You make fantastic products and have control over your production processes. To make the next step in efficiency you\u2019re thinking about faster order administration and decreasing your time to market. Let me offer you the following practical possibilities to consider.<\/p>\n
1. See suppliers as part of your own business<\/strong> 2. Growth is not the same as taking on more people<\/strong> 3. Automate the \u2018long tail\u2019 <\/strong> 4. Flexibility above price<\/strong> 5. Transparency<\/strong> 6. Less working capital<\/strong> 7. The amazon.comexperience <\/strong> What do you think? Triggered by these ideas? Please do leave a comment, or give us a call to discuss these topics further.<\/p>\n
\nThe world has changed dramatically since 2008. Businesses can (and need) to look at growth opportunities with new eyes. Flexibility and speed through the entire supply chain are the new success factors for effectively responding to and capitalizing on changes in the market. Achieving this depends on more intensive cooperation between customers and their suppliers.<\/p>\n
\nThe smarter organization of processes has to have priority over the hiring of more staff and the creation of extra stock. More revenue shouldn\u2019t automatically relate to more \u2018handling\u2019. Growth is great, but not with an equal growth in the number of associated risks and commitments.<\/p>\n
\nThe order administration can be further automated. The \u201clong tail\u201d of smaller customers and suppliers in particular can be well served via online platforms. This will allow your own personnel to focus on the \u2018real\u2019 sales and purchasing activities while ensuring the customer service also stays at the right level.<\/p>\n
\nBeing able to react quickly to changing market conditions is becoming increasingly more important than lowest possible purchase price. Lead times running into months are no longer acceptable in the marketplace \u2013 reacting slowly costs money. Can you purchase more locally with a better flexibility\/price position?<\/p>\n
\nIs it possible to create more transparency in the supply chain? Businesses in a supply chain can sometimes do more by collaborating \u2013 effectively operating as one (1) organization with a visibly stronger position in the market. Factors like speed and flexibility are much harder for competitors to copy than having the lowest price. Real-time insight into each other\u2019s processes (among other things) will help build a much stronger chain.<\/p>\n
\nWhy is it actually necessary to finance so much working capital? A better overview of material requirements in the supply chain can quickly lead to reduced cashflow requirements. Invoices that are sent online can be paid faster, potentially even on the basis of actual use.<\/p>\n
\nEverything that we\u2019ve become so used to as consumers \u2013 the ease of ordering on amazon.com or communicating through Facebook or via Whatsapp \u2013 will also be valued by your B2B clients. Do your external communication around orders or your delivery process offer the amazon.com experience? How simple and user-friendly is doing business with you?<\/p>\n