13 Supply Chain Management Horrors that will Haunt You this Halloween

Vision33 has been helping growing companies battle their supply chain management demons for over 10 years. In honor of Halloween, we’ve put together a list of frighteningly common factors that lead to a disconnected supply chain. Its purpose is to light the way and help growing companies identify when it’s time for a new business management solution. Whether you realize it or not, what seems like simple annoyances now could lead to nightmares more terrifying than any ghoul, goblin or witch can inspire.

Unnerving factors include:

1. Disappearing Data
   Manual and duplicate data entry is very prone to human error. Oftentimes, you feel as though your data has simply vanished into thin air because you do not have access to accurate, real-time information on a product you are looking for. Simplifying your processes could be the first step to better data entry.
2. Ghastly Traceability
   Without real-time information to show you where your products are at all times, interactions with your trading partners can be a cringeworthily experience. Having to deflect questions about the whereabouts of your products can be downright torture. You are kept awake at night wondering where your products are and if your customers will ultimately receive what they are expecting in a timely manner – frightful indeed!
3. A Spider Web of Trading Partners
   As your company grows, managing multiple trading partner relationships can become more and more difficult. Partners seem like they appear out of nowhere in a complex network, but you need to provide on-time shipments and real-time updates about your products to maintain a good working relationship with them. If you don’t, they could turn on you!
4. Costs that Rise from the Dead
   Like you, your competitors strive to provide high quality products at a low cost for your customers. Squeezing your suppliers for lower prices could prove to be the last nail in the coffin of your relationship. It’s up to you to identify the true costs of running your business and decide where costs can be reduced. If you are in the dark about your company’s operations, it becomes difficult to make those calls.
5. Screaming Customers
   The customer is always right! They know this and can sometimes be even more difficult than the most devilish of trick-or-treaters. The best way to increase customer satisfaction is to provide answers – where their products are, why it is delayed, and when they can expect their items to arrive. Having effective communication streams via Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) will help everyone involved understand product status and whereabouts.
6. RIP Supplier Performance
   Oftentimes, you are at the mercy of your suppliers. Pressuring your suppliers to provide lower prices or upsetting them can result in a decrease in quality. Constant communication and realistic expectations are the key to ensure that your suppliers have no full-moon contingencies in the way they interact with your company.
7. Bizarre Natural Disasters
   Natural disasters are frighteningly uncontrollable. Extreme weather can wreak havoc on your raw materials or slow down shipping times. However, having historical data that allows you to analyze and plan for those delays during specific times of the year so that you can neutralize the negative impact it has on your operations.
8. Partners with Horrifyingly Outdated Business Management Systems
   When you or your trading partners have business management systems that belong in the cemetery, it becomes too challenging to pull accurate reports and effectively make decisions. Don’t be the weak link in your supply chain or there might be a grim ending to that business relationship.
9. Reports with Cobwebs
   Without the right systems in place that allows you to pull accurate, real-time data, you may be pulling reports from frightfully old figures. This frustrates not only you but your trading partners as they cannot rely on you to provide the information they need.
10. Chilling Cyber Attacks
    Do you have a way to protect your data? Without a secure system in place and a disaster recovery plan in place, your business data is not the only thing on the line. Your suppliers and customers are also at risk and you can be sure that they will become as fierce as any wicked monster of your nightmares if their data is compromised or lost.
11. Phantom Inventory
    Ever feel like your inventory disappears and reappears without your knowledge? Without a proper inventory management system in place, ghost inventory makes it difficult to cycle count and confidently tell your trading partners how much inventory you have on hand.
12. Rogue Salespeople
    Sales people that overpromise can be the Grim Reapers when it comes to your chances at building good, working relationships with key partners. Keep them informed with current information so they aren’t blindly making promises that bind your company into a corner.
13. Missing Shipments
    Every time your shipments go missing, you are filled with a brand new kind of dread. Where is it? Is it just late? When will it get to my customer? Should I send more? Without the right traceability, it becomes difficult to cost-effective solutions that appease your customers.

SAP Business One can help you effectively manage your supply chain and overcome the endless nightmares that come with disconnected systems. This powerful tool provides real-time information and traceability tools that give you a full, 360-degree view of your business so that you can build strong relationships with your trading partners and streamline supply chain operations.

Join us for one of our weekly SAP Business One Cloud demos to see how this business management system can help you overcome your supply chain management horrors.