Supply Chain World Volume 9, Issue 9

FOR LEADERS IN THE BUSINESS OF LINKING THE GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN

SUPPLYCHAIN SUPPLY CHAINW W RLD VOLUME 9, ISSUE 9

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End-to-end excellence DHL LLP explains why you should work with an expert Lead Logistics Provider

SaaS SaaS market growth in recent years is driving a range of benefits for customers Page 4

Traceability How can manufacturers demonstrate their resilience and adaptability in the face of uncertainty? Page 8

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

Chairman Andrew Schofield Group COO Joe Woolsgrove Editor Libbie Hammond libbie@schofieldpublishing.com lhammond@finelight-media.com Assistant Editor Mary Floate Staff Writers Daniel Baksi, Alex Caesari, Danielle Champ Editorial Administrator Amy Gilks Managing Art Editor Fleur Daniels Art Editor David Howard Art Editor Paul Gillings Artwork Administrator Rochelle Broderick-White Sales Director Alasdair Gamble

Hello and welcome to the September issue of Supply Chain World.

In this month’s pages, Martin Schryburt’s feature on SaaS sheds some light on the benefits of

Operations Director Philip Monument

Software-as-a-Service and the difference between SaaS and the cloud. For the latter, apparently ‘the

Operations Manager Adam Blanch

delivered’ and I found that succinct clarification really useful! He also states that ‘supply chain leaders

Head of Global Media Programs Mark Cawston mcawston@schofieldpublishing.com

key difference is that while cloud refers to where the software is installed, SaaS refers to how it is are seeing the dividends of embracing SaaS’ – is it on your radar?

We also look again at digital transformation, and share some insights into traceability and its growing importance – I hope there’s something interesting to you!

Research Managers Michelle Fontaine, Natalie Griffiths, Jo-Ann Jeffery, Ben Richell, Basil Sharpe

Libbie Hammond EDITOR

Editorial Researchers Victoria Burke, Jeff Goldenberg, Dan Harrison, Melanie Joyce, James Page, Wendy Russell, Richard Saunders, Kieran Shukri Advertising Sales Johanna Bailey, Mike Berger, Jessica Eglington, James Fuller, Will Gwyther, Alex Hartley, Michelle Hernandez, Reid Lingle, Sam Surrell Florida General Manager Ryan Finn Boston General Manager Joy Francesconi Subscriptions i.kidd@schofieldpublishing.com Administration Natalie Fletcher, Rory Gallacher, Ibby Mundhir

Schofield Publishing Ltd

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© 2022 Schofield Publishing Ltd

libbie@schofieldpublishing.com

FOR LEADERS IN THE BUSINESS OF LINKING THE GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN

ON THE COVER In our cover story this issue we were fortunate to be able to interview Thorsten Roggenbuck, Global Head of LLP at DHL – one of the biggest logistics companies in the world. Thorsten breaks down the

SUPPLYCHAIN SUPPLY CHAINW W RLD VOLUME 9, ISSUE 9

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End-to-end excellence DHL LLP explains why you should work with an expert Lead Logistics Provider

services and benefits of partnering with a Lead Logistics Provider (LLP). “LLPs take care of [these] changes by providing management services support,” explains Thorsten.

“In this sense, as an LLP, we do not physically operate the supply chain; rather, we manage our customers’ supply chain.” To find out the multiple advantages this brings, turn to page 22.

SaaS SaaS market growth in recent years is driving a range of benefits for customers Page 4

Traceability How can manufacturers demonstrate their resilience and adaptability in the face of uncertainty? Page 8

Please note: The opinions expressed by contributors and advertisers within this publication do not necessarily coincide with those of the editor and publisher. Every reasonable effort is made to ensure that the information published is accurate, and correct at time of writing, but no legal responsibility for loss occasioned by the use of such information can be accepted by the publisher. All rights reserved. The contents of the magazine are strictly copyright, the property of Schofield Publishing, and may not be copied, stored in a retrieval system, or reproduced without the prior written permission of the publisher.

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CONTENTS

INSIDE THIS ISSUE COVER STORY

FEATURES 4

SaaS

6

Supply chain

Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) addresses various supply chain challenges, enabling enterprises to be more sophisticated and agile in their operations

The urgency around digital transformation has skyrocketed and we are now seeing rigorous transformation roadmaps with aggressive implementation timelines

8

22

DHL LLP

34

Traceability

The importance of traceability in the supply chain, and the benefits that it can provide long term, both in terms of reputation and sustainability efforts

12 Cloud

According to author Tony Harris from SAP Business Network, in a volatile and hyper-connected world, having cloud capabilities in the supply chain is no longer a benefit - it’s essential

16 Planning

Encompass Health

46

Dave Food from Board International recommends leveraging technology such as intelligent planning, alongside scenario planning, to build additional resilience into the supply chain and ride out economic turbulence

18 Sustainability

We can use supply chain visibility data to make smarter decisions, power least emissions routing and reduce Scope 3 emissions for good. Christian Piller reports on how to take action where it counts

Carbel

58

NEWS 10 Supply Chain news

Updates and announcements from the supply chain arena

2

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Stanford Medicine

26

BAE Systems

42

Fenner Precision Polymers

50

U.S. Renal Care

64

70

Unigloves

PRS Guitars scw-mag.com

3

SAAS

Unleashing

opportunity W

Rethinking the SaaS value prop for the supply chain.

By Martin Schryburt 4

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e’ve all witnessed recent bottlenecks in global supply chains, revealing how fragile our system can be when thrown a curveball. One possible silver lining is that supply chain leaders, with a crystallized awareness of the risks around labor scarcity, product and component shortages and future disruptions, have been challenged to architect resiliency into their operations.

Certainly, having the right supply chain software platform is critical to meeting these

challenges. In fact, “61 percent of [supply chain leaders] say technology is a source of competitive advantage,” Gartner reports.

But many organizations today continue to use outdated infrastructure to underpin those operations, many of which remain on-premises. Those organizations have struggled to upgrade static systems internally - as a result, the systems, and by extension, their organizations, lack agility, security and flexibility to deal with these evolving challenges.

Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) addresses these challenges, enabling enterprises to be more sophisticated and agile in their operations.

There is often a conflation of terms between ‘SaaS’ and ‘cloud’, and indeed they are closely related. The key difference is that while cloud refers to where the software is installed, SaaS refers to how it is delivered. SaaS absolves the end-user of maintenance, security and updates of the software, unburdening the buyer from risks and responsibilities associated with its management. At scale, those IT tasks can be done more efficiently by the SaaS vendor, so while the cost of that IT offloading is rolled into a monthly fee, it should be a lower fee than absorbing the personnel and requirements to do it in-house. The supply chain industry has always been a very handson operation, perhaps why the SaaS model has been a little slower to be adopted than other industries, but the wave of transformation is well underway as the promise of SaaS is replaced by testimonials of successful use cases.

SaaS is a prerequisite for modern success The SaaS market has grown more than five times in just seven years, and over that time has matured significantly. Seeds of doubt are being uprooted by compelling stories of SaaS successes, and supply chain leaders are taking note. We’ve witnessed in today’s SaaS market not only how the cloud can host supply chain software in a secure, optimized way, but how it can unlock more advanced tools at scale.

It relieves supply chain teams of operational costs and labor as well; they can add value to their organizations and focus on their core lines of business instead. It’s long been the promise of SaaS to do just this, and now supply chain leaders are seeing the dividends of embracing SaaS. There is a lot to be excited about in the field of supply chain execution and analytics, and SaaS is a key enabler of the innovations on the horizon. As data tools for supply chain agility gain sophistication, a SaaS ecosystem will become an increasingly important prerequisite. SaaS is making new advanced tools and security capabilities available to any organization at scale; those organizations can access these resources quickly, made available by software vendors whose primary focus is their customers’ success. Remember, in a SaaS world, new features, capabilities and bug fixes become available to the customer very rapidly, unleashing agility and flexibility.

SaaS, but not for SaaS’ sake We’ve seen great progress among software vendors who are building cloud-native products, and we’ve seen some good initiatives in the industry to allow multiple vendors to work together more effectively.

But SaaS as a software delivery method should be considered table stakes these days; supply chain leaders vetting software solutions should dig deeper than that before they invest.

When considering a SaaS vendor for your supply chain software, supply chain leaders must also consider the maturity and financial viability of the vendor, the skills and industry-familiarity of its staff, and the specific capabilities of their product. With SaaS as such a buzzword in the market today, one needs to look beyond the software’s architecture as there are a lot more factors at play.

Ask yourself: Does the provider understand only SaaS, or do they also understand my industry?

Supply chain leaders deserve the benefits of the cloud and the support of a real partner who understands their specific needs and challenges. Software solutions should run flawlessly in the cloud, but that should not absolve them from a deep repository of features, functionalities, and familiarity that supply chain leaders might prioritize as their business circumstances change.

During your provider search, include consideration for domain expertise and previous success in your industry. If you track key competitors, who are they using and how have they used cloud technology to push your position in the marketplace? Ask providers how they could help you innovate and drive improvements within your domain to see how their experience and vision for your solution brings opportunities for efficiency and change.

Finding the right SaaS partner If you’re looking for SaaS supply chain solutions, make sure the provider you choose puts your business results first - the true KPI for SaaS success. SaaS is simply a backbone;

they must have the right strategy, capabilities, experience and people built on that backbone to be effective.

Specifically, their SaaS should respond to the natural evolution of your IT concerns.

Your partner needs deep industry knowledge to make that possible: Top-of-mind priorities among supply chain leaders must also be topof-mind for providers, now and into the future.

Over and above data security, the unburdening of IT tasks and infrastructure scalability, SaaS opens the door to a new era of data insights, and we’re only starting to scratch the surface of what that truly means.

Your SaaS partner should understand this, and see eye to eye with you in enabling access to rich data that allows you to track, observe, and optimize your business processes. You should be able to identify bottlenecks and act on real-time opportunities as well. There is a wealth of analytics tools available that make this possible, and so many more that your ecosystem should be ready to exploit.

Locking down future innovation and success There is still a lot of innovation in the pipeline for the supply chain software industry. SaaS is going to unleash that innovation. From digital twinning and a new dimension of experimentation and design, or the evolving applications of machine learning, SaaS is the modern infrastructure that underlies innovation. Supply chain leaders who find enduring, trustworthy SaaS partners can secure the resources they need today, but also rest assured they will have these emerging technologies available to them as they build resiliency and seek out a competitive edge.

It’s not just about software - it’s the agility these providers bring to the table that will really make the difference in modern supply chains. Meanwhile, supply chain leaders can do what they do best: provide exceptional experiences for their customers and drive exceptional business results. D For a list of the sources used in this article, please contact the editor.

Martin Schryburt brings over 25 years of experience in software development to his role as vice president of Research & Development for Tecsys. He is a global R&D business leader with a strong record in building robust and effective product development teams. Prior to joining Tecsys in 2021, Martin worked for Nokia where he led an internationally distributed team of 500+ engineers delivering on product architecture, development and support. His experience and perspective help Tecsys’ R&D department craft real-world solutions that drive business results and equip customers with innovative and mission-critical supply chain capabilities. www.tecsys.com

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SUPPLY CHAIN

The time S Barry Bradley takes a look at how digital transformation can ease supply chain pressures 6

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is now

eismic shifts in consumer behavior driven by the pandemic and its lingering after-effects, political and social unrest, labor and equipment shortages, the bullwhip effect on inventory, the highest inflation in a generation and a looming recession continue to wreak havoc on supply chains. Digital transformation across the entire supply chain of CPG brands and retailers, from planning consumer demand through sourcing, production, and transportation, is now mission-critical to building the resilience, flexibility and agility necessary to compete today and in the future.

Digital transformation is the practice of leveraging technology to improve and/or redesign business processes across a company.

It includes automating manual processes, using data to make fact- vs. intuition-based decisions, and leveraging cloud technologies to integrate data, analytic applications, and access to all business operations, suppliers,

and customers. Done well, it will save time, give everyone the information they need to make smarter, more timely decisions, drive collaboration and streamline operations.

While not a new concept, the urgency around digital transformation has skyrocketed.

The firefighting mode that defined the last two and a half years is now being replaced by strategic, holistic and rigorous transformation roadmaps with aggressive implementation timelines. Globally, businesses are set to spend an estimated $4.4 trillion on digital transformation initiatives. In 2021, venturebacked supply chain management companies received $11.3 billion in funding, twice that of 2020 and 24 percent above the previous alltime high in 2019.

Supply chains are now being recognized as essential drivers of competitive advantage and differentiation. The National Center for the Middle Market reports that middle-market companies with a digital vision that is clear,

feedback the more accurate the forecast, and the more rapidly an organization can react to changing trends. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) algorithms detect subtle changes and reveal emerging trends with greater speed and accuracy than humans with spreadsheets ever will. Local assortments and volumes can be optimized based on market-specific consumer demand, expected weather patterns, labor availability, re-openings and recovery and more. This type of agile and intelligent demand planning is essential in today’s volatile environment and helps ensure the supply chain delivers the right products in the right amounts to the right fulfillment centers and stores.

Inventory insight & optimization Better insight into demand sets the stage for optimizing inventory levels and locations.

Out-of-stocks averaged 7.4 percent last year, equating to $88 billion in lost sales (NielsenIQ). Low on-shelf availability, whether physical or digital, is a major driver of shopper dissatisfaction and brand switching.

Digitally powered and connected inventory management systems help companies manage inventory and fulfill orders across multiple channels. AI/ML models can reduce out-ofstocks by predicting in-store stock levels, writing suggested orders, triggering autoreplenishment, and suggesting substitutions in real-time. For example, customer acceptance of substitutions jumped more than 95 percent for online grocery orders after Walmart pivoted from a manual process for generating out-of-stock substitution recommendations to employing deep learning AI. comprehensive and guides strategic decisions average 75 percent faster growth than less digitally sophisticated peers. McKinsey’s research indicates that the average bottomline impact of successful supply chain digital transformations is plus two to five percentage points of EBITDA and that digital leaders in CPG and retail generated 3.3 times the Total Returns to Shareholders of digital laggards.

Digital transformation eases the pressure on supply chains in several ways:

More accurate demand planning Forecasting substantially impacts business functions, and great forecasts require great data inputs. Starting with automated ingestion and integration of comprehensive, real-time, granular data, from both internal and external sources and layering on the application of advanced analytics exponentially improves forecast accuracy. The more comprehensive the data sets, and the more real time the

Supply chain visibility & collaboration The global supply chain is complicated.

According to Deloitte, a single global shipment through the network of cargo ships, ports, airlines, rail lines and trucking companies can involve as many as 30 businesses and up to 200 unique interactions, from manufacturer to final destination.

Foundational to digital transformation is centralized data that is real-time, actionable, and scalable to power advanced analytics that are accessible to all departments, suppliers,

producers, shippers and retailers. It connects the entire supply chain and becomes the single source of truth for CPGs, suppliers and retailers. With self-service interfaces and dashboards, it serves as a platform for transparency and cross-functional collaboration by providing a holistic, crosschannel view of supply chain performance that allows real-time issue identification and resolution. Predictive and prescriptive analytics can be leveraged to bring insight to issues, evaluate scenarios and optimize solutions. McKinsey reports that a centralized, accessible resource that connects and creates transparent data, analytics, and insights across the supply chain typically improves fill rate by ten percent and reduces excess inventory by more than 30 percent.

Scenario planning & agility Visibility is the foundation for agility, enabling companies to react quickly and confidently to shifting market dynamics. With predictive and prescriptive data-driven insights across the supply chain, companies stay one step ahead by building dynamic next-best-action models to support decision-making. Digitaltwin supply chain simulations, supply chain optimization tools, and ‘war games’ allow rapid, multi-dimensional analysis and stress testing of scenarios and contingency plans.

Fully digital control towers monitor end-toend supply chain operations in real-time; with access to real-time data and advanced AI/ML analytics, anticipating disruptions, rapidly evaluating options, and taking action accelerates dramatically. This agility is key to creating a competitive advantage and delighting consumers.

Supply chain digital transformation is essential to meet the ever-evolving demands of the marketplace. It is a journey, not a destination. The data and technology necessary to begin that journey is available now. Not only will digital transformation ease current supply chain pressures, but it will also give CPGs and retailers the resilience, flexibility, agility and competitive advantage they need to successfully navigate future disruptions. D For a list of the sources used in this article, please contact the editor.

Barry Bradley is Head of Supply Chain at Crisp. A third of the world’s food production is wasted before it reaches a consumer, and the food supply chain cannot keep up. Crisp leverages the power of the cloud to connect and normalize disparate data sources to provide real-time insights and trends.

Food suppliers, retailers, distributors and brokers use Crisp to manage supply more efficiently, reduce waste and skyrocket profitability. www.gocrisp.com

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7

TRACEABILITY

Understanding change

G

lobal supply chains have endured a huge amount of disruption over the past few years and as a result, there is an increasing need for manufacturers to be able to demonstrate their resilience and adaptability in the face of uncertainty. Being able to identify and prevent a problem before it becomes an issue is increasingly fundamental, and traceability within the supply chain plays a critical role in being able to do so.

We recently spoke to Maggie Slowik, Global Industry Director, Manufacturing at IFS on the importance of traceability in the supply chain, and the benefits that it can provide long term, both in terms of an organization’s reputation and in its sustainability efforts too.

Why is supply chain traceability so important?

The importance of traceability in today’s modern supply chain 8

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The reason why end-to-end traceability is so important is shown anytime there is a recall. The cost of a recall goes well beyond the expense of replacing an order, as there are potential regulatory fines, or paying for damage caused by use.

However, potentially most impactful, there can be significant tarnishing of the brand name and lowered trust in the company.

Industries like automotive, food and beverage, chemicals and life sciences, in particular, know the pain that product recalls can bring, as these are regularly occurring events with varying levels of severity.

At the end of the day, end-to-end transparency, or the ability to provide a full history download of a product — may for some companies be the worst nightmare, but for others the greatest opportunity.

While the industry used to simply react to events in the past, today’s manufacturers must demonstrate an increased focus on preventing problems before they even arise, especially during times of increased volatility, competition and customer scrutiny. In that sense, traceability is not just a matter of mere regulatory compliance but is gradually becoming an enabler of competitive differentiation.

for quality, regulatory compliance, and recall readiness.

However, at the end of the day, traceability also translates into operational excellence, because the by-product of most internal traceability projects is that companies achieve better knowledge of their processes, and this opens further process optimization opportunities.

So in reality, traceability, good manufacturing practices, and operational excellence are all inter-connected.

What role does traceability play in helping organizations to grow/ maintain their reputation?

How does traceability help with sustainability efforts in the supply chain?

Across most manufacturing sub-industries, we see customers, investors, employees and regulators demanding more sustainable products and production.

The operational implication is that companies must be able to explain and account for the journey that their products and associated parts/materials have travelled.

Achieving this requires not only access to complete data but also the effective management thereof. In that sense, traceability is an enabler of sustainability.

Those companies that have a mature approach to traceability should be able to provide a complete product history download to both customers and regulators and use data to support ESG reporting activities and goals.

How does traceability help with regulatory compliance efforts in the supply chain?

Traceability is essentially a capability for endto-end transparency, and resulting from that,

It all comes down to trust.

A recall incident can cost a manufacturer and its associated retailers hundreds of thousands, if not millions, in direct costs (think of legal costs, replacing products, etc.), but more worryingly, there are also indirect costs, and this is the impact on share price, the brand, the company’s reputation. That in itself has far-reaching consequences, and in some cases this can be the biggest threat to profitability yet.

To this point, traceability is not just a matter of compliance with regulations but an opportunity for competitive differentiation.

Why? Having access to granular knowledge of any details from sourcing to delivery in an extended way, potentially multi-site, multicompany, and multi-regional, manufacturers can demonstrate that they are a viable and trusty worthy supplier and brand to their respective customer ecosystem.

While the use of technology can be an enabler for driving traceability across the value chain, it alone does not guarantee success.

Most manufacturers or distributors utilize their ERP system for internal traceability as it is generally the system of record for most of the data necessary for traceability. However, rather than relying on legacy ERP systems, what they need is a modern and integrated system that can apply analytics to the large volumes of data being generated in real-time to improve decision-making processes and visibility.

In fact, these types of tools allow companies to take a more proactive approach to traceability.

Does traceability play a key role in the remanufacturing trend?

Traceability is also paramount for those companies who have circular business models or are looking to adopt them.

As parts and products move through an extended lifecycle, manufacturers need to understand exactly how they change. To be able to do that, they need to get an end-toend view of how the product was designed, then built, and how it has been maintained, including reverse logistics.

IFS provides these capabilities all in one single solution to support customers on their remanufacturing journeys. This level of traceability capability can also help authenticate products for resale. D

Can the new technologies that manufacturers are investing in help them to address their traceability requirements?

Being able to easily access accurate, real-time information is key to enabling traceability.

Unfortunately, the operational reality is that there are pockets of siloed data stored in various places throughout an organization and still today, the most common approach [within manufacturing] when it comes to traceability is a reliance on manual processes or spreadsheets.

Maggie Slowik, Global Industry Director, Manufacturing at IFS

IFS develops and delivers cloud enterprise software for companies around the world who manufacture and distribute goods, build, and maintain assets, and manage service-focused operations. Within its single platform, its industry specific products are innately connected to a single data model and use embedded digital innovation so that its customers can be their best when it really matters to customers - at the Moment of Service™. The industry expertise of IFS’ people and of its growing ecosystem, together with a commitment to deliver value at every single step, has made IFS a recognized leader and the most recommended supplier in its sector. www.ifs.com

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NEWS IN BRIEF Empowering workers Diginex, the impact tech company helping to solve the world’s most pressing sustainability challenges, has taken on diginexAPPRISE. The worker voice tool was initially developed by the United Nations University Institute (UNU-IIST) in Macau in partnership with The Mekong Club, an organization working with the private sector to bring about sustainable practices against modern slavery. diginexAPPRISE is a multilingual application that collects standardized, actionable data, directly from workers in global supply chains. Through tailored question sets, companies can deploy surveys directly to workers on a variety of topics, such as responsible recruitment and gender equality.

The innovative approach has been recognized as an effective toolkit for companies looking to enable and scale proactive worker-led due diligence. With millions said to experience exploitative working conditions, this application will help provide greater transparency across all sectors, to allow for targeted interventions.

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Data driven o9 Solutions, a leading enterprise AI software platform provider, and research firm, Supply Chain Insights, jointly announce that LKQ Europe has been selected to participate in their pilot program, Project Zebra. This open-source think tank aims to drive supply chain improvement by testing outside-in planning concepts.

LKQ, the industry-leading distributor of spare parts for cars, vans and industrial vehicles in Europe, was awarded the opportunity to participate following a proposal process that began in March 2022.

Using LKQ’s historical data, Project Zebra will focus on helping the company use market data to formulate and improve demand sensing to drive a baseline demand signal. “With a more detailed forecast on supply and demand our planning will improve. We will be able to provide better services to our customers by fostering our relationships with suppliers, saving time, resources, and cost,” says Claudia Martins, VP Logistics and Supply Chain at LKQ Europe.

Igor Rikalo, President and COO, o9 Solutions, adds: “This exciting research has the potential to set the global standard for how organizations leverage data to improve the forecast-ability of their supply chain plans.”

Life-saving technology

Battery power

Confluent Medical Technologies has selected Kinaxis as its digitization facilitator. Confluent is a global leader and single-source solution for contract manufacturing of life-saving implants, minimally invasive delivery systems and medical devices used in challenging applications.

Based in Scottsdale, Arizona, Confluent operates eight sites around the globe.

The company will use the Kinaxis RapidResponse platform to gain full

Volkswagen AG and the Government of Canada aim to promote e-mobility in the

transparency across its entire supply chain, helping it to better manage disruption and make smarter decisions, faster.

“We work with customers to move ideas from prototype to high-volume production for products that can help people all over the world,” says Jeffrey McCoun, Confluent Vice President of Global Supply Chain. “Remaining agile to global disruption while being able to plan accurately on a large scale, is crucial.

Kinaxis’ platform aligned with our needs and we are excited to work with them on our digital supply chain transformation.”

vigorously pushing the transformation to e-mobility, recognizing the industry‘s

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country and to explore opportunities across Canada’s automotive and battery supply chain. This was agreed in a ‘Memorandum of Understanding’ (MoU) signed in Toronto

by Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess and Canada’s Minister of Innovation, Science, and Industry, François-Philippe Champagne.

Both parties will investigate opportunities for Canada to contribute to Volkswagen’s global and regional battery supply chains. PowerCo, the newly founded battery company of the Group, has a central role in these efforts and will drive forward the planned cooperation in the fields of battery value creation, raw materials supply chains and cathode material production in the North American region.

Dr. Herbert Diess, CEO of Volkswagen Group enthuses: “Volkswagen has been responsibility in the global battle against climate change. The Group today not only offers the broadest range of electric models to customers but is also rolling out an ambitious battery and charging strategy. Working hand in hand with governments around the world is an absolute prerequisite to meet our climate goals and I want to thank the Canadian government for their support.”

Volkswagen CEO Diess and Canadian minister Champagne (foreground), German Federal Chancellor Scholz and Canada’s Prime Minister Trudeau

NEWS Seasonal upscaling

A powerful partnership

Leading global transport and logistics provider, Geodis,

Exiger, the leading SaaS supply chain and third-party risk management and

plans to hire approximately 5000 seasonal workers

compliance company, has acquired Supply Dynamics, the industry’s most

across its campuses in the US and Canada for peak

sophisticated supply chain collaboration platform for tracking, tracing and

season. The company is increasing its workforce to

choreographing the purchase and supply of subcontracted products, parts, raw

strengthen its warehousing and distribution center

materials and ingredients.

capabilities to prepare for the holiday season.

“With the economic conditions consumers and our clients are facing, it is now more critical than ever that businesses have a trusted third-party logistics

Integration of Supply Dynamics’ products with Exiger’s existing offering will enable end-to-end supply chain visibility and holistic risk management via a single, secure, cloud-based enterprise platform.

“Exiger’s acquisition of Supply Dynamics is an investment into the kind of

partner with the expertise and team to navigate the

future-proof solutions that the rapidly growing supply chain management market

unexpected,” says Anthony Jordan, Geodis in Americas

will continue to demand,” says Exiger CEO Brandon Daniels.

Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer.

“The combination of

“At Geodis, we are positioning ourselves to successfully

Exiger and Supply Dynamics

steer through all of today’s supply chain dynamics for our

is a force multiplier, not only

customers.

because we believe they

“At Geodis, we offer a safe, collaborative atmosphere

are the pre-eminent player

and great culture where our people come first,” said

in this market, but because

Jordan.

we are equally committed to investing in the capabilities necessary to set a new industry standard that allows for informed, high-level decision-making within a matter of minutes,” explains Trevor Stansbury, Supply Dynamics Founder and CEO.

Closer to home UK organizations are embracing reshoring, as disruption in global trade forces them to look closer to home for more reliable sources of supply, according to new data from the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS).

The survey, of 1830 UK and international supply chain managers, found that two-fifths of UK organizations switched at least one international supplier to a domestic alternative in the last year. Of those who had moved to a UK supplier, 70 percent cited domestic suppliers as a more reliable source of supply and 59 percent referenced shorter lead times as the reason for the switch.

The move is driven by global supply issues caused by the pandemic, the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, and rising global inflation. However, reshoring is not a viable option for all and requires the relevant capability in the UK. One in five of the organizations who had not moved to local suppliers said they looked for a UK alternative but were unable to find one.

Reshoring is not just a UK trend. In the last year, more than half of supply chain managers in South Africa, MENA, and Sub-Saharan Africa also swapped international partners for locally based alternatives. Dr. John Glen, Chief Economist, CIPS, warns that “businesses need to be careful not to make hasty decisions when it comes to moving suppliers back to the UK. Reshoring can be a long and costly process where compromises have to be made. With some evidence that global supply chain disruption is starting to ease, some businesses could be left wishing they had held firm with their global partners. In the ever-changing world of cross-border trade, businesses need to think carefully and avoid making short-term decisions to meet long-term demands.”

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11

CLOUD

An essential evolution

Moving the supply chain to the cloud in a volatile environment.

By Tony Harris 12

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I

n a hyper-connected world, any form of disruption anywhere in the world - be it a pandemic, a war, embargoes, or a cargo ship blocking a canal - can cause

major ripples in the global supply chain.

We live in a time when volatility is almost a constant, and procurement and supply chain leaders need visibility into their supply

chains, as well as access to a network of partners so they can predict disruption and pivot to new trading partners and strategies in real time.

Yet, according to recent research from SAP/ Oxford Economics, one in three supply chain executives still relies on manual processes, like phones, e-mails, and spreadsheets as the

primary way to collaborate within their supply chain. Knowing this, it’s no wonder that supply chains were brought to their knees when the global pandemic struck! scw-mag.com

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CLOUD

To respond to changing conditions while meeting operational requirements and staying within budget, supply chain leaders need to put down the phone and accelerate their shift to the cloud. Ironically, the same issues most likely holding companies back from adopting cloud technologies - like perceived disruptions to the business, or the expense of cloud - are actually among the best reasons to move.

Following are three key benefits businesses often overlook when considering a cloud transformation.

1) Cost savings and better decision making Cost saving is often the deciding factor for companies considering migration of their supply chain to the cloud. Through a cloud-

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enabled business network, companies can find and partner with the most efficient and low-cost suppliers and partners. While this is certainly an important element, it is just one of many benefits. To realize the full value of a transition to the cloud, users must leverage the data that cloud provides them.

Cloud computing enables supply and procurement teams to process vast quantities of data rapidly from sources across their entire supply chain. This deep analysis makes it possible to generate critical insights and identify opportunities or vulnerabilities, and it enhances their ability to make effective decisions. Combining this holistic supply chain information with supplier visibility provided by business networks improves a company’s agility and responsiveness. It enables it to

reconfigure activities to adapt quickly to current or anticipated industry disruptions.

Take the example of ITP Aero, which designs, manufactures, and maintains engine parts for civilian and military aircraft. By replacing phone and e-mail communications with a cloud-based supplier network, it improved collaboration with suppliers and increased the visibility and efficiency of its supply chain operations – ensuring it has the right materials at the right time to ramp up manufacturing capacity.

2) Cloud compels innovation Access to the cloud’s cutting-edge technology enhances supply chain innovation as companies can benefit from software updates as they’re released, rather than having to go through

transparency that allows companies to choose suppliers who best align with the company’s values and processes, and their customers’ expectations. For example, SAP research showed that customers now favor brands that support local suppliers (83 percent) and are seeking ethically sourced products (55 percent). Those operating in a business network can respond to consumer trends by identifying suppliers who prioritize sustainability and can help them achieve their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals.

Manage the migration. Realize the benefits.

the process of implementing these updates in their on-premises systems. Companies can also connect data with a digital thread across their value chain, a communication framework that consolidates traditionally isolated elements to provide an integrated view of supply chain activities. Along with better trading partner collaboration, this enables new ways of working and provides continuous innovation for operating models, products, and business outcomes. In addition, companies, can co-innovate with trading partners for new materials usage, products, and manufacturing processes.

3) It’s easier to find like-minded partners.

Cloud-based business networks also provide

For many businesses, the critical question of moving to the cloud is not a matter of why, but when. Where existing on-premises or hosted software is performing well and meeting business needs, it may be more difficult to build a case for moving to the cloud, despite the obvious benefits. However, strategically tying the move to other pivotal events can quickly demonstrate cost savings and a strong business case.

Once the timing has been determined, building a cloud-based supply network requires a structured approach that will vary

by company. Supply chain leaders need to identify the current cloud maturity standing of their organization, and the exact measures that must be implemented to advance.

Boosting this degree of knowledge will allow leaders to better understand how to respond to ongoing challenges and supply chain disruptions, therefore increasing the organization’s ability to thrive in this new environment. Once connected to a cloudbased business network, companies can leverage cost reduction, enhanced agility, and real-time access to integrated data for total visibility encompassing all operations and supply chain partners.

The cloud has a clear role in the future of supply chains, enabling businesses to adjust resources in real time to drive agility, scalability, and visibility. It supports swift and effective decision-making and improves the ability to anticipate future opportunities and risks across the supply network.

In a volatile and hyper-connected world, having cloud capabilities in the supply chain is no longer a benefit. It’s essential. D For a list of the sources used in this article, please contact the editor.

Tony Harris is Senior Vice President and Head of Marketing & Solutions, SAP Business Network. SAP is the market leader in enterprise application software, helping companies of all sizes and in all industries run at their best: SAP customers generate 87 percent of total global commerce. Its machine learning, Internet of Things (IoT), and advanced analytics technologies help turn customers’ businesses into intelligent enterprises. Its end-to-end suite of applications and services enables its customers to operate profitably, adapt continuously, and make a difference. www.sap.com

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PLANNING

Looking back,

planning forward

F Recent economic challenges have meant a turbulent climate for business supply chains with events such as Brexit, the pandemic and the war in Ukraine causing enormous strain 16

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rom extra capacity and inventory to alternative suppliers and different routes to market, most supply chains now have an element of flexibility built in to combat potential disruption. The current challenge, from source to consumption point, is that the various disruptions are hitting multiple routes of the supply chain in multiple locations. The protection built in just isn’t enough.

Combine the ongoing disruptions with calls for increased sustainability, and businesses face a complete overhaul of operations to stabilize operational flow and meet customer demands. So, what can businesses do?

Leverage technology.

Technology, such as intelligent planning, leveraged alongside scenario planning can build additional resilience into the chain before a disruption occurs. In our ever-evolving economy, the adoption of technology is vital to surviving economic turbulence.

There are three factors to adopt when overhauling supply chain management processes:

1. Data for decisions Despite evolving technology, many businesses are still siloed in their approach to data management, with key insights stored in multiple Excel sheets amongst various teams.

For decision-makers, this prevents the ability to have a holistic understanding of the organization and its performance.

The opportunities for businesses that bring their data together are huge, and not by creating an enourmous spreadsheet!

Businesses, large and small, should be using data - one of their biggest, lowest cost assets - to gain a comprehensive picture of the organization, thereby leveraging insights for informed decision-making. The days of trusting your gut have passed, making way for the decade of data.

understanding its target customers’ shopping trends.

To access this vital insight, businesses need to invest in predictive planning. Turning historical data into predictions without investing significant time and resources into traditional analytics solutions.

3. Embrace the inevitable: Change

2. Predicting the future Decisions can only be made based on what we know. For example, travelers knew about the disruptions, as a result of rail strikes, weeks in advance. In this scenario, businesses could have adapted operations to take into account staff working from home as a result. Calendars could be rearranged and necessary steps taken for employees to work from home, saving countless business hours and employee stress.

When business leaders know what’s coming, decisions can be made to ensure smooth operations. The same is true for intelligent supply chain planning.

To predict the future, businesses need to generate maximum visibility, not just from their own supply chain, but from the industry and key customers too. By enlarging the company’s peripheral vision, businesses can leverage more informed data to make decisions which could save tens of thousands of pounds. Apply this process to hundreds

of decisions being made across the company every day and profit margins have suddenly increased.

In retail, for example, a retailer might have a best-selling product and considers increasing stock shipments to brick-and-mortar stores.

However, the intelligent planning insights show that 90 percent of those product purchases are made online. This insight enables the retailer to make the decision instead to send the shipment to a suitable location for online sales. Money and time are saved, and ultimately the business feels the benefits of

Sustainability also needs to be embedded into the supply chain. Businesses are preparing for it, consumers are lobbying for it and most importantly, our planet needs it.

With 34 percent of shoppers already choosing to shop from brands that have environmentally sustainable practices and values, the measurement and evaluation criteria around ESG will become more tangible and aligned internationally. With change on the way, businesses need to simulate different decisions to understand the best course of action to have a positive impact on the planet without negatively impacting the business. Intelligent planning shows the route for business leaders to take, demonstrating results, while avoiding greenwashing.

Dramatic change is required for supply chains to become more sustainable and impact overall business operations. To enable business leaders to make these changes, they first must understand the existing supply chain model. Through in-depth insights, businesses can clearly see how the supply chain works and identify areas for improvement. Leveraging this understanding means more informed decisions can be made and sustainable practices adopted.

Businesses need to act now to plan and prepare for disruption. Even if every business took intelligent planning and collaboration seriously, the supply chain would still take an estimated five years to rebalance and return to a stable condition. In the years leading up to this point, disruptions will continue and flexibility will remain vital. Leveraging historic data to intelligently plan for the future is the future. D For a list of the sources used in this article, please contact the editor.

Dave Food is Head of Supply Chain at Board International and Postgraduate Supply Chain Lecturer at the University of Warwick. Board is the number one decision-making platform, empowering people to have a transformative impact on their business by helping them to leverage their data in a flexible, all-in-one environment. H&M, BASF, Burberry, Toyota, Coca-Cola, KPMG, and HSBC have digitally transformed their decision-making processes using Board. www.board.com

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SUSTAINABILITY

Take

action

Scope 3: The invisible obstacle to net zero supply chain operations.

By Christian Piller 18

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S

ustainability is fast becoming a key driver behind business decisions.

Yet, organizations in Europe still produce 26 percent of the continent’s greenhouse gas emissions, and only nine percent are on track to meet net zero goals.

Acting now by setting stringent emissions targets will have a significant impact on brand

image, investment opportunities and your bottom line. For instance, half of investors are willing to step away from companies that are not taking sufficient action on environmental issues, and one in three consumers have stopped purchasing from certain brands altogether due to sustainability and ethical related concerns.

throughout the value chain, with supply chain accounting for around 60 percent of total Scope 3 emissions.

Focus is often placed on Scope 1 and 2 emissions which are traditionally easier to monitor, track and reduce. Yet, failing to consider Scope 3 emissions and the environmental impact of their supply chain operations means businesses are neglecting to take action where it will truly count.

So, where should businesses focus their efforts and how can supply chain leaders take action against the invisible enemy of emissions?

Harmonizing industry data for accurate visibility Tracking emissions will soon become a necessity for supply chain leaders across Europe, with incoming laws seeking to hold businesses accountable throughout their value chain. To meet these legal requirements, businesses will need total visibility of their operations to provide an accurate view of their entire value chain.

This level of visibility requires collaboration between carriers and shippers to consolidate cross-industry data and produce an accurate picture of Scope 3 emissions across the board.

If one chain in the link fails to do so, it will make setting achievable targets incredibly difficult and hold the industry back from achieving net zero goals. Only with all industry data harmonized will we truly be able to monitor, track and combat this problem.

Visibility capabilities must also extend to providing accurate predictions of potential scenarios that could result in failing to meet emission targets. In ocean freight, for example, visibility technologies can map exactly where vessels are, then create digital twins of them to see what the vessel will do in a variety of scenarios. This layers on top of port congestion visibility data to predict what is likely to happen, while monitoring what actually happens in real time. The comparison

When building a sustainability strategy, the primary focus is often to reduce emissions linked to in-house, day-to-day operations (Scope 1) and energy generation (Scope 2).

However, around 90 percent of corporate emissions fall into another category – Scope 3. This is where we find all emissions that businesses are indirectly responsible for

between the two scenarios enables such technologies to make accurate predictions, and inform future decision-making on specific tactics to reduce Scope 3 emissions.

Data-driven decision-making Equipped with visibility data and predictive capabilities, businesses can make effective changes to their supply chain, cutting costs while minimizing their impact on the planet.

Many companies are already building a multi-modal approach into their corporate sustainability strategies, looking to lowercarbon modes such as rail and barge to help reduce Scope 3 emissions.

Where previously there have been gaps in visibility when shipments move between modes or across borders, businesses can now access end-to-end tracking data, regardless of how many times a shipment has changed hands. This enables businesses to select the combination of modes that suits their needs, opting for the most sustainable route to minimize emissions, while helping to avoid bottlenecks and reduce costs. This approach is called ‘least emissions routing’, giving businesses access to data that enabling smarter and more sustainable decisions.

Now that Scope 1 and 2 emissions are on a steady decline, it is time to focus on one of the biggest hurdles to net zero goals, Scope 3. Under increased pressure to be more sustainable, no single action by either a shipper or carrier will suffice to tackle the challenge at hand. Supply chain leaders must collaborate with one another, bringing together data to effectively monitor and reduce our collective carbon footprint. By working together to bring this invisible enemy to light, we can use supply chain visibility data to make smarter decisions, power least emissions routing and – most importantly – reduce Scope 3 emissions for good. D For a list of the sources used in this article, please contact the editor.

Christian Piller is VP of Sustainability and Research at project44. project44 is on a mission to make supply chains work. As the supply chain connective tissue, project44 operates the world’s most trusted end-to-end visibility platform that tracks more than one billion shipments annually for 900 of the leading brands, including top companies in manufacturing, automotive, retail, life sciences, food & beverage, and oil, chemical & gas. Using project44, shippers and carriers across the globe drive greater predictability, resiliency and sustainability.

The undisputed leader in the market, project44 was named the Leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant, #1 in FreightWaves’ FreightTech 2021, and the Customer’s Choice in Gartner Peer Insights Voice of the Customer report. project44 is headquartered in Chicago with a diverse team spanning 14 global offices. www.project44.com

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DHL LLP

End-to-end

excellence

I

t goes without saying that the pandemic has changed lives. What we are now seeing emerge, however, is the prominence of the global supply chain. It is the buzz word in all things industry. In fact, the term itself – supply chain – has become part of everyday language.

When ordering a new bathroom basin or drum kit or electric car it would not be

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surprising to hear that something to do with the supply chain will mean the order is going to be delayed. Sometimes, though, we can forget the journey that product will go on: raw materials and procurement to production and storage, and then, finally, distribution.

Navigating that journey and getting that product to the end user – typically, us – is no easy feat.

Yet, with a Lead Logistics Provider (LLP), also referred to as a Fourth-Party Logistics Provider (4PL), that feat is made much easier. LLPs help businesses navigate and manage every aspect of the supply chain and are, therefore, the partner of choice for those that want to streamline processes, move parts on a daily basis from end-to-end, improve visibility across the supply chain and its ancillary networks, and drive improvements.

Managing resilience and volatility in the international supply chain: DHL’s Global Head of LLP breaks it down

In doing so, businesses that work with an effective LLP can expect to optimize processes and make operations increasingly Lean, cost-effective, and automated. During the pandemic, however, cracks in those formerly steady networks began to form.

Equilibrium became disequilibrium; profit became loss. Without dynamic prevention and supply chain resilience, both of which

are established and then bolstered by an LLP, businesses were burdened with chaos and confusion.

Breaking down the services and benefits of partnering with an LLP is Thorsten Roggenbuck, Global Head of LLP at DHL – one of the biggest logistics companies in the world.

“It all starts with the needs of the customer,” he begins. “Typically, these are geared towards

better data analytics and supply chain visibility.

Markets are extremely volatile because of the current geopolitical climate and global situation, and therefore we must ask: How can customers cope with disruptions in the market with regards to the scarcity of resources?”

That question is dynamic. As Thorsten goes on to explain, it is not asked once – but constantly.

“Businesses are not still; they are moving at speed. Sometimes, in all directions. Lines begin to blur with acquisitions, divestments, nascent technology, the growth of ecommerce, more informed Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) strategies, and product launches. All these and more require new markets, insights, and supply chain networks in order to maximize efficiency and mitigate disruption.

“LLPs take care of these changes by providing management services support,” explains Thorsten. “In this sense, as an LLP, we do not physically operate the supply chain; rather, we manage our customers’ supply chain. This process is carried out through a design, manage, and operate model. First, we investigate our customer’s business strategy and identify how we can support it. Second, we map out the supply chain and figure out how we can design a logistics network around it. Third, we implement the design and run it via a day-to-day management approach, allowing us to adjust to the market and change it in a way that enables the business to continually improve and innovate. We regularly review the supply chain set-up; checking it against the customer’s business objectives to ensure it is fit-for-purpose. From inventory location optimization to waste and transit time reduction, we regularly identify and implement improvement ideas.

“We are active across a range of industries – automobility, life sciences, engineering, manufacturing, and more – and have invested in global markets for more than two decades,” he goes on. “We work from our DHL Center of Excellence, which covers more than 20 countries, enabling us to truly serve our customers end-to-end.”

Indeed, rather than simply designing frameworks for global supply chains, DHL also manages them. It seeks to operate, improve, and transform. As Thorsten notes, under his leadership, the LLP team at DHL covers the entire life cycle of the chain – and that has not gone unnoticed. scw-mag.com

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For the seventh year in a row, DHL LLP has been named a leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Third Party Logistics Worldwide and has been recognized as having an exceptional ability to not only design a strong vision for logistics services, but also execute it.

“The needs of customers do not change,” he asserts. “They have always been there, and they always will. However, there are at least three that have proved more important since the pandemic. First: resilience in the supply chain. Volatility in all areas must be addressed and managed successfully to keep businesses in profit and deliveries on-time; our tools and competency in this field offer any company a competitive advantage.

“For one leading technology provider in the Asia Pacific region, our supply chain management services, including the outsourcing of its end-to-end transportation operations, enabled secured and consistent access to transport resource, and an increase in on-time delivery rates to more than 95 per cent. Alongside increased responsiveness and supply chain visibility, our processes gave internal teams more time to spend on core business issues when freed from the burden of day-to-day management of transport providers.

“Second: real-time trade-off decisions.

The most cost-efficient logistic solution is not necessarily the best from a business perspective - service-level, flexibility, timeto-market all have to be factored in. As such, digital twins and algorithm-based what-if scenarios can help to find optimal real-time solutions.

“We work with an Asia Pacific-based airline to help manage their supply chain of in-flight goods and resources across 25 countries, coordinating 100 suppliers on their behalf.

The vast data this work has generated means we’ve been able to develop a digital twin of the supply chain. We are able to virtually explore ‘what if’ scenarios which proved particularly important during the pandemic. We utilized the digital twin to plan what goods would be needed and where, depending on what was happening in the wider travel and aviation markets. For the customer, this was the latest

in a series of initiatives which, over the course of our relationship, has seen more than $5 million worth of transformational savings.

“Third: ESG in the supply chain. The world is changing – and we only have one. More so than ever before, the importance of embedding sustainability in the supply chain is being considered by our customers, and we are eager to help.”

The world is changing, indeed. It always will. However, one thing remains certain. In the middle of unprecedented global health emergencies and geopolitical disruptions, ontime and on-course operations all depend on three simple letters: LLP.

DHL LLP www.dhl.com Services: Lead logistics provider

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BAE

BAE Systems

Keeping the world’s

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s flying classroom airborne A trusted partner of air forces around the world, BAE Systems discusses the extension of its support to the UK’s fleet of Hawk advanced jet trainer aircraft, and some of the exciting innovations set to grace the industry in the years ahead

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BAE

BAE Systems

F

ew companies can boast a heritage as rich as that of BAE Systems.

For more than a century, the company and its predecessors have established a reputation as a leading aircraft Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM). During that time, it has designed, manufactured, and supported many of the most famous names in aviation history – from the Spitfire and Hurricane of the Second World War, through to today’s Eurofighter Typhoon and F-35 Lightning which make up today’s Royal Air Force fleet. Its Air sector has helped establish a sovereign combat air capability for the UK, leveraging the latest technology and developing an international workforce of almost 20,000 highly-skilled people.

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Headquartered in the United Kingdom, BAE Systems Air operates on a global stage with major business units across the Middle East and United States and partnerships with the group’s wider international business. Its partnership with the Royal Air Force spans the design, development, production, upgrade and support of its fast jet fleet.

The company’s support and training business is a cornerstone of its Air sector, delivering support to the RAF’s fleet of Typhoon and F-35 frontline aircraft and Hawk, the advanced jet trainer aircraft which equips pilots with the skills required for life in a fast jet cockpit. From RAF Valley in Anglesey, North Wales, BAE Systems

provides availability support to the RAF’s Hawk T2 fleet, the latest standard of the aircraft operated worldwide, and provides depth maintenance to the RAF’s iconic Red Arrows display team.

As the OEM for Hawk, the company is well-placed to understand the aircraft.

But, as Chris Holt, Hawk Contract Delivery Director, explains, the company’s success in working with the world’s leading air forces is built on an intimate understanding developed through decades of working in partnership to deliver training.

“At RAF Valley, our people work shoulderto-shoulder with the RAF and our industry partners, including our maintenance partner, Babcock, and the RAF’s training

In April, the company was awarded a new £590m contract to continue its support to the Hawk fleet, providing availability support to the T2 fleet and depth maintenance to the Red Arrows. Under the Hawk Integrated Support Solution (HISS), the company is also delivering efficiencies through new ways of working and harnessing the use of technology to drive savings which will be reinvested into the RAF’s training capability.

“The primary role of the HISS contract is to ensure the RAF has Hawk aircraft available where they need them, when they need them, to undertake training,” Chris explains. “But it will also unlock savings, part of which can be invested in the capability upgrades to the jet, which will ensure Hawk continues to deliver what the RAF needs.

“Our teams have already developed a wide range of enablers which include keeping assets on the wing for longer, automating our information exchanges through technology improvements, increasing our maintenance efficiency, improving our own internal and external processes, developing our Suitably Qualified

and Experienced People (SQEP), and talent pipeline, and working with our strategic suppliers to better our value for money,” he reveals. “The contract will also see us work alongside our partners and supply chain to drive efficiencies, with the opportunity to reinvest part of the savings generated into new capabilities for the future Hawk fleet.

“Hawk has an enduring role with the RAF for many years to come and we already know that the first pilots who fly Tempest from 2035 onwards will have learnt to fly in a Hawk, so ensuring it has the capability it needs is critical to our customer and therefore it is critical we deliver.”

But innovation is never easy. For BAE Systems, the challenge is determining how to continue to drive an even greater pace of change. “We need to work out which challenges are the most pressing,” Chris reflects. “Likewise, when we think about how to support our customers, we need to consider both the next few years, and how we can serve them as part of a long-term strategy.

“For instance, we’re already looking ahead to 2035, when we’re due to bring into service

provider, Ascent Flight Training, to understand what is needed on a day-today basis and to ensure we deliver it as efficiently and effectively as we can,” Chris says. “All of this means the RAF has the right pilots with the right skills to safeguard national security and that is what drives our people and our partners’ people every day.”

BAE Systems has provided this support role to the T2 fleet for 12 years, and provided similar levels of support to its predecessor, the Hawk T1. Internationally, more than 650 Hawk aircraft operate from Canada to Australia via Europe, the Middle East and Far East every day with support delivered by the company’s teams across the globe. scw-mag.com

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BAE

BAE Systems

a fleet of Tempest aircraft, designed to train pilots who are to fly on the Typhoon F35s,” Chris points out. “Over the years, we need to keep our training platform relevant and up-to-date, supporting the needs of today and tomorrow; thinking long-term about how technology and learning is set to change, and how the battlespace is due to evolve.”

Underlining the Hawk fleet’s integral role within the RAF, Chris explains that every pilot who is flying in the frontline fleet will almost certainly have flown a Hawk at some point in their careers. “That’s not just every front-line pilot, but every senior member of the RAF who has ever flown in any kind of fighter jet,” he insists. “Around the world, from Australia, to Canada, Finland, and

India, there are about 25,000 pilots who will have learnt their skills using Hawks. For that reason, we refer to the Hawk as ‘the flying classroom of the world’ – a place where pilots can learn to be the absolute best. But even more than that, we have this in common with many of the world’s leading air forces, meaning Hawk is another common bond in our international partnerships.”

The HISS contract sustains more than 500 jobs across BAE and its maintenance partner, Babcock International. But although the future is bright, the last couple of years haven’t been without turbulence, as the arrival of COVID-19 brought about considerable industry disruption.

Nevertheless, BAE continued to provide its customers with essential support.

“We had to make sure our customers were ready to do whatever it is they needed to do in accordance with changing economic and geopolitical situations,” Chris adds. “In the UK, that meant looking at how we could leverage our global capabilities to continue to support Hawk in a very different way.

“Alongside the need to work from home the lessons we’ve learned from the pandemic is the importance of using different ways to communicate,” he develops. “We’ve found it a lot easier to start collaborating with teams out in our global locations. At the same time, we’ve also focused more on wellbeing activities; making sure our teams are supported wherever they are, and rolling out the appropriate technology to do so.”

Aerospace Fasteners Limited Aerospace Fasteners Limited has been supporting aerospace and defense companies with their supply chain solutions for over 30 years.

Our continued working partnership with BAE Systems epitomises our unique and flexible approach. Offering a first-class service with the highest levels of product quality and expert support, we supply our customers with direct-to-line products via VMI and kitting solutions.

Each scenario is covered; from simple resupplies to urgent operational demands. Dealt with securely and efficiently, we offer a unique, flexible and tailored approach to our customers supply chain requirements.

Aerospace Fasteners: holding it all together

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BAE

BAE Systems

As it looks forward to another decade of supporting the Hawk fleet, BAE Systems’ focus is on driving continuous improvement across its operations. “We want to go from strength to strength,” Chris concludes. “We’re always learning more about how to support our aircraft, and build capability, and we work with our customers and supply partners to achieve that.

We’ll also continue to innovate in our training solutions, while driving customer intimacy, and strengthening the relationships we have with the RAF and other customers around the globe.”

BAE Systems www.baesystems.com/air Services: Aircraft original equipment manufacturer

Midland Electronic Motors & Mechanical Services Ltd We’re the UK’s leading Houchin specialists, and have worked with BAE Systems for several years now, after being approached by two of the technical specialists regarding technical issues they had. Following this, we had a meeting at Warton, and they then approached us to carry out work on a project, which we completed in June 2020. Since then, we secured a second project, and offered onsite diagnostics and surveys on various ground support equipment. We would like to take this opportunity to thank BAE Systems for the opportunities to work alongside them and their expert obsolescence team.

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Ontic Ontic is a leading global aerospace OEM, providing complex engineered parts and repair services for established aircraft in the defence and commercial market.

Boasting a portfolio of over 7,500 top-level assemblies, Ontic is proud to work with BAE Systems on the Hawk, with our team of experts delivering a wide variety of critical technologies, including the fuel measurement system, as well as a range of avionics, cockpit instruments and controls.

With over 45 years of product manufacturing and aftermarket support experience, Ontic has operations across North America, the UK, Europe, and Asia providing strategic worldwide support to defence and civil customers when and where it is needed.

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In good hands

As the US national leader in post-acute care, Encompass Health proudly offers a hospital level of care across its rapidly expanding network of inpatient rehabilitation hospitals

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F

ounded in 1984, Encompass Health has been on a varied journey through different post-acute health care fields. In 2007, however, the company divested its surgical diagnostic and outpatient businesses, realigning and refining its processes to create a stronger and more specified purpose. To make that statement of intent more visible, two years before the pandemic hit and changed the health care environment for good, the company rebranded from HealthSouth to Encompass Health, reinforcing its commitment to providing advanced therapy to help patients

on their recovery journey following injury or illness. Then, in 2021, the company further solidified its place in post-acute care as the trusted choice for patients, caregivers and medical professionals, providing customized rehabilitative services that exceed expectations and help patients get back to what matters most.

A refined and clearer focus is never a bad thing; in fact, it has proved a wise decision.

Today, Encompass Health is the largest owner and operator of rehabilitation hospitals in the US – 152 hospitals are located across 36 different states and Puerto Rico; an ever-

growing footprint continues to map its way across the nation.

Last year, Encompass Health discharged more than 190,000 patients across its host of hospitals, which accounts for, approximately, one-in-three of the total US inpatients that received rehabilitative care in 2021. Over 33,000 employees supported these patients on their individual journeys.

“We have multiple teams of therapists – physical, speech, and occupational – as well as a full nursing and medical staff in our hospitals,” begins Elaine Prince, Vice President of Operations Support at Encompass Health,

SensoScientific As a compliance automation expert, SensoScientific’s IoT solution is designed to document environmental conditions throughout every stage of your supply chain. Its leading monitoring system exceeds strict regulatory compliance requirements for every application, no matter the environment. The sensors monitor temperature, humidity, differential pressure and more, and transmit recorded data to the SensoScientific Cloud for immediate visibility. As an FDA 21 CFR Part 11 validated system, the SensoScientific Cloud is the gateway to surpassing your next audit. From the cloud, your team can access data records, generate reports, make corrective actions, and view NIST traceable calibration certificates from the business’s in-house A2LA Accredited calibration laboratory. Custom alert notifications are sent 24/7 the moment nodes take readings outside their allowable range and can be sent via email, text, SMS, voice, fax, and pager. Make meeting compliance the easiest part of your day - contact SensoScientific at www.sensoscientific.com for a free trial.

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who recently sat down with us to catch up on everything that has transpired since the company’s rebrand. “Multiple factors set us apart from the competition; for instance, numerous independent studies demonstrate that inpatient rehabilitation hospitals provide better care for patients that are recovering from illnesses and injuries, including stroke, fractures, hip fractures, brain injuries and other neurological disorders. Therefore, we continue to admit patients leaving acute care partner hospitals that have diagnosed impacts, since we know they can truly benefit from our inpatient rehabilitation setting.

“In terms of what that setting looks like, all our patients receive a minimum of three hours of therapy per day, and that is at least five days per week,” she explains. “Therapies include physical, occupational, and speech – or we will offer a combination of all three. Our average length of stay is about 13 days in an inpatient environment; however, of course, that will depend on the patient’s individual needs and the therapy they require. Though some competitors might offer standalone hospitals or units within acute care settings, because of our specified focus and purpose, our quality

outcomes exceed national standards. Our patients are more medically complex than average, and we perform our rehabilitation services at average or lower cost than other providers. So, really, it is a win-win.”

As part of its rebrand, Encompass Health has invested heavily in its existing hospitals to

continue to ensure it consistently maintains high standards and levels of excellence. By doing so, health practitioners are better equipped and more able to provide superior, compassionate care for those recovering from a major injury or illness in a state-of-the-art and technologically advanced environment.

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Headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, Encompass Health’s nation-spanning rehabilitation centers offer care and best-inclass therapies to patients recovering from illnesses and conditions such as neurological disorders; orthopedic, cardiac, and pulmonary conditions; brain and spinal cord injuries; balance and vestibular rehabilitation; complex orthopedic conditions; pain management; and amputations.

As technology evolves so does Encompass Health. The hospital system leverages its nationwide network of more than 150 hospitals to identify and implement cutting-edge technology designed to support nearly every aspect of patients’ recovery following a stroke, brain injury or other major illness or injury. Its

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each year. Naturally, then, we have similarly expanded our department and workforce to focus on expediting that plan with as little disruption as possible. We are currently looking

at ways to mitigate disruption, rising costs, and economic downturns, as well as increase the number of emerging critical technologies and supplies that we have access to.

expert clinicians integrate these technologies into each patient’s care, restoring confidence and building strength to help patients achieve their highest level of function.

Bolstering Encompass Health and its services is a robust supply chain management department: Operations Support. Headed by Elaine, the 14-strong unit tackles the ups and downs of all procurement, supply, and energy operations throughout the business.

“We oversee the standards, agreements, systems, and vendor management related to supplies, drugs, food, equipment, and many other hospital services,” Elaine details.

“Encompass Health is in the middle of enacting an aggressive growth strategy: we are planning to build up to six to ten further hospitals scw-mag.com

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Healthcare Services and Solutions Innovation and integration at its best

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“As a team, we touch almost every department, including therapy and nursing, but we also support functions like pharmacy, nutrition, and facilities management with their supply chain needs,” she goes on. “However, our operations can be broadly split into five key areas. One is partnering with regional operations and management to identify core standards and select the best supplies, equipment, and services that our hospitals need through critical evaluation, investigation, and implementation. Next is field operations, and that team helps support both existing and new hospitals with our growth plan; they serve as the first port of call for day-to-day needs and training at our hospitals, but also as the project managers for everything related to supply chain – furniture, budgeting, procurement, installation – that a new inpatient rehabilitation hospital requires.

“Then we have contracting and vendor management, where we are really trying to increase resiliency and foster robustness to ensure our vendors can provide the products we need in a timely and cost-effective fashion.

Lastly, we focus intently on the development and capability of our systems; for instance, our recently overhauled and internally owned procurement system enables us to quickly pivot and adapt to current tasks and needs. The system ensures efficiencies are maintained across supply chain reporting,

procurement, and analysis, especially amid the post-pandemic shortages and disruptions that we are all currently experiencing,” she adds.

Moving further into that post-pandemic period, Elaine tells us that the business plans to invest millions of dollars into state-of-theart dialysis equipment and robotics, while also refreshing older equipment across the company’s vast network of hospitals. In doing so, Encompass Health intends to solidify its status as the number one owner and operator of rehabilitation hospitals in the country.

“Going forward, we will continue to ensure that our employees are engaged, motivated, and feel valued,” says Elaine. “Recently, we have amplified our diversity, equity and inclusion efforts to attract and develop a dynamic workforce, supplier base, and overarching community behind Encompass Health.

“I have mentioned our growth plan, and that remains a big focus, particularly in areas of the US that are underserved from a rehabilitation perspective,” she concludes.

“As we are on a journey of continuous improvement, we will also invest more in our technology, software, and equipment to make sure that our patients know they are always being provided high quality of care at one of our hospitals.”

Encompass Health https://encompasshealth.com Services: Post-acute rehabilitation hospitals

TIDI Products LLC

If you ask anyone at TIDI Products LLC (TIDI) why our company exists, you’ll get a simple, straightforward answer: we’re here to support caregivers and protect patients. As a manufacturer of medical devices, TIDI strives to achieve this purpose by continually seeking new ways to help medical professionals provide the highest quality patient care. Every day, these professionals turn to us for solutions that enhance compliance, reduce risk, and are user-friendly.

Our manufacturing, product development, and engineering groups collaborate daily to make a meaningful difference in the medical industry.

This work has been especially important during the Covid-19 pandemic, as we outfitted those on the frontlines with essential personal protective equipment, including eyewear and face shields.

Chances are, if you’ve ever been in a doctor’s office or a hospital, you’ve encountered a TIDI product – whether it’s the paper that covers an exam table, a gait belt that allows a nurse to help a patient walk, or a drape that helps protect sterile instruments in the operating room.

As a leader in patient safety, TIDI is proud to supply Encompass Health with innovative falls prevention technologies, such as our Posey HeadStart Sensors.

Learn more about us at www.tidiproducts.com.

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Fenner Precision Polymers

Making things Our recent interview with Fenner Precision Polymers offers a key takeaway: a strong, well-built supply chain management team can truly weather any storm – and it just might learn a few vital lessons for the business in the process

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go

W

e are as much a manufacturer of products as we are a solution provider for our customers,” says Donny Lombardi, Director of Supply Chain at Fenner Precision Polymers (Fenner). “There is so much in our product portfolio; the easiest way to think about Fenner is this: we make things go. You just have to think about motion.”

Acquired by Michelin in 2018 as part of the wider group’s diversification efforts, Fenner is a world leader in reinforced polymer technology for performance-critical applications. The company has facilities throughout both North America, China, and Europe, and has carved out a strong global reputation for its curation of engineers and industry experts across its plethora of individual teams. By harnessing advanced technology and state-of-the-art equipment, Fenner is pushing the limits of what is possible with elastomeric solutions.

Like Donny has mentioned, Fenner is making things go: flat belts, precision timing belts, calibration hoses, technical textiles, commercial belting, seals, diaphragms, silicone materials and more are manufactured in factories using best-in-class practices to create a bespoke and ideal solution for every project the company is involved in.

The sectors that Fenner works in are just as varied. Imaging, medical, infrastructure, transportation, power, motional control, and industrial – just to name a few. With such a diverse range of commercial interests, the company also investigates the application of high-technology materials in 3D printing, document handling, aerospace, keyless locking devices, and food processing.

“We service so many niche markets – our products are, naturally, very niche themselves,” explains Donny. “But that is what really sets us apart from all the competition. We can go to a customer, who may have already purchased or ordered a product from us, and help them find another application from our vast portfolio of elastomeric or other solutions to aid them in overcoming any issues that they are currently facing. We pride ourselves on always providing another solution, which is often in a completely different area; for instance, we may have previously worked together on a conveyor belt, and are now offering a keyless locking system.”

The conversation then turns to Donny’s own field of expertise: supply chain management.

The robust model that he has spearheaded is surely another reason why Fenner proudly stands out from its competitors. scw-mag.com

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“When I joined the company four years ago, we did not have a structured and professional supply chain,” he remembers. “Therefore, one of the first things I was tasked with doing was to really look at Fenner and the structure of its operations. Through that process, I was able to help define what the company wanted to be from a supply chain perspective, and consequently I helped build out our 18-strong team.

“In that team, we work around four key function pillars: demand planning, supply planning, procurement, and distribution logistics,” he goes on. “Each pillar has its own smaller team, and all of them report to me. By building that unit and accumulating those skill sets, we have been able to add a lot of new processes and disciplines, as well as further accountability and collaboration, to Fenner’s already wide-ranging functions.”

Soon after joining Fenner, however, the pandemic shocked global supply chains with an almost unprecedented power. “Without a doubt, managing the supply chain during Covid-19 has been the most challenging part of my career so far,” admits Donny.

“Nevertheless, I remain incredibly proud of what the team at Fenner was able to achieve throughout such a difficult time. Indeed, during the pandemic, we were still able to make three dynamic acquisitions: two domestic and one international and integrate

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them into our business. Under normal circumstances, that is a difficult task. During Covid-19, then, we had to pivot and work remotely the best we could. We onboarded a third-party logistics team in the Netherlands as well as a key supplier in China – all through the power of online communication.

“Inflation has hit us hard. However, we still had exceptional results last year and are on track to do so again in 2022,” he continues.

“We have had to adapt and do things we had never thought of doing in the past. It has proved to be a time for conducting research on suppliers, preparation, and due diligence to make sure we are working with good partners that share our philosophy and outlook. One thing we have found from this introspection is this: digitalization is the future. We need more transparency and visibility in the supply chain.

How do we do this? Well, that is what we are currently investigating.”

Despite the inherent challenges of the pandemic, the examples highlighted by Donny indicate that a robust supply chain management team can truly weather any storm; in fact, it can also find new ways of doing business. Indeed, one aspect of its operations that Fenner is also investigating is sustainability.

“Our parent company, Michelin, has very aggressive sustainability goals,” reveals Donny. “It has three pillars that underpin the operations of the entire company: people, planet, and profit. Obviously, planet refers to sustainability, and we share that philosophy.

Though we are in the infancy stage, we care about sustainability, and we are developing aggressive plans to align ourselves with Michelin’s targets. Part of that is also working with our suppliers to make sure that they, too, share our beliefs and targets when it comes to the environment.”

Another plan currently being investigated at Fenner is the consolidation of its physical footprint. As Donny informs us, by the end of the year, the company intends to condense its currently widespread leadership and support functions into a new corporate location, and also hopes to break ground in early 2023 on a state-of-the-art new manufacturing facility, which would put the majority of its eight Pennsylvania buildings under one roof.

Other than that, it appears to be business as usual. “The rest of the year looks similar to what has already come to pass,” explains Donny. “Therefore, I would say: continued growth. Everyone – and that includes us – is expecting things to level off and soften a little bit. However, that only puts more pressure

on us as a business to continue to drive costs and make sure we are working with the best suppliers and partners to consistently deliver what our customers expect from us.

“Looking further ahead, we plan to be extremely aggressive and continue to expand through strategic mergers and acquisitions,” he concludes. “We have strong plans to double or even triple the company over the next few years, and a lot of that will come from organic growth as we do have new products, which

we look forward to releasing. However, the majority is going to come through aggressive acquisitions and an ebullient approach to the possibilities that the future holds.”

Fenner Precision Polymers www.fennerprecision.com Products: Precision-engineering parts and solutions

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Carbel

The sky’s

the limit

Formerly a one-man-show, Carbel has grown into a more than 1800-strong workforce, providing first-class logistics and transportation services to an ever-growing number of businesses throughout the US

A

fter several years working in logistics and transportation, in October 2004, Javier Torrens took the decision

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to establish his own company: Carbel.

A company close to Javier’s heart, its name is derived from those of his two daughters, Carolina and Belen. At the

time of launch, the company was a strictly one-man-show. Javier rented an office at a local warehouse, totaling just ten square meters in size.

Since those humble beginnings, Carbel has undergone a rapid evolution. Today, the company is a premier logistics and transportation organization, serving the

business community throughout Florida and beyond. With locations in JFK, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Miami, the company provides warehousing, distribution, and transportation

needs for companies of all sizes from its advanced warehouses.

Speaking to Supply Chain World, Carbel’s Founder and CEO reflects on the company’s scw-mag.com

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Carbel

rapid rise, and his own 25 years of industry experience. “Throughout our development, the company has witnessed a number of significant milestones,” he notes. “The one that kicked it all off was our award of a contract for the transportation of 300 parabolic antennas for the US military in Iraq.

Building on that success, we took the decision to open a customs brokerage company, known as United Customs Services – a move that expanded the service offering for our clients.

Most recently, we’ve focused our efforts on growing our business footprint within fashion, electronics, and aviation, as well as just in time specialized deliveries.”

A full-service provider, Carbel’s broad service range encompasses everything from local pick-ups and deliveries (including business-to-customer and business-tobusiness services), to fulfilment, distribution, customs clearance, and truck brokerage.

The company also undertakes a number of special projects, customized to meet individual customer requests – a fact that’s reflective of Javier’s heavy emphasis on customer service, and to which he credits the company’s unsurpassed reputation in the South and Northeast of the US logistics market.

“We’re proud to serve the business community,” Javier insists. “What truly sets us

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apart from the competition is the fact that our personalized customer service and solutions are available on a 24/7, 365-days-a-year basis.

We don’t close any of our warehouses for a single day throughout the year.”

It’s been a difficult time for everyone throughout the supply chain and logistics sector. In March 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic brought an unprecedented challenge to businesses across the country. But while many shut down, Carbel kept going. Impressively, the company did not close any of its warehouses for a single day during the pandemic, nor did it cease any operations. Instead, the company and its employees kept working hard, while maintaining the necessary caution.

“We reacted immediately to Covid-19,” Javier recalls, looking back on what was a chaotic time. “Due to the nature of our business, working remotely was not a possibility. We implemented several strict guidelines, and worked very closely with the CDC to avoid our teams getting Covid-19.

Unfortunately, we did have some cases, but no outbreaks in our warehouses or offices.

“We helped our customers by granting them longer payment terms and by assisting them in keeping their operations up and running,” he continues. “I am also proud to say that we did not let go of a single employee

in any department due to the Covid-19 pandemic, despite the substantial impacts felt throughout the industry and the US economy as a whole.”

Such was the effectiveness of Carbel’s rapid response, the company has gone from strength to strength since Covid-19. Not content with conserving what it has, Javier has pushed on with a set of ambitious growth plans, most notably including the addition of more than 490,000-square-feet of warehousing capacity in 2021.

“The investment consists of two brand-new state-of-the-art buildings, and is a credit to the fast growth we’ve demonstrated throughout the last three years,” Javier says. “With this latest addition, we now have a total of over 1.3 million square feet of warehouse space. As the saying goes, ‘build it, and they will come.’ I firmly believe in the need to continually invest in company growth at all times to keep up with evolving customer demand.”

Warehouse space is all well and good, but it’s what you do with it that matters. To maximize the potential of its latest assets, Carbel is investing yet more in new equipment and technology to be deployed throughout its facilities. “We have several warehouse management systems that we use for our operations, including our own full traceability

software, Zector Pro, a company partowned by myself, along with Zector Pro CEO Raul Zayas,” Javier reveals. “That advanced application allows us to track and trace millions of packages all over the world in real time.

“We’re also in the process of incorporating robotics, and as of a few months ago, we’ve begun initial discussions with Locus Robotics, in order to develop solutions for our operations,” he adds. “The hope is that this will help transform our picking and inbound operations to be more precise and less laborintensive. We expect to have our robotics project up and running by the first quarter of 2023.”

To further expand its capabilities, Carbel established a strategic partnership with Pilot Freight Services (Pilot) – as of today, the largest private freight forwarding service in the US. It’s yet another move set to bolster the company’s ability to provide customers with a high-quality experience and service.

“I am the franchise owner for Pilot in South Florida,” Javier indicates. “Pilot is an excellent company that enforces our air freight, ocean freight, imports and exports. The company has partners all around the world, and is now even stronger following its acquisition by Maersk. At the same time, we at Carbel remain a family-owned and operated business, and we vow to continue treating every client like a part of our extended family. No matter where your shipments are headed, or how many of them

you have, we have the capacity to flawlessly take care of them without any hassle.”

Turning to the future, Carbel is looking to continue its upwards momentum. In doing so, it’s supported by more than 1800 dedicated employees, all of whom contribute their knowledge and commitment to client service.

“Our team is the bedrock of our success, and we would not be where we are today without their dedication, loyalty, and hard work,” Javier concludes. “In return, we make sure to look after them. At our new Miami facilities, we’ve built a state-of-the-art gym where they can join different fitness programs. We

also provide access to fresh food selections on a daily basis, and we’ve installed several brand-new lounges and breakrooms. In doing so, it ensures that they feel supported, and it motivates them in their work. If we continue that, looking at our rate of growth and success, then the sky’s the limit.”

Carbel www.carbel-wd.com Services: Logistics, transportation, and distribution

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U.S. Renal Care

Big

impacts

With a determination to provide the best for its clients, U.S. Renal Care (USRC) is transforming its approach to the supply chain. With the help of Janet Watson, the medical organization is quickly becoming renowned for its exemplary innovation

U

.S. Renal Care – a national healthcare provider of dialysis services – partners with nephrologists and health systems to serve people living with chronic and acute kidney disease. USRC offers a full range of

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services for its 28,000-plus patients in 400 dialysis centers and 200 home programs across 33 states in the U.S. “We are growing quickly and intelligently,” shares Janet Watson, Senior Vice President of Procurement and Supply Chain at USRC.

She discusses with SCW how she has helped cement the company’s supply chain management to make the business’s support for the medical industry more robust.

One of the leading qualities of USRC is its values-driven culture, rooted in excellence,

compassion, inclusion, and partnership. “Our passionate teams of clinicians and corporate staff are driven by our mission to contribute to our communities and change the lives of people living with kidney diseases,” Janet says.

“We are always curious and exploring ways to

innovate to lead the future of our industry.

“The fundamental aspect of our business model is our joint venture partnerships with nephrologists,” she continues. “We believe that the best care is delivered by physicianled teams. This is a sustainable competitive

advantage that results in outstanding outcomes for our patients.”

Since her time began with the business, Janet has rebranded her department from purchasing to supply chain, aligning with a more strategic and holistic focus for USRC’s scw-mag.com

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role. “The department is organized into two teams,” she explains. “The first is focused on cost control strategy and supply stability, which is the strategic team. The second is focused on spend execution, also known as our operations team.”

The strategic team handles category management, strategic sourcing, contracting, and value creation, while the operations

team manages purchase order transactions, data integrity, and item master management, inventory management, and process improvement and training. “This benefits us in a number of ways,” Janet notes. “Firstly, it allows us to manage spend by category, where the expertise is required at the Category Management Director and Contract Manager levels.

“Additionally, hiring talent with specific category experience is critical to achieving value creation and improved contracting,” she goes on. “Having supply chain professionals with category expertise enables us to drive increased credibility with our stakeholders and allows us to be a true business partner with them.”

TRIOSE One of the most critical issues affecting patient care today lies within the volatility of today’s supply chain. From staffing shortages to dwindling hospital profit margins, the old ways of supply chain management won’t work in today’s ever evolving environment. Without a dedicated partner capable of managing all components of your supply chain, and leveraging technology to provide the visibility into shipping practices across your network, decisions may be made that cost your organization time, money, and invaluable resources.

As supply chain requirements continue to evolve, how are you ensuring your future supply chain needs are being met?

Healthcare never stops, and neither do we. At TRIOSE, we work to continually set the industry standard for healthcare supply chain logistics by providing personalized strategic solutions for hospitals, health systems, and healthcare networks. With customized solutions to fit your organization’s unique needs, TRIOSE can take the stress out of managing your supply chain, delivering deep industry insights and partnering with your internal teams, so that you can focus on your patients.

When it comes to end-to-end supply chain management solutions, we can help you solve the most pressing supply chain challenges facing your healthcare system. We will work with you to design a customized end-to-end program, based on your organization’s needs.

Our full suite of logistics and supply chain management services includes: • Freight and large cargo solutions to help build stronger carrier relationships, while increasing visibility over shipments of any size • Courier and fleet management built around the latest technology to give you a view of your entire delivery network • Fully compliant prescription delivery services to help pharmacies grow their offerings and expand their business • Pharmacy support from our experts to help guide you through increasingly complex guidelines and standards, as well as advice on how to improve operational efficiency long term Whether you’re implementing an innovative solution, or proactively monitoring for supply chain issues before they arise, TRIOSE offers a dedicated team of support for when you need us most. Our end-to-end logistics solutions help you keep focused on what truly matters: your patients.

Is your supply chain prepared for what’s to come? https://www.triose.com

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SIMPLIFY YOUR HEALTHCARE SUPPLY CHAIN AND KEEP FOCUS ON YOUR PATIENTS Personalized industry insight, end-to-end logistics solutions, dedicated support, and white-glove service, TRIOSE works as an extension of your supply chain team so that you can keep your focus on delivering the highest quality patient care.

Make stronger carrier connections and get more shipment visibility with freight management solutions.

Grow your business and build relationships with pharmacy management and compliant delivery solutions.

Browse our complete suite of healthcare logistics solutions Visit TRIOSE.com/SCW to learn more.

U.S. Renal Care

“Finally, transactional processes are managed separately from the strategic team, and we are working to use technology to automate as much as possible,” Janet tells us. “A key supply chain operational component driving change at USRC includes key performance indicators (KPIs) and metric dashboards to improve Open POs,

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Invoiced Not Received (INR) and inventory levels. Complete cost management requires a dedicated focus on strategic sourcing and category management, as well as on transactional purchasing and inventory management. To remain successful, we must have strong focus on both aspects, or one will suffer due to shortfalls in the other.”

According to Janet, while other industries were implementing strategic capabilities in supply chain organizations approximately 15 years ago, the urgency for them was not as obvious in healthcare until about eight years ago. The move away from fee-for-service healthcare reimbursement to valuebased care models was the impetus driving the need for a strategic focus on cost management.

emphasizes. “If we leave this spend unmanaged and allow locally negotiated prices and contracts, we lose so much of our buying power and standardization that leads to improved quality control.”

Of course, these transformations are not without their challenges. The historic healthcare third-party supplier models were built on relationships between the suppliers and clinicians. As a result, preference

drove decisions on what was bought, and from whom it was bought. In addition, it was not uncommon to find healthcare organizations that were paying different prices for the same product or service at different locations. “Supply Chain was not a known term,” Janet reflects.

“Everyone thought what we were doing was purchasing. These historic paradigms needed to change.”

Janet believes that developing talent and embedding strategic sourcing, category management and supplier performance management processes within healthcare systems for healthcare service providers is also crucial. “Third-party spend is typically the second highest expense in a healthcare organization, second only to labor,” she scw-mag.com

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Trusted by the renal community for more than 30 years Pharmaceuticals and medical supplies GPO contracts Home dialysis specialty pharmacy services To learn more, visit cardinalhealth.com/renal

© 2022 Cardinal Health. All Rights Reserved. Lit. No. 1SS22-2025621 (07/2022)

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Transforming supply chain management in healthcare involves elevating skillsets, attracting talent that can be respected as a business partner with the organization leadership, and ensuring the company is delivering on strategic priorities and tackling the supplier model. “The single most important requirement, however, is alignment with the C-Suite,” Janet insists. “I always say that we’ve got to tell people what we can do, and where they have cost opportunities. If we are waiting for leadership to tell us what they want, we are missing the mark. I am so grateful that the USRC executive leadership team is a true partner to us and values the importance of our work and how it ultimately impacts providing the best care for our patients.

“It is so important to bring knowledge of the process and apply it to healthcare.

Use data and facts to shine a light on spend patterns. Partner with suppliers to work collaboratively and drive transparency.

Supplier relationships are critical to being successful – we need to find the right partners that can understand our strategies and objectives and work with us to achieve them.

Partnerships that allow us to work together to solve problems, address utilization issues, ensure supply stability and price points, will be the path that leads to cost control for us, and help maintain revenue for our suppliers.”

Keeping that in mind, Janet’s goal is for USRC’s supplier partners to see a difference in how the company contracts and fosters a relationship between them and internal stakeholders. “My team’s work is done in collaboration with our internal stakeholders,” she points out. “Our suppliers are starting to recognize a difference. We can bridge gaps, align discussions and work to ensure the success of the relationship.”

USRC recently kicked off a new relationship with Alliant Purchasing GPO and is also working to revamp USRC’s approach to medsurg distribution. “These are two foundational partnerships for a healthcare organization that can be leveraged for the benefit of both parties,” Janet adds. “We foresee a positive path forward.

“I have several expert negotiators on my team. I always hope our stakeholders and suppliers learn from us, appreciate the detail and diligence we invest in the process, and benefit from robust contracts and operational processes going forward. Having said this, we are only as good as the knowledge we gain, and we must learn the business we support.

While strategic supply chain processes can work with any subject matter, if we do not take time to learn the business, the equipment, the processes, and operational challenges, we are not doing our job,” she expresses.

Janet continues to underline how the thought processes around contracting, strategic sourcing, and negotiating with suppliers and contractors are different outside of healthcare. “I have supply chain professionals on our team now from the energy industry, telecom, aerospace, construction and defense. This diversity of thought and focus on transforming business processes is a key reason why I believe in infusing talent from other industries onto the healthcare supply chain teams I have built.

“I also believe in building culturally diverse teams – we have team members from Iran, El Salvador, Colombia, Peru, Uruguay, India, S. Korea, and Pakistan. And this is on a team of only 18 people! We like to start our staff meetings with a discussion around how we are living our values of excellence, inclusion, partnership, and compassion. With our highly diverse team, we learn so much about cultures, experiences, and what really shapes each one of us. This drives a strong team that cares about and supports each other. I could not be prouder of the intelligent and highly skilled team working alongside me.”

Considering the impressive transformations that Janet has brought to USRC’s supply chain, it comes as no surprise that she is determined

to maintain this momentum. When asked what her predictions are for the future, she reflects on the fact that there is still much work to be done including focusing on supplier diversity, investigating asset management tracking, overhauling inventory management processes, and building transparent means of managing indirect spend. With her excellent team and their leading expertise, there is no challenge too tough for USRC. “We try things we know work but may not be commonplace in healthcare,” she concludes. “It is great to be needed for the skills and talent we can bring to help organizations with such an important mission – patient care and making people’s lives better.

I once had a director refer to healthcare as the last supply chain frontier, and I see that as a great challenge. It’s a place where there is still a lot of opportunity to make a big impact by bringing in process, technology, and people to build the foundation. Once we have the foundation, we can continue to scale.”

U.S. Renal Care https://www.usrenalcare.com Services: Dialysis services

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Stanford Medicine

The forefront

of innovation

Stanford Medicine, located in the San Francisco Bay area, is an ecosystem of medical health care and education facilities. Through collaborative research, education, and clinical care for patients of all ages, the organization has successfully harnessed the full potential of biomedicine

S

tanford Health Care, Stanford Medicine Children’s Health, Stanford Health Care Tri-Valley (formerly ValleyCare), Stanford Medicine Partners, and the Stanford School of Medicine, are the entities that comprise the Stanford Medicine enterprise. “With

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eight Nobel Laureates, Stanford Medicine is globally-renowned for its breakthroughs in genetic and DNA modelling, advancement, innovations in research, cancer treatment, and more,” explains Amanda Chawla, Stanford Medicine’s Chief Supply Chain Officer. Chawla joined Stanford Medicine in 2016 and oversees

procurement and logistics of all goods and services across its three hospitals, managing an active inventory asset of over $70 million in medical supplies, with over $2 billion to spend annually. In 2020 she was awarded the accolade ‘Contracting Professional of the Year’

by The Journal of Healthcare Contracting,

which represents over 2500 supply chain hospital executives.

She discusses with Supply Chain World how the health care provider has grown over the years, and the ways in which diversification has enabled it to remain a leader for the medical industry. “Stanford Medicine is world-

renowned for its innovation, advancement in medicine and quality of care,” she says. “For instance, Stanford Medicine was the site for the first successful human heart transplant in the country, and the first combined heart-lung transplant in the world. In November of 2019, Stanford Health Care opened its doors to a

new 824,000-square-foot state-of-the-art hospital. Similarly, Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital unveiled a new building extension two years prior, adding 521,000 square feet on campus as well.”

Stanford Medicine entities operate in collaboration through a unifying strategy that rests upon three carefully curated primary pillars: value focused, digitally driven, and uniquely Stanford. “Stanford Medicine represents about 1500 beds with an inpatient volume of 50,000 admissions, and over 2.5 million outpatient visits annually,” Chawla comments.

With Chawla’s leadership and expertise, Stanford Medicine has made some impressive developments in order to remain an industry leader, as well as a leader in the communities that surround its locations. “We have invested heavily in our people: training, education, advancement, process, and technology,” Chawla insists. “These investments also include demand planning technology and supply resiliency through the advancement of analytics and robotics, such as the autonomous robots (TUGS) that move around the buildings to deliver materials.

“We are on a multi-year journey of deploying RFID tags at the product SKU and bin level, taking the ‘hunting and gathering’ out of logistics. Orders are automated, supplies can be decremented, scanned, and charged into the medical record. Further to this, we have made significant investments in our data governance, management, and analysis; building out scorecards and data that scw-mag.com

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inform supply disruptions. The advancement in demand planning, category management, and Periodic Automatic Replenishment (PAR) management build teams, along with the initiation of a supporting resiliency team, have demonstrated great value to the organization.

The impact is palpable with fewer disruptions reaching point of use. Much of the success is contributable directly to our supply chain leaders. From our frontline supervisors to our administrative directors, each leader is dedicated to the advancement of the profession and providing the best possible service. People are at the heart of our investments.”

Recently, as part of the commitment to advance, Stanford Medicine has begun its

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journey to replace its electronic resource planning system for finance and supply chain, and, as such, is in the process of evaluating bolt-on technologies.

From a program standpoint, following from her earlier mention, one of the most notable advancements is Stanford Medicine’s resiliency program and warehousing, which has been named as a best practice by Gartner. “We are taking this program to the next level through the development of an inventory flow control center that blends and balances just-in-time inventory, with stockpiled strategic and bulk disrupted inventory,” Chawla explains.

“With key partners, we are fundamentally re-designing the logistics of the operation,

expanding our sourcing and supplier relations, and procuring products from around the globe directly.”

In order to do so, Chawla, and the Administrative Director of Procurement Operations Michael Kohler, crafted what they call the ‘Stanford Medicine supply chain procurement P.R.O.C.E.S.S.’, which stands for Purchasing Reliable Products that are Outcomes-Based, Customer-Coordinated from Equitable, diverse, and Sustainable Sources’.

According to Chawla, “This model has resulted in the change of our sourcing practice, and encourages greater transparency between Stanford Medicine and our supplier partners by bringing forward a more comprehensive

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and balanced approach to sourcing, taking into consideration sustainability, diversity, price, quality and outcomes.”

Finally, the business is actively increasing reliability through automation. “Our Master Data Management and Business Transformation teams, led by Roopa McNealis and Katie Dean, have created an awardwinning custom interface and feed with our distributors, which enables them to quickly pivot on primary products that are disrupted in the market. This has increased turnaround time and resulted in a measurable increase in supply reliability solutions.” It’s another critical aspect of Chawla’s approach to its resiliency strategy and programs.

She continues to highlight that in terms of services, Stanford Medicine is a diverse and innovative operation that stepped up to the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Stanford Medicine entities worked in collaboration through a unifying strategy,”

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Chawla tells us. “Although Stanford Health Care, like many hospitals around the country, was directly impacted by the pandemic, from the initial PPE to testing supply shortages, the organization utilized its innovation and available resources to pull together the best health care for its patients.”

Stanford Medicine launched a rapid and coordinated strategy to protect its staff and patients in January of 2020, and a month later it was activated. “We initiated a clinical oversight resource team that consisted of senior leaders, experts across laboratory testing, infection prevention, workforce, supply chain management, communications, occupational health, and other stakeholders, to be the decision-making and guiding body for a swift, agile, and coordinated response,” Chawla notes.

“Our Administrative Director of Distribution and Logistics, Nick Trzeciak, has operationalized the strategies and put forward

the necessary steps for a sustained response to the pandemic. As a result of our success, we have been fortunate to have been able to donate to the local community and abroad throughout the pandemic, and continue to do so. Through our ‘Uniquely Stanford’ approach, all of the entities and departments across Stanford Medicine came together and instilled massively significant impacts, not only in the local community, but across the country.”

An example of what Chawla means can be seen in Stanford Medicine’s collaboration with another business to develop 3D-printed swabs that were subsequently brought to the market - one innovative way in which Stanford responded to the market disruption.

“When organizations were struggling with adequate respirator and mask supplies, our supply chain developed a collaboration to address the respirator disruption, providing alternative replacement parts and 3D-printed materials that can be used with the respirator equipment,” Chawla reveals.

She also shares that Stanford Medicine’s supply chain worked with a technology company to develop and launch an online exchange that allows hospitals to trade and share products in a safe and secure manner.

Yet another example of advancement and innovation comes from Doctor Benjamin Pinksy, Stanford Medicine’s clinical virology laboratory Director who worked with his team in January of 2020 to identify testing methods for Covid-19. On February 29th the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced it would provide emergency use authorization for the diagnostic testing of Covid-19, among the first of which was Stanford Medicine’s. By early March 2020, Stanford Medicine’s test was in use clinically, making it only the second academic medical center in the country with its own test. Within a week, Stanford Medicine’s virology laboratory was supporting testing for hospitals all around Northern California.

Chawla is very proud of the bravery and dedication that her supply chain team demonstrated during the unprecedented circumstances that the pandemic imposed.

As a result, she notes that there have been many lessons learned over the last two years, which she is now carrying forward. “Perhaps most notably is the need for precise, clear, and swift coordination and decision making,” she reflects. “As such we must ensure the safety and well-being of our workforce.

Following safety is communication; strong, clear and concise communication has been a key contributor to maintaining our successful response.”

Chawla looks towards the future, sharing that there are big plans for Stanford Medicine’s supply chain. “We aim to be the leading supply chain organization and this centers around our mission: to deliver premium value to healing hands, with the right item and service at the right time and to the right place, in order to transform tomorrow’s healthcare supply chain.”

“To make this happen,” she continues, “we will have a robust automation and analytics engine to assist with our forward efficiencies.

We continue to execute on our multi-year, non-labor spend management program.

We continue to accelerate the culture and mechanics of a clinically integrated supply chain. Finally, and most importantly, the organization is looking to double down on supporting and investing in its culture of #oneteamonedream with a focus on our

people, empowerment, communication, and engagement.”

To draw her reflections to a close, Chawla shares that despite the turbulence the industry has experienced over the last two years there are still those deeply rewarding aspects that make overcoming the challenges worth it.

For her, one in particular is the supply chain’s ability to touch every aspect and department in the organization. “We have the opportunity to serve the healing hands that care for the patients,” she concludes. “Beyond that, my supply chain team and its members are by far the most committed, hardworking group of individuals I have ever had the pleasure of working with. They will always lean in and collaborate towards a common goal of providing excellent service with a passion for continuous improvement.”

Stanford Medicine https://stanfordhealthcare.org Services: Healthcare provider

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Unigloves

A safe pair

of hands

In business for more than three decades, Unigloves is cementing its place as a leader in the manufacture of hand protection products, and is pushing boundaries with a new sustainable range: BioTouch

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ince 1989, protective products manufacturer Unigloves has been saving lives across the world by protecting hands and preventing the spread of disease. Beginning with two friends: Mr Lee, an engineer, and Mr. Ang, a teacher, who started manufacturing rubber gloves in Malaysia to support the increased demand following the Aids pandemic, the company first launched operations in Germany and the US, before expanding into five continents, supplying hand protection advice and products to over 50 countries.

Today, Unigloves produces the majority of the gloves that it sells within its group-owned factories. It’s a characteristic that’s unique among branded glove manufacturers, and that allows the company to achieve product consistency, exert greater control over its inventory and supply chain, and invest in research and development.

“Our product range is 100-percent focused on hand protection,” confirms Chris Wahlers, Managing Director, UK at Unigloves. “The majority of our competitors have diversified into other forms of PPE and industrial workwear, or have branched out into a broader range of disposable products.

However, we feel there is still value in our specialist expertise, and plenty of room for innovation in the hand protection sector.”

One such innovation is BioTouch, a new glove containing biodegradable technology, designed to speed up the organic breakdown process. “With BioTouch, we’re able to achieve biodegradation of 90 percent in 490 days, as opposed to traditional nitrile gloves that can take up to 100 years,” Chris explains. “This new biodegrading technology is achieved thanks to an organic additive, which attracts microbes found in landfills, but does not impair the gloves’ performance or real-time shelf life.”

The development of the BioTouch gloves sits within Unigloves’ broader sustainability strategy – developed in partnership with the LifeWork Group – which sets out to establish the company as the best-in-class sustainability leader in the UK hand protection market.

It’s indicative of the company’s collaborative mindset, one that it brings in equal measure to its product development.

“Most often, new ideas are customer-driven, but they can also originate from the team, suppliers, or new partners,” Chris tells us.

“Although most of our manufacturing is done in-house, the market for hand protection is large, and we believe collaboration can be more efficient than competition, so we also include third-party producers in our NPD process. scw-mag.com

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Unigloves

“In addition to natural product evolution, and some new sustainable products, we are also working on two key concept projects relating to fast-growing sectors, which we hope to bring to fruition over the next 12 months,” Chris adds. “One is a technology developed with Cambridge University, to be incorporated into our medical products range. The other is a brand-new product to help capitalise on a fast-growing vertical.”

A constant throughout more than three decades of success, Malaysia continues

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to provide the core of the company’s operations, playing host to a total of four Unigloves factories. Nevertheless, as it looks to capitalise on a successful few years, the company is investing heavily in its footprint, as it works to expand its upstream and downstream ERP systems.

“Glove production lines are complex beasts, requiring input during design from architects, engineers, and technologists,” Chris comments. “Our newest lines are already very efficient, but still require

significant human input, so we are continuing to invest to reduce our reliance on manual labour and automate our production with robotics.

“Given the global nature of our business, it’s also important for us to focus on synergies in our downstream distribution offices, where improving our operational efficiency is one of the six pillars of our strategy,” he goes on. “In the short term, this means consolidating back-office functions, warehousing, and logistics at a

regional level, but in the medium-term it means global systems, AI-led innovation, and an international business strategy.”

Among its planned investments, the company is introducing a new PIM system. Intended to centralise Unigloves’ complete range of product data, it’s expected to provide distributors with real-time information, pushing product data across the company’s website, catalogues, and associated materials. scw-mag.com

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Unigloves “It’s about improving consistency, and supporting our diversification of products, services, and regions,” Chris notes. “With our supply chain partners, our goal is always to make ourselves an integral part of their team. Some days we’re their category manager, some days their marketing team, and other days part of their sales team. We’re bringing leads, investing in co-marketing, and driving new products into the market.

“At the same time, we also work with our customers to truly understand their business and their problems,” he develops. “Through that, we can identify new and better ways to support them.

This means a team of boots on the ground, getting into the detail with the users of the product.”

For Chris, it’s those boots on the ground who, ultimately, serve as Unigloves’ driving force. “A business is nothing without the people it’s made up of,” he insists. “Fortunately, that starts with the owners of the group, and Kevin Onah, who started our UK operations in 2002. They’ve been endlessly encouraging, and we try to encourage the same ethos in our team.

“We’re working with Diversio, the world’s first AI-based DEI platform, to ensure that Diversity, Equity and Inclusion are at the forefront of our people plan,” he continues. “Although we’re a team of almost 1000 globally, we’re still a family business, and we want people to be emotionally involved, even as our operations become more complex

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and process driven. As we’ve worked on developing our strategy, we’ve tried to encourage everyone to engage in that process, and feel that they are part of something larger than themselves.”

Looking ahead to the next five years, Chris is clear that Unigloves’ goal is to have its brand, people, products, and operations admired and regarded as influential, and to be a force for good in the hand protection market. “We’d like to expand our market presence in front of end-users, celebrate the work they do, and really impress upon them our expertise and desire to help protect their workforce,” he concludes. “We’re hopeful that we’ll be able to achieve greater presence amongst our customers and our distributor partners, broaden our geographic reach, drive further operational efficiency, and establish additional income streams.”

Unigloves www.unigloves.co.uk Products: Hand protection solutions

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PRS Guitars

Fine tuning

excellence As the third largest US manufacturer of electric guitars, PRS Guitars is quality-driven and has been publicly endorsed by a wealth of talent – from Carlos Santana and the Eagles to John Mayer and Beyoncé

E

stablished in 1985 by Paul Reed Smith, PRS Guitars is a name that carries with it a certain weight. A weight made of wood, tradition, nickel-plated steel strings, rhythm, electronic components, and a small slice of the history-cake that we call rock and roll. Based in Maryland, the company manufactures world-renowned guitars, amplifiers, and other music industry-related items, including aftermarket components and upgrades.

PRS Guitars is devoted to an ongoing mission: (re)discovering the rich heritage of the guitar while committing itself to innovation and the development of cutting-edge musical technologies that allow musicians – adroit and amateur alike – to continuously refine their craft.

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The company began with the hands-on talent and charisma of the man that gave the brand its name: Paul Reed Smith. Exploiting these characteristics, Paul would often hang out at local concert arenas for hours before a show, introducing himself to the roadies and bandmembers with a handmade guitar in hand that he was hoping to peddle. It turned out talent and charisma attract attention – from Carlos Santana, no less.

Who would have thought it? One-off sales turned into a backlog of orders, and Paul quickly got to work on two prototype models for scaled production.

In 1985, PRS Guitars opened its first factory. Just over ten years later, the company moved to Stevensville on the Eastern Shore

of Maryland – what was a relatively modest operation carried out by four employees started to snowball.

Today, PRS Guitars employs around 450 people and has launched numerous stock lines, including a custom private line for one-of-a-kind feats of musical ingenuity (or simply a personalized engraving), and its Product Tech Center (PTC) program, which offers a repair and upgrade service with a full warranty for customers. The Stevensville facility, which has been expanded and improved over the years, now boasts more than 90,000-square-feet of manufacturing space.

One of those 450 employees is Meghan Efland, Director of Supply Chain, who sat

down with us to talk about the ways in which the industry leader is taking on new challenges and streamlining its end-to-end processes.

“Every component in our guitars is designed internally by our own engineering team,” she begins. “Even the screws that hold parts in place. All our materials are selectively sourced with companies that can make them to the tolerances we are looking for. People often ask about Paul. He cares deeply about the product and is here every day; he wants every customer to get the best – whether that is a guitar, amplifier, bridge, tuner, or pickup.

He is always trying to find ways to improve these components and make them more functional, stay in-tune longer, and sound the best they can.” scw-mag.com

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PRS Guitars

MANUFACTURING | DISTRIBUTION | SOURCING | SALES

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Providing quality & reliability in manufacturing, distribution, and sourcing for the music industry and beyond PH: 732.919.6200 | EM: sales@apintl.com 14661 Jetport Loop, Suite 100, Fort Myers, FL 33913

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Andrew Papiccio Company Founder

Find out more at apintl.com

To reach the incredibly high standards that PRS Guitars has set itself – the very standards that have carved out a global reputation for the Maryland-based company – a robust supply chain must be maintained even amid economic and industrial disturbances.

“Our processes are comprehensive,” asserts Meghan.

“We have purchasing and sourcing; however, significantly, wood is not part of our supply chain. That team directly reports to Paul.

Our people are travelling all over the world, inspecting the wood before it gets put on a container and transported to us. They are picking from the top lot of wood vendors and pulling out only the most premium of offerings; they are involved from the point where

trees are being felled and taken to sawmills to the point where we unload the wood in our building.

“We have master scheduling for the US factory as well as purchasing and scheduling for our OEM facilities,” she goes on. “Then, of course, there is compliance (state, federal, and international), inventory control, warehousing, plus packing, shipping, and receiving – all directly with customers or via our global dealer network. To better fulfill these processes, we have our own European distributor and an office in England as well one in Japan for that market.

Currently, we are trying to figure out ways we can use our volume in the US and get these other centers consolidated under our accounts, thereby creating a more holistic shipping process.”

Another way that PRS Guitars is enacting its multiform philosophy of continuous improvement, whether that concerns an

individual guitar or the supply chain that expedites its manufacturing and shipping, is by streamlining its enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems.

“We were using an older DOS system and had maxed out its capacity,” Meghan reveals.

“Anyone who has transitioned to a new ERP system will know how much goes into it!

Six years after that change, we are trying to assess its capability and get the most out of it. Naturally, part of that is utilizing its out-of-the-box capability and understanding its core functionalities; however, we are also working with consultants on how different modules, including reporting and connections, can be better applied to our business.

“Moreover, our warehouse consultants have been investigating ways of incorporating better equipment in our facilities and how changes to our layout might improve manufacturing efficiency,”

she adds. “More recently, we have been working with our shipping partners and our ERP system to create a custom shipping method that consolidates orders and appropriately targets our wide-ranging customer base. So, in short, a lot of fine tuning!”

Though Meghan admits there have been numerous roadblocks along this path of improvement, particularly around robotics, an area that is still lagging due to the relatively small scale of the industry that PRS Guitars operates in, she is confident about the future of the company.

“We are moving forward with a smart and sustainable growth plan,” she concludes.

“We create a timeless, handcrafted product, so we are flowing at a relatively slow pace – but always in the right direction. Part of that steady flow will mean becoming more involved with our European and Japanese offices and deep level logistics to improve scw-mag.com

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PRS Guitars cross-company efficiencies. Going forward, we are looking forward to getting back out into the world and meeting companies that are using the latest and greatest tooling, thereby enabling us to keep making some of the finest guitars in the world.”

PRS Guitars https://prsguitars.com Products: Guitars, amplifiers, and music industry-related items

Stellar Industrial Supply Stellar Industrial Supply is a privately held, ISO/AS9120-certified premier industrial supplier. Our specialists, sales force and customer experience managers serve small, medium, and large manufacturers; federal, State and local municipalities, and commercial construction companies across the US. We are dedicated. We have invested in our business to maintain our profitability and stability. We partner with our customers and suppliers to provide individual products and individualized solutions that help you save costs and boost profit efficiently and without frustration. We go on-site to handle purchasing, receiving and delivery, obtain competitive pricing, and manage tools and inventory.

We are a diligent yet creative, hard-working but easy-to-work-with partner. Innovating our solutions, caring about our people, performing as one with our suppliers and customers. That is how we thrive; acting with authenticity and excellence that improves the customer experience, stakeholder trust, market leadership and value to benefit all involved.

What truly differentiates Stellar from other industrial supply companies is our divisional approach to supporting customers. We operate through five divisions, each with its own product and market specialists. These specialists utilize specific industry and product knowledge to help customers receive the best value for the greatest profitability.

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