In today's rapidly evolving business landscape, manufacturing organizations are facing a large number of challenges that impact their procurement processes and their ability to improve supply chain efficiency.
Amongst the myriad of challenges, Gartner identified three that currently stand out and are significantly impacting supply chain teams:
- Economic uncertainty
- Accelerating complexity
- Information overload
In order to overcome these challenges, leading manufacturers are putting sourcing and procurement front and center by leveraging technology and investing in talent to strengthen their processes, build resilience, and improve supply chain efficiency. One of these manufacturers is MSA Safety, a global leader in the development, manufacture and supply of safety products that protect people and facility infrastructures.
Economic uncertainty
Economic uncertainty is impacting all industries and manufacturing is no exception. For instance, many of the currently persisting factors like high inflation and high interest rates contribute to current supply chain talent scarcity and global supply constraints. These challenges not only impact costs but also disrupt supply chains, making it imperative for organizations to improve their processes to be more agile and resilient.
Accelerating complexity
A staggering 75% of procurement professionals state that the number of tasks they must complete has increased over the past year, with many of these tasks being entirely new to them. This accelerating complexity requires critical thinking that leads to better decision making. Therefore, the need for more efficient processes and tools that can help streamline operations and ensure that teams can focus on high-value tasks.
“Forecasting, planning, and buying roles are even more critical than we've seen in the past – So the abilities, skill sets, and integration of how all of our teams and technology are talking are just more critical in this current state of the manufacturing industry.”
Eric Blanton, Global Purchasing Manager at MSA Safety
Information overload
A concerning trend is emerging within procurement teams. While leadership has set more aggressive goals, the workforce remains relatively static while unnecessary back and forth communication and manual work is prevalent. In short, an overload of information and manual data manipulation without enough time in the day to get all the work done is leading to burnout and decreased performance.
To make matters worse, unfilled roles will continue to increase unless companies revert the current 44% employee turnover rate – highlighting the importance of investing and providing employees with the necessary resources to succeed.
Maximizing supply chain efficiency through automation and supply chain orchestration
In the face of accelerating complexity, economic uncertainty, and cognitive overload, manufacturing organizations must adapt and innovate. In summary, by embracing technology and investing in their talent, these organizations can see changes to plan in near-real time, identify and avoid material critical shortages, and track towards production goals to not only overcome internal and external challenges but to thrive in the modern procurement landscape.
Read Part 2 of this post to dig deeper into how technology and automation are helping leading manufacturers make better decisions, maximize supply chain efficiency, and unlock the potential of their workforce.
Watch our full conversation with MSA Safety's global purchasing manager, Eric Blanton, where we discussed these challenges and how LeanDNA is helping MSA Safety improve supply chain orchestration
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