce employee stress and potential workplace injuries or accidents.
Regular material audits. The supply chain involves the use of different material handling and logistics-related equipment. By performing regular audits on them, you can identify if there are assets that need to be fixed or replaced already. Broken or damaged machines can cause inefficiencies in your workflow.
Partnerships with reliable logistics providers. As stated, the supply chain is a network that involves suppliers that get your products delivered to their end consumers. Even if you’ve resolved inefficiencies in your end, if you don’t have reliable logistics providers — you can still experience bottlenecks,
Supply chain management simulation can help you avoid potential issues such as delays, wastage, among others. Contact Mosimtec today and learn how we can help you.
