At the very onset of this discussion on business intelligence, we must be acutely aware of the definition of it. Business intelligence or BI, as we may call it, is an umbrella term that holds within itself applications, methodologies, tools, processes, theories and infrastructures that transforms an expansive data into actionable information and use that knowledge-base into optimizing performances and services.

Why do we need BI in Supply Chain?

Supply chain is that one domain that is ever-burgeoning and is thriving into a huge industry. With the inception of e-commerce and online retail, supply chain has become one of the most profitable industries and hence extremely competitive one. Companies have indulged themselves in a competition to be the cut-above-the-rest. At this juncture, if any organization has not gotten a clear metric-driven insight into their operations and is not rectifying their shortcomings, it is fairly possible that it may just be tagged as redundant.

In the current competitive business scenario, every stakeholder demands visibility in real-time. They want a system that pro-actively pushes forth notifications related to the statuses of their products and gives insight into the entire gamut of the chain, from operations to inventory and from logistics to shipments. Each and every detail in its granular form is sought after by the tiers of the supply chain. And it is exactly because of this growing complexity of the market that companies have started taken cognizance of business intelligence. Apart from the operational complexity, growing market risks and lack of visibility, companies have started investing in BI to gain information on fluctuating accessorial costs, international trade regulations. All these siloes add up to the singular most important objective of any business: improve revenue margin.

One key takeaway from the post-pandemic trade actions is that businesses need to be resilient in order to stay relevant. Agility is tantamount to embracing the circumstantial changes without affecting the bottom-line o the actions. One of the most integral features of BI is its capacity of forecast analysis. Having armed with huge pool of data on every segment of the chain from the suppliers to the customers, BI has access to the demand variables and the patterns of a particular partner. On the basis of this data that is accumulated, BI can put forth predictions pertaining to the future performance of that partner or the demand of that particular product. In this way, supply chain becomes pro-active, instead of reactive. It can eradicate all the problems that are embedded instead of looking in hindsight once the problems have caused significant amount of damage.

The Pros and the Pros

As it has been mentioned earlier, BI helps businesses identify their internal inefficiencies and help managers in taking proper measures. In supply chain industry, nobody can exist in isolation. It is a proper chain where one is dependent on the other. Since BI gathers data that lies scattered all over sporadically and provides insight into the performance of every tier by comparing previous records or service-level agreements, companies can eliminate factors that are detrimental to the profitability of actions. By giving visibility of every single data through KPIs and metrics, the supplier-vendor communication is given a much-needed thrust. In this way, the prevailing trends in each tier of the whole process lends vision on which part of the chain needs to be optimized and which part is performing relatively well.

Most of the times supply chain leaders find themselves in doldrums. In the process of reducing inventory and increasing profit-margin, they are caught between trade-offs. BI helps them unearth new opportunities and identifying new challenges by tracking and monitoring the processes and prevailing trends. The forecasting aspect of BI has gained immense importance because of the volatility of the market. Catering to the fleeing demands of the customers and still hitting a home run in this tough match of raking in money is a difficult task and BI makes it easier.

Why Contact Us?

The discussion that has preceded, attempts at establishing the palpable need of BI in supply chain. Be it any segment of the chain that you operate in, whether it is warehousing or manufacturing or supplying raw materials, BI is an absolutely inessential component in contemporary logistical solutions to perform trend analyses and turn your data accumulated by TMS, WMS or any inbuilt system into effective information to take necessary actions. RattusBI has been engineered with rigorous research that has been undertaken by professionals in operations and technology with 60+ years of cumulative experience. It offers you insights with interactive dashboards so that you visualize and comprehend elaborate reports in a very easy way. It gives you the opportunity to evaluate your actions through various KPIs and helps you in taking metric-driven, pragmatic decisions. Our motto is to simplify the supply chain and our business intelligence efficaciously does the same. Now that’s what you would call intelligent!

Just-in-Time delivery system, which is popularly known by its acronym JIT is an inventory management model that aims at reducing storage and carrying cost and increase efficiency and speed. JIT was developed by the automobile manufacturer Toyota in 1970s and it reached the other counties in 1980s. It is a lean manufacturing process that involves less stock and high degree of workmanship.

What is JIT?

JIT synchronizes the manufacturing cycle with the order schedule of raw materials. In this process, manufacturers issue purchase order only when they need those particular items. Hence, the suppliers must also remain aware of the quantity of products and the time of the delivery. They must deliver what the customers want when they need it. This method helps companies ramp up their efficiency and accuracy. The success of JIT depends a lot on reliable suppliers and steady production. Slight disruptions in one of the ambits of the supply chain, however, can create ripple effects leading to huge amount of losses.

Benefits of JIT

1.  Control over Wastage: Since the consumers order goods just as they need it, the issues arising with piling stocks and ensuing wastage of resources is mitigated. In the cases of no sale or delayed delivery, shipments stay put in the warehouses and gain obsolescence. JIT, with its meticulous and timely delivery, rule out the scope of wastage.

2.  Reduces Cost: JIT, if implemented properly, can yield massive gains to the business by reducing cost and expenses. As mentioned earlier, by delivering goods on as-needed basis, the cost of piled up inventory can be ruled out. Sometimes, these kinds of goods are sold on a cost that is lower than its initial value. This loss can be avoided with the help of JIT. Moreover, the warehouse storage cost is also eliminated as JIT follows zero inventory policy. Warehouse space is expensive and thus with inventory kept in the distribution centres for little to no time results in the reduction in the storage cost. With the mitigation of storage cost, the carrying cost of products can also be kept under check.

3.  Improves Efficiency: With the scopes of storing and maintaining stock in the warehouses been mitigated, the supply chain can focus on manufacturing quality goods and distributing/replenishing them. The logistics industry can utilize their time in solidifying their operations as it is a necessity for a sturdy, error-free supply chain, which ultimately leads to productivity and profitability.

4.  Improved Communications: Be it an internal order or external order, the parties involved in the supply chain must communicate with each other to create an agile and optimized ecosystem. Communication should be seen as a key to increase productivity and render a seamless transactional experience across the stakeholders.

5.  Shorter Production Runs: JIT allows the companies to keep their production runs shorter. Because of this, companies can move to other works smoothly.

6.  Free Cash Flow: Having the storage cost reduced, companies can invest in other types of enterprises and concentrate on other functions. This can free up the cash flow and the other resources so that all kinds of operations receive funding and logistical support.

7.  Improves Demand Forecasts: It is a truth universally acknowledged that customer demands can be extremely unpredictable. JIT, having dealt with smaller orders and focusing more on multi-party communications, relies much on accurate demand forecasting. Since disruptions can lead to businesses incurring huge losses, accuracy in forecasting demand, curating data and making actionable insights through it become aspects of seminal importance.

Disadvantages of JIT

1.  Risk of Disruption: Companies that applies the JIT method deals with smaller amount of products/raw materials and heavily depend upon the suppliers for timely operations. The phenomenon of keeping safety stock is eliminated mostly. Hence, if there is an unexpected disruption in any of the tiers of the supply chain, it can become detrimental for the entire ecosystem and lead to shutdowns and business failure.

2.  Difficulty in Implementation: It can take years and decades for a company to optimize its supply chain and make it resilient. There is no room for mistakes in JIT and that can be a daunting task to achieve. Therefore the organisations that are going to apply JIT, must brace themselves for trial-and-error process until they have optimized their entire supply chain.

3.  Stock-outs: Sometimes there are unexpected surge in the demand of particular products. If the companies do not adept themselves to these volatile situations through a proper demand forecasting and planning, they are up for stock-outs because JI allows them to keep only that amount of products handy that is needed.

The above discussion tries to highlight the merits and the demerits of just-in-time delivery system from an objective point-of-view. It is true that implementation of this technique is time-consuming and difficult and can lead to unexpected disruptions if all the stakeholders are not on the same page. At the same time, it can produce handsome returns if the alignment of the supply with production schedule is done accurately. High degree of professionalism and expertise are required in JIT. And it is exactly because of this expertise and business knowledge that many of the leading multi-national companies are capitalizing this process and are reaping the benefits of it.

The dictionary meaning of the oft-repeated, much-known French word ‘Renaissance’ is re-birth. Philosophically it alludes to the cultural re-awakening in Europe after the dark spell of the medieval deadlocks. It was a time when the thinkers, authors, painters, scientists alike advocated the significance of human beings as the centre of the cosmic dimensions. Why should we even remotely allude to such metaphysical theorising in the banal world of logistics? The answer is simple. It is time to re-do the framework in the otherwise vapid world of supply chain and go humanistic in hauling the pivot.

It is a matter of genuine relief that the modern world has shrugged off its slumber to a heightened consciousness regarding the decency in work environment in the recent times. The issue of safe workspace has been brought to the fore emphatically by the 8^th goal of sustainable development that has been proscribed by the United Nations. Decent workspace entails various facets and demands to it and they are not only restricted to fair flow of money earned by the worker, in exchange of their labour. A humanised workspace corroborates safety and security of the workers in the workplace, social security of their families, consistent opportunities of personal and professional development and equitable treatment to workers irrespective of their caste, class, gender, sexual orientation and other socio-economic factors. It is exactly because of this reason that the contemporary research on supply chain management not only lays stress on the conventionality of environmental sustainability, but also the discourses on social sustainability, i.e. humanised workforce has taken the centre stage. And it has been proven that thee leadership that cares for even the lower rung of employees, hears them and includes them in the policy making of the institutions earn the respect and good-will in the market.

It must be brought to focus that supply chain industry not only includes the white collared employees or the drivers, pickers, shippers. In the burgeoning and multi-tiered domain of supply chain, even the procurers of resources, workers who manufacture, intermediary sources of labour are also embedded in the entire gigantic, living organism. And it is the responsibility of the c-level of the companies to sufficiently humanise the entire process. They must act as the incubator to nurture and help the whole ecosystem flourish. While the environmental footprints of the companies have yardsticks to measure them, the human rights metrics are complex and difficult to yoke with the main fold of the system. Therefore, thrust should be given on the changing nomenclatures of the social aspects that need humanised focus through constant and rigorous research that is commensurate with the paradigmatic shift of the society.

And to understand this shift, we must acknowledge the very nature of the supply chain industry. Traditionally, the industry has been a buyer-focused one with the maximum importance granted to the consumer satisfaction. Everything that goes around within its fold has the ultimate motive of earning reputation before the buyers. While happy customer with increased product traffic is indeed of foremost importance, it is also disheartening if we see that the companies completely disregard the entity and the participation of the other stakeholders in the ambit of the industry, namely its workers. It is extremely precarious for a company in the longer run to consider workers as just a factor in completing the life cycle of the products. It is crucial for the companies to understand the cycle of employment also. To know the socio-economic-ethnic-racial dynamics of the workforce and the stages that the workers had to traverse through in order to be employable creates the foregrounds of a decent and safe workplace and top executives must ensure that. The knowledge also incorporates the cognizance of the dialectics of the employees and employers, the degree of freedom that workers enjoy in terms of speech, action and conducive approach. It is exactly these aspects that make sole focus on environmental sustainability and cost optimisation redundant.

Therefore, we can see how it is of optimum interest in the merits of the individual business organisations and the leaders to bring the arch light back on the humans and the humane approach. As mentioned earlier, the entire modus operandi of supply chain involving workers, demands and contexts must be conferred the due humanistic outlook that it has long deserved. Cognizance pertaining to the behavioural response of the workers and the change in it, the emotional quotient in addition to the intelligent quotient must be sought and brought to the highest decision-making tables of the companies. It is time to set the moral compunction and legal compass elsewhere. It is time to go anthropocentric. It is time to beget new-found faith on humanity.

Order picking is one of the elements of warehousing, which involves picking products from inventory for delivery to customers. To minimize costs and the time it takes to pick orders, it is vital to streamline this process. A number of factors are resulting in a transformation of the entire supply chain to a digital model. Optimizing the picker path will ensure maximizing efficiency, thereby lowering overall operational costs.

Picker path optimization is the process of finding the most optimal path for order pickers when they select the orders for delivery to customers. This activity accounts for up to half the warehouse operations. The Warehouse Management System (WMS) uses pick path algorithms to reduce turnaround time for workers as well as operational costs. Reducing the time workers take for picking products and delivering them to the point of dispatch helps fulfill a larger number of orders in a day. Efficient algorithms calculate the cheapest and fastest route for improving performance.

Supply Chains around the world are becoming dependent on smart algorithms to help reduce time and maximize efficiency. There are two problems upon which depend the most optimized path. These are the Shortest Path Problem and the Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP). The first requires finding the shortest path between two points. TSP requires finding the shortest path between various locations in the warehouse, making sure to visit every location once, and completing the journey at the same location it started. With a streamlined and efficient supply chain, the level of customer satisfaction tends to be much higher.

An efficient implementation of a warehouse management system helps streamline the supply chain, thereby resulting in greater customer satisfaction. There are a variety of smart tools and utilities that will help accomplish this. At the same time, the manner in which companies treat order fulfillment has changed. Now, it has become an opportunity for companies to interact and engage with their customers, which helps improve and promote brand image. Supply chains are the main cog upon which your profits or losses depend.

The WMS algorithm has been proven to result in significant savings and has certain advantages over competing tools. It is applicable to warehouses or stores with any layout. The algorithm can be applied to different picking strategies that include wave picking, batch picking, cluster picking, and zone picking.

●  Wave Picking – It is the process of gathering multiple orders at once to reduce the number of trips. Orders are placed in serialized cartons.

●  Batch Picking – The process of picking multiple orders in batches instead of placing orders directly in the carton.

●  Cluster Picking – It involves grouping multiple orders into small clusters which the workers can gather at one run and place into individual cartons.

●  Zone Picking – Individual workers have their own allotted zones and are responsible for picking all orders from their respective zones.

Pick Path Optimization provides a number of benefits for your company. The first and most obvious benefit is the elimination of duplication as its helps save time for walkers and prevents confusion. Irrespective of the scale of the warehouse or store, pick path optimization helps workers locate the specific products easily and quickly. This helps in the reduction of order fulfillment times while reducing wasted costs on labor and distribution at the same time. With a greater number of orders being delivered at a faster rate with more accuracy, the company witnesses an improvement in revenue as well. Pick path optimization supports WMS software and works with a variety of different warehouse layouts. Another advantage it provides is superior inventory management.

Warehouses of all types and sizes process thousands of orders per day, and intelligent picking helps ensure greater productivity. Companies from all major industries including consumer packaged goods, pharmaceuticals, electronics, healthcare products, and more can benefit from pick path optimizations. The throughput of the warehouse or store, indicating the ratio of the shipped inventory to inbound inventory, also depends upon pick path optimization. It is also very advantageous for accurate demand planning in peak seasons. Pick path optimization helps in more efficient labor allocation, as well as optimal planning. This helps in boosting employee morale, providing them greater autonomy and motivation to work with greater efficiency and accuracy.

Research shows that among order picking activities such as searching for orders, extracting, etc., the maximum amount of time is spent on traveling. WMS software utilizes path algorithms that help reduce the time taken by walkers, thus improving order fulfillment times. Supply Chain performance depends upon warehouse efficiency. The expectations of customers are ever-increasing regarding deliveries, and faster and correct deliveries help improve the company image and provide greater customer satisfaction. Thus, pick path optimization is one of the basic necessities for improving the performance of the supply chain, thereby ensuring a better bottom line for your company.

Since the turn of the Century, the world has witnessed the evolution and spread of technology at an incredible pace, in all domains of life, ranging from medicine to finance, to entertainment. Though the process of utilization of modern technology even for simple, everyday tasks began in the last century itself, the rate at which it is now growing could never have been predicted. There is now not a single sphere of existence which has remained untouched or unaffected by the spread of technology, which is yet rapidly evolving every moment, and thereby transforming our very own manner of living.

The world is now home to technologies which, once upon a time, could only have been a part of a sci-fi movie or a fantasy novel. Billions of important banking and financial transactions are conducted every minute from smartphones. Smartwatches now not only tell you the time, but also the number of heartbeats per minute, as well as glucose and oxygen levels. Entire educational courses, on a variety of subjects, are available online for those unable to attend traditional classrooms. Technology has also increased the productivity of almost every industry in the world. These are just a few of the examples of what modern technology is capable of.

The importance of modern technology has recently been highlighted in view of the unpredicted global pandemic that the world is currently dealing with. This crisis has changed the way various organizations conduct their businesses, and the manner in which citizens take care of their day-to-day affairs. Entire procedures and processes have shifted to an online mode, ranging from selling household articles of daily use, to the transaction of business by logistics and supply chain firms, to providing various services such as Information Technology and allied services, among others. Educational services ranging from the primary to the university level courses are now being provided through various technological channels. 

There is no doubt that technology has made human lives more comfortable. The only question that really remains is, whether the price of overdependence on technology is a bit too high. As with all tools and utilities that humans have designed and developed for improving the standard of living, modern technology also has its own advantages and disadvantages. 

While it cannot be denied that modern technology has enhanced the comfort and convenience of human life, there is also a flip side to this over reliance on it. Since the Industrial Revolution in the 18^th Century, the path of human development has always leaned very heavily on technology. The outcome is that, that in the present scenario, the entire global system of human subsistence is based on harnessing and utilizing various technologies, constantly and continuously being developed by mankind. Traditional practices that were beneficial, or at least less harmful, for the planet as well as human beings, are being rapidly replaced and forgotten.

The level of entrenchment of various technologies has grown to such an extent, that various devices and gadgets which were earlier categorized as luxury products have now become a necessity. When mobile phones were first invented, they were luxury items only the rich could afford. Now, in the current situation a major share of our daily activities is actually being conducted through smartphones. While this has increased the ease of living, it has also raised concerns regarding online security, data theft and addiction.

An important issue with regard to the over dependence on technology is related to privacy. With so much of our time spent connected to the internet through one device or another, there is a constant transfer and exchange of important information. This raises the possibility of sensitive information being passed knowingly or unknowingly, to parties which may possess ulterior motives, and might seek to misuse it. This may even have far reaching national and international ramifications, when it involves the sovereignty and security of a nation, as was recently the case when the Government of India banned Chinese applications on smartphones, which were sending user data back to their native country.

Another factor to consider, is the potential which modern technologies possess for becoming too addictive, especially for the younger generation, which has never known an era in which technology was not as widespread as it is now. It is impossible for youngsters to resist the urge to keep checking the screens of their smartphones. Consequently, the previous decade has seen a tremendous decrease in the amount of physical activity undertaken by youngsters. As is common knowledge, a certain minimum level of physical activity is crucial for the human body to be in proper, normal, and healthy functioning form.

Another problem is that of the ever growing amount of e-waste. With the rapid growth of technology and the resultant decline in costs, a trickle down effect has led to the access of an ever widening plethora of devices that are being purchased and replaced everyday, even in countries where basic necessities are still not available to the poorest sections of the society. Heightening levels of consumerism, coupled with easier and cheaper access to smartphones, tablets, smartwatches and other gadgets, which are constantly being replaced and discarded, is resulting in a rising burden of electronic waste. On the one hand there is an ever growing problem of electronic waste, while on the other, we have yet to devise an effective method of safely disposing off, or recycling this waste. Electronic waste is also detrimental to the natural environment, and poses a threat to the regular functioning of the ecosystem.

What may come as a shock but which in fact, has become a reality is the direct link between increasing demand for technological goods and a rising rate of crime. Cases are being reported not only of theft and burglary, but also of murder, linked to the escalating demand for modern technology. Crimes such as online financial frauds, identity theft, data theft and blackmail are becoming all too common in the age where almost every economic activity is being conducted, at least partially, through the internet. 

It can be said that the arguments both, in favour of as well as against, utilization of modern technology have logical and valid points. Yet, the conclusion that can be drawn is, that various technologies have become a part and parcel of human life, as it stands now, and they cannot simply be overlooked and ignored. In the present era, it is not possible to survive without utilizing this technology. The only rational step forward is to ensure that proper safeguards are in place, and are being religiously observed, and to be in a state of constant vigilance against misuse of this technology. 

Imagine a man having two sons. The man sets a bad example of a father and showers all kinds of indulgence on the elder one. He is always treated with the best of things and his achievements are lauded because he is deemed to be a class topper. On the other hand, the younger one, who also has all the potentials to rub shoulders with his brother, is given a step-son-like attitude. He is largely neglected; his achievements are not always acknowledged. With each of them growing up with a diametrically different treatment meted out to them, they develop different forms of approach towards the world. While the elder becomes more forthcoming, the younger one grows up to be a diffident individual, doubtful of his own acumen. While the elder one becomes a successful individual, serving his parents like a dutiful son, the younger one, owing to the rearing that he got, could never realise his talent, and could not attain the success he deserved and ultimately remained a failure throughout before the eyes of his father.

So much of allegory-knitting skills are being brandished on a business site, isn’t it? We had to put the creative hat on our heads to bring out befitting analogy of forward and reverse logistics, the elder and the younger son respectively. While forward or the traditional form of logistics has forever been the mainstay of any business, the reverse logistics has always been that ignored child whose potentials are largely untapped in. It is that branch of supply chain management which teems with a lot of scope but does not get its due optimisation which can lead to monetary, operational and environmental gains.

While forward logistics moves from manufacturers or sellers to the consumers, the reverse logistics follows the opposite trajectory. In this, the products flow from the point of sale to the point of origin. Significantly, it is the e-commerce giants, who have fully grasped the range of reverse logistics and have leveraged all possible resources to optimise profit, strike business accord, manage pool of happy customers and minimise cost. Consequently, reverse logistics, the oft-neglected kid in the block started giving peek-a-boo in the limelight and emerged to be a multi-billion dollar business in itself. Today, reverse logistics is a multi-party, multi-leg complex process which has been heavily outsourced by the manufacturers/sellers.

Due to the dependence on the third party service providers, reverse logistics requires a solid vision and an efficient solution that can give end-to-end visibility pertaining to the in transit products, their condition, shippers, repair depot, inventory et al. Reducing inventory as well as cycle time, meeting the customer demands and curtailing the expenses can pose a serious challenge before the sellers. On top of that, reverse logistics is not a predictable domain like forward logistics. Sometimes, in the B2B reverse logistics, companies may come up with stringent service level agreement. If this huge conundrum is taken into consideration, then lack of visibility in this form of supply chain may cost heavy penalties to the companies involved.

Traditionally the basis of reverse logistics is laid by the act of return. Customers give back the product that they buy due to various reasons. Either they are dissatisfied with the consignment or the products are damaged; either the product has a limited lifetime or the consumers have excessive inventory. Sometimes the products are recalled because they may pose threat to the environment or may breach governmental regulations. However, the fundament of reverse logistics is optimisation of all resources within the reach of the sellers. Hence, these products which are returned or recalled are not directly trashed in the dump yard. Either the spare parts of the products or the whole product itself is recycled, refurbished, repackaged, reconditioned and resold. Only the most redundant or the detrimental parts are disposed of and that too, following all the environmental protocols. To put it simply, reverse logistics is not only about distressed customers with all their guns blazing. It is an industry in itself which has been growing exponentially and has the objective of adding and retrieving lifetime and value to the products. This not only aids the companies financially with the markets of refurbished products gaining momentum, but also creates a contingent of loyal customers because retaining customers can be as daunting a task s creating new ones.

To achieve a smooth sail of reverse logistics, companies must rely on the customers. This not only makes the consumers feel that the sellers are constantly in touch with them, but also gives them the chance of venting their grievances or expressing their opinion. It is the job of the companies to cumulate the data and work upon it for the betterment of their businesses. Reasons behind the customers’ vexation need to be addressed so that no such trouble is caused in the future. Furthermore, there must be strong return material authorisation in place to faithfully evaluate the products returned. This can save a lot of resources from getting wasted, generate revenue through the re-use of the products and also help the logistics industry grow as well. All these statistical data can be adroitly channelized into the predictive analytical model so that the best possible return facilities can be provided to the customers.

To sum up the entire discourse, it can be pointed out that reverse logistics is the back-end service that has enormous prospective and has a burgeoning market reliant on it. It needs judicious approach towards streamlining the processes, effective handling of the customers and the cost and transparency in tracking and tracing. Though it is one domain of logistics that is heavily outsourced, it can be mentioned that all the expenses that are pumped in can reap long-term benefit to the companies from all the spheres. Thus, it is a good investment to go with.