1 I

Good-bye Excel chaos! Become a digital

champion with the right supply chain software

Barkawi Management ConsultantsMunich • Atlanta • Vienna

SCM Software investments that pay off: Towards predictive and autonomously-adapting supply chains

I 2

Authors

More publications by Barkawi Management Consultants

Dr. Andreas Baader, Managing Partner & Head of EuropeDr. Andreas Baader heads our After Sales Service division. Before joining Barkawi Management Consultants in 2000, Andreas Baader held various executive positions at SAP AG, most recently managing the Application Design Sales Support division there. Andreas Baader studied engineering and wrote his doctorate in the field of aerospace technology.

Luis Dominguez, Senior ConsultantLuis Dominguez is an expert in analytics, algorithmic augmentation of planning decisions and supply chain planning. With Barkawi Management Consultants since 2017, Luis Dominguez gathered industry experience at different major firms before joining. Luis Dominguez holds a master of science in mechatronics and an MBA.

Stefan Gaubatz, Senior ConsultantStefan Gaubatz has extensive knowledge in digital supply chain solutions and supply chain transformations. Stefan Gaubatz has been with Barkawi Management Consultants since 2015. Stefan Gaubatz is an industrial engineer with specializa-tions in supply chain and operations management and mechanical engineering.

Consulting Special: From dashboard to supply chain cockpit to a fully networked digital control towerThe demands on modern supply chains have been increasing rapidly for years now. The challenge is to move goods, products, spare parts, etc. around the globe in perfect efficiency and orchestrate suppliers and service providers worldwide brilliantly. The right amounts of the right things at the right place at the right time – that is the objective.

I 2

3 I

SCM Software investments that pay off: Towards predictive and autonomously-adapting supply chains

INDEX

Introduction 5

1. Typical supply chain challenges that belong to the past 7

2. From ERP to Supply Chain Maestro – Digital sets new boundaries 12

3. Supply Chain in the Cloud – Deploy all five trends 17

4. How AGCO and ClearOps show the path 20

About Barkawi Management Consultants and Genpact 25

I 4

I 4

5 I

For years supply chain experts were working only in one direction: less cost, less capital deployed,

higher speed and lower redundancy. Supply chains became leaner, faster and more standardized to minimize assets and administrative effort. Risks of poor reaction to sudden changes were tolerated – occasional shortages in supply and product availa- bility were considered acceptable given the over-all efficiency gains were according to expectations. And even events like the Tsunami in Japan or strikes in Hong Kong and Shenzhen were never felt in the consumer temples of New York, London or Paris. Product availability at the point of sales was conside-red a given.

Introduction

5 I

I 6

Legally compliant supply chain management in a complex international environment was important, but not crucial. But then changes happened. In 2018 the first victim of a new area was ZTE. The U.S. ban on high-tech components brought ZTE to the edge of bankruptcy. Second came Huawei expecting the revenue loss in mobile telephone sales due to new regulations to be around 700 m USD in 2019. And a further potential wave related to raw materials, from oil to gas to finally rare earth minerals, is at the horizon. Sudden changes of access to markets and sources in today’s Trump/Brexit era definitely bring new challenges to supply chain executives and supply chain solution design.

But there is good news in the pipeline as well. The IoT world now holds over eight billion connected de-vices. Exchanging data between business partners is easier than ever. Despite the flow of physical goods becoming more complex, the ease of exchanging data to control and steer supply chains is better than ever. Assuming the real-time data lake for the supply chain is available, what solution does it take to fully leverage it?

The ability to do so is based on real-time calculations, scenario simulation technology, accurate mathe-matical models, big data analytics, collaboration and connectivity with partners, and much, much more on top – all interconnected, accessible and assessable at all times! Only then can a company be proactive instead of merely trying to cope with the situation when events have already caused the problem. Act, don‘t react – that is the motto of digital champions!

7 I I 7

Typical supply chain challenges belong to the past

1.

I 8

For years supply chain executives and their teams were struggling in daily life with cumbersome challenges all driven by data and all ready for resolution: What will enable supply chain teams to overcome these hurdles?

The experts from Gartner highlight five relevant concepts and technologies: artificial intelligence, advanced analytics, internet of things, robotic process automation and the digital supply chain twin.

We want to guide the reader through these topics and make transparent how the transformation into the new supply chain world can be successful.

Everyday Excel chaos: In most enterprises, planning is still Excel-based. It is time to accept it: no company worth more than 100 million Euros can be run with Excel. Data volume limited to one million rows? Forget analytics! Manual inputs in unstructu- red spreadsheets? No automation! Different versions running in parallel? Slow and error prone collaboration! The daily struggle costs time, money and competitive position. Professional planning requires professional solutions.

Unclear responsibility and lack of coordination:Has the sales team shared their demand forecast? Does manufacturing know what the numbers are? Are the promotions planned by marketing in there? And does it all match with finance’s expectations? Siloed decisions can soon result in excess stocks and loss of profit margin which can suddenly become an existential threat. All despite the fact that the information necessary to avoid it was there the whole time. Collaborative planning plat-forms help organizations fully use the wealth of information they have.

Distance to the customer:For many manufacturers, dealers are the only direct point of interaction with the customer. That is why the company itself generally has little to no opportunity to directly influence the aftersales quality. In this situation of ’every dealer to their own’, the OEM and their partners are set to lose operational efficiency. The solution? Achieve network effects between the OEM and among dealers via a dealer platform so that all parties benefit.

Inability to handle change:Inevitably, the unexpected will occur – the main supplier defaults on an important delivery and the business’ customers cannot be served. Planners scramble to find alternatives. The damage sustained grows with every minute that passes and calculating worthwhile alternatives for the customers (let alone one that retains value for the business) in ERP systems is a near impossibility. Waiting for the next overnight batch run is not an option. Scenario simulation technology provides the agility to handle these situations.

I 8

9 I

In the next chapter, we show the future of the supply chain IT landscape, which we call “Supply Chain Maestro”, a realization of the digital supply chain twin.

Thereafter we present the cloud as the best IT concept to make all the technology for artificial intelligence, advanced analytics, internet of things and robotic process automation available. To provide hands on experience we present the case were AGCO, one of the largest manufacturers of agricultural machinery in the world, realized such digitally enabled supply chain with the technology partner ClearOps.

No options for the problems that matter:... however, best practices are sometimes just not enough. While non-core activities can be relayed to best practices, key problems require more advanced solutions to enable true operational competitive advantage. Given a mature digitalized supply chain is in place, companies can augment their systems with advanced analytics where experts

implement custom state-of-the-art algorithms to tackle the company’s toughest operational problems.

Gap to best practices:Many firms face the paradoxical situation of simultaneously rising inventories and falling customer satisfaction – in essence, the wrong amounts arrive at the wrong place on the wrong date. This is more often than not due

to suboptimal planning practices. The wheel does not need to be reinvented – classic supply chain problems have already been solved and implemented in specialized supply chain management software solutions…

Great need for coordination with logistics companies:The work required to coordinate the logistics between transport providers, CEP (courier, express and package services) forwarders and 3PL is enormous, especially when amounts and deadlines fluctuate. For this reason, full data connections have found widespread adoption. However, in these days of extremely high customer expectations, a daily synchronization is not enough. To enable optimal rerouting, advanced scheduling and

selective prioritization, the information flow has to become real-time.

System thought for the wrong addressee: Nearly all data evaluations done by large ERP systems primarily address finance and controlling, and only consi-der the operational logistics and supply chain managers as an afterthought. In order to truly create a digital twin of the supply chain that can be leveraged for analytics-assisted planning, companies are better off connecting a specialized system. The range of options is wide and trusted partners can help make the selection that makes

the most sense.

9 I

I 10

IT Tools along the supply chain

ERP: Enterprise Resource Planning; BI: Business Intelligence

ERP

Supply ChainVisibility & Control

CRM

Planning & Inv. Management

Order Management

Procurement Supply & Collaboration

Warehousing

BI/ Analytics & Management

Knowledge/Content Management

11 I

ERP

Supply ChainVisibility & Control

BI/ Analytics & Management

Knowledge/Content Management

11 I

Pricing

Manufacturing Transport Telematics

Transport / Distribution

Service Operations

Customer Interface

I 12

From ERP to Supply Chain Maestro – Digital

sets new boundaries

I 12

2.

13 I

Building specialized planning tools, such as Kinaxis or o9 Solutions, on top of ERP Systems was

a first step towards more agile supply chains and superior planning accuracy. But when we assess our client’s supply chain maturity with the help of our Enabling Transformation Alignment Approach, we identify many structural problems.

Plans are disconnected from reality

In most planning systems parameters such as lead time, demand and sup-ply variability and production capacity assumptions are based on historical means (or even worse, contractual va- lues that are not even respected at all!). Supply chain environments change fast and means become outdated quickly. Planning parameters have to be updated continuously based on the latest information.

In addition, poor data quality – as typically seen in ERP systems – is a cause of poor planning decisions made by planning systems.

No vertical and horizontal integration of plans

There are two fundamental information disconnects that result in manual effort and suboptimal planning. Vertical information disconnects, between planning and execution systems, cause manual interventions in planning and data cleanup if plans and execution are to be aligned.

A typical case is when supply capacities are not aligned with the production schedules generated by Manufacturing Execution Systems. Horizontal infor- mation disconnects, between different functions’ planning systems, produce optimization within the silos. For example, purchase order quantities are rarely logistically optimized. These siloed plans are suboptimal compared to a global optimization in the best case and counterproductive in the worst case.

Before embarking in any technology transforma- tion endeavour, we recommend clients carry out an Enabling Transformation Alignment. This serves to identify the main gaps that need to be closed in order to fully generate the value expected from the transformation. In our experience, 60 % to 80 % of the investment in the ETA becomes a direct cost reduction and an invaluable risk reduction in the actual deployment of new technology. What’s more, 70 % of implementations that did not carry out an ETA suffered from complications.

I 14

Supply chain software universe

ERP (whole company)

Supply chain suites(end-to-end SCM)

Best of breed(focused

special tasks)Planning

Planning ...Sourcing/ Procurement

Finance HR SCM PLMCRM ...

15 I

Lack of automation and decision support

State-of-the-art planning systems drive standardi- zation in processes and decision making. But they are not yet ready to integrate automation tools or intelligent prescriptive systems in their solution in order to further speed up decision making and increase planning efficiency. No touch planning is still a vision for most companies and it is hard to archieve with standardized software.

Conclusion: All these hurdles result in inaccurate and/or non- executable supply chain plans. The next step is to connect the dots. To this effect, we envision a highly connected system landscape to create a digital twin, to better integrate planning systems and to increase planning efficiency by means of automation and digital decision support.

The heart of a hyperconnected supply chain is the digital supply chain twin. The keyword here is twin – the goal is to digitally recreate the supply chain at a very granular level of detail. Production schedules, inventory volumes and locations, stock in transit – all coming from different systems, are pulled as needed in real time to create this digital representation.

System settings such as lead time are constantly challenged and corrected in an automated manner with the help of predictive analytics. In the presence of IoT devices, the supply chain digital twin is enriched by even more data, making it even more true to reality.

To create the digital supply chain twin, the aforemen-tioned vertical and horizontal information disconnects have to be closed.

The variety in terms of solutions and their capa- bilities is very large and growing with each passing year. According to Gartner analysis, the global market size of supply chain planning software in 2019 is about $5 billion with a CAGR of 7.8 %. When considering supply chain execution and pro-curement vendors as well, this number is expected to exceed $19 billion by 2021, growing at an 11% CAGR. At Barkawi and Genpact we understand that different companies have different needs and we assist in the otherwise confusing journey of solution selection and implementation. In the past we have worked with leaders such as Kinaxis, visionaries like E2Open and niche players like Anaplan, all of them in the well-known Gartner Magic Quadrant.

I 16

Mature supply chain organizations already have a high degree of vertical integration thanks to supply chain planning systems such as Kinaxis, i.e. tactical demand and supply plans are aligned with material require-ment decisions and production scheduling decisions.

Where we see organizations struggle is with horizon-tal integration of supply chain systems. Total landed costs need to be optimized under consideration of purchasing aspects, inbound transportation costs and warehouse operations. Cost-to-serve cannot be opti- mized purely by the outbound transportation plan-ning departments. Inventory holding and pick & pack decisions have to be in balance as well. Decision points and their impacts in other silos need to be identified and the information flow has to be built accordingly. By progressively integrating the systems, end-to-end transparency can be achieved and with that global optimization is enabled.

As the supply chain digital twin becomes more true to reality and encompassing of vertical and horizon-tal information, the complexity of decisions with rise dramatically. Human judgement is impaired by infor-mation overflow. The new dimensions of end-to-end supply chain planning and optimization needs to be supported by machines.

There are two types of decision support for planners: automation and augmentation. Obvious situations and to a certain degree also complicated decisions can be automated via the right set of algorithms. Choosing the right forecasting algorithm, for example, can be easily made by a best-fit forecasting engine.

More complicated decisions e.g. order prioritization and stock allocation seem to be at a first glance highly manual and very reactive with many different stake-holders involved but, with the right set of rules and constraints, this decision too can be automated with optimization algorithms.

Machine learning based prescriptive systems should guide planners through complex decisions. In order to focus the planners’ attention on complex and value adding activities, highly repetitive tasks such as data transformations and easy data analysis should be supported by intelligent workflows or robotic process automation (RPA). The Institute for Robotic Process Automation and AI estimates that implementation of RPA in logistic and transportation can result in savings of up to 50 %. With such potential, it is not a surprise that a majority of firms are experimenting with RPA – 72 % of companies, as researched by the Information Services Group.

The development of a hyperconnected supply chain with these three building blocks, digital supply chain twin, integration of systems and algorithmic planning, is a long journey. Streamlining processes and organizations, finding the right technology stack and setting the right implementation priorities require experience and know-how in many different fields. Barkawi and Genpact help companies on their transformation roadmap.

17 I17 I

Supply Chain in the Cloud – Deploy all five trends

3.

I 18

We have described our vision of the supply chain digital twin and its benefits in the previous

chapter. One of the highlighted benefits is itself one of the five major supply chain technology trends – the potential of deploying RPA to automate supply chain management decisions. It does not end there.

The digital twin enables the deployment of the other aforementioned supply chain technology trends and in addition, it enables another powerful capability – real-time connectivity.

Real-time connectivity

ClearOps, a specialized software developed by Barkawi, connects supply chain partners in a single platform, where they collaborate to achieve superior operational efficiencies as a whole. The connectivity of several players in a single platform is by itself a powerful lever but what really makes collaboration most effective is the fact that ClearOps keeps data refreshed.

Whenever a partner logs in, they will see the current status of the network and they will be able to collabo-rate with one another on the basis of the same, most current, information.

This is real-time connectivity and it lets the supply chain act on the spot. Without needing to wait for overnight batch runs, planners can figure out whether the parts that are in demand are stocked in the net-work and relocate them as needed.

Use of Internet of Things data

With the number of IoT devices already exceeding the world’s population and doubling every year, it is no surprise that OEMs have begun to equip their machi-nes with sensors and SIM cards that upload machine health information to the OEM’s digital supply chain in real-time. Terex, a manufacturer of heavy machinery, uses this information to maximize machine utilization by dynamically redeploying machines and parts from low demand regions to high demand regions.

Together with Terex, Barkawi is envisioning an IoT based solution in the ClearOps platform that will automate service workshop management and in turn will allow schedule maintenance right before the machine fails. End customers are no longer subject to the unpleasant surprise of a machine failure and the subsequent long process of figuring out which part failed and then replacing it – all of that will have been foreseen and prevented by a combination of predic-tive maintenance, service parts replenishment and workshop scheduling. With this solution, uncertainty in parts availability and technician capacity planning are mitigated.

Artificial intelligence

As businesses deploy AI, they acquire capabilities that bring their operational efficiency to whole new levels. In some cases, these acquired capabilities open the possibility to revolutionize their business models. Take Amazon as an example.

19 I

Thanks to their highly digitalized supply chain, vast amounts of information flow into their systems and, by using AI, Amazon creates very accurate demand forecasts. But what if their forecast accuracy were to become so high that it eliminates most all uncertain-ties? Amazon could ship product to customers before they even place the order, giving Amazon an incredible market shaping advantage. This thought experiment is mentioned in McKinsey and Company’s article “The economics of artificial intelligence”.

Demand analytics and the Envision Virgin Racing challenge

Information is very valuable and, in the form of advanced analytics, companies have a tool to extract the value out of information. Quite literally, analytics is a machine that converts information into mone-tary benefits. Take for example advanced demand forecasting: the more precise the forecast, the lower the uncertainty and thus the lower the safety stocks (lower costs) and the higher the service level (higher revenue). This means higher profitability for the firm. Just by employing better algorithms, firms can signi-ficantly improve economic performance, all without making major capital investments – information is money on the table and advanced analytics lets com-panies grab it.

The Envision Virgin Racing challenge is a demons- tration of the sort of advanced demand analytics that Barkawi and Genpact are capable of deploying. For this Formula-E race, an artificial intelligence based

scenario engine analysed weather, track conditions and other drivers’ positions to make predictions. The engine then made course of action recommendations based on its predictions for driver Sam Bird .

„Formula E is a sport that’s as much about the technology behind it as what happens on the track“Richard Branson

Just like with Sam Bird on the race track, Barkawi and Genpact’s advanced ana-lytics expertise helps busines-ses improve performance. Just by improving forecasts, inventories will go down and customer satisfaction will go up.

It is clear that these technologies are providing enor- mous benefits to their adopters. Gartner analysts have estimated the future adoption of AI, advanced analytics and IoT. By 2023 over half of large global companies will have their supply chain operations supported by them.

At Barkawi, we help companies effectively adopt these technologies and transform their supply chains.

I 20I 20

How AGCO and ClearOps show the path

4.

21 I

With products like its Fendt tractors, AGCO is one of the top manufacturers in the agricultural

machinery segment. AGCO uses a ClearOps solution to collaborate with the dealerships and offer the end customers, the farmers, even better service.

The old fashion way of supporting the dealer- ships is through sales reps holding daily phone calls with the dealer- ships to figure out which spare parts are in need. The AGCO way does away with this. In its stead, AGCO offers its dealerships a global customized platform.

1,100 dealerships around the world are connected to the ClearOps platform. As soon as they open their doors in the morning, a virtual shopping cart full with the products they will specifically need is awaiting in the platfom.

Yes, AGCO offers its dealerships an innovative ‘Vendor Managed Inventory‘. The OEM knows which parts will be required on a given day, even before the dealership and its customers do. This is thanks to ClearOps‘ accurate forecasts, outstanding planning and pre-dictive maintenance. Weather conditions, harvesting seasonal patterns and other external variables all go into the system to improve the forecasts which ultimately enables taking proactive action.

In AGCO‘s case, these predictive capabilities lead to an 8 % increase in its sales and those of its dealerships. How? The keyword is availability! Take for instance non-essential repairs, like a rear-view mirror of a tractor.

A typical customer will not replace it if they need to order it, wait several days and then pick it up personally at the dealership. But what if the mirror is already sitting there in their first visit? One more sale!

With the aid of ClearOps’ forecasts, increased availa-bility does not come at the cost of higher inventory. Inventory costs are indeed lower because only the parts that are really needed are kept in stock, and not the loathsome shelfwarmers! Precise mathematics and interconnectedness make even the long tail, the C parts, plannable!

In addition, the system brings the OEM closer to its customers. No longer is a close relationship with the customers reserved for the dealers only; the manu-facturer itself can now have an active influence on

Fig.: Reducing excess inventories€80 m

Before

-75 %€20 m

After

I 22

customer satisfaction, costs, prices, etc. The same system can be used to measure things like customer loyalty, using the data that it collects.

Without additional effort you can answer a myriad of questions such as ‘does my customer buy 20 % or 80 % of its spare parts from the dealer?‘ directly from the system’s visualizations.

With the insights gained from this, you can design individually customized campaigns for heightening customer loyalty, develop discount concepts and re-gional programs. The list of possibilities for improving turnover is long, but they all need good, hard facts at the most granular level.

Close relationships with the customers, recording and processing the acquired data and a high level of forecasting precision can reduce or even entirely

eliminate the feared ‘bullwhip effect‘ that often causes manufacturer/OEM order volumes and inven-tories to skyrocket due to fluctuating customer needs. A specialized supply chain software product like ClearOps helps reduces costs and soon pays for itself!

Consider an example from the aircraft industry: how long does a helicopter stays grounded if its gearbox needs to be replaced? 18 months – that’s how long it takes to procure it! Having such an expensive machine out of order for such a long time is definitely not good for the business.

And of course having several gearboxes in the storeroom just in case is not an option since each one costs around 60,000 Euro. A predictive approach like the one AGCO uses will spare these problems.

More sexy!

Fig.: Increasing part availability

78 % 98 %

Before After

23 I

“The technology from ClearOps makes our highly complex supply chain transparent. With clear key figures, we can now manage and optimize in real time. It connects us with more than 1,100 repair shops and dealerships around the world at the press of a button, helping us guarantee the best service for our customers.“

Marco Piovano, AGCO International GmbH,

Project Team Lead

I 24

With the ClearOps cloud platform, the 1,100 AGCO dealerships have 20 % less capital tied up and the number of machines waiting for parts has halved.

And not only that: In addition to the improved ser-vice at lower costs, dealerships are reporting an 8 % increase in their spare parts sales.

Clever supply chain management software with its inventory management, modern Vendor Managed

Inventory (VMI), collaboration and customized mathe-matical algorithms improve the ability to deliver the required parts, and simultaneously decrease costs and inventories.

Barkawi is the specialist in this field! Our decades of practical experience show that a more than 20 % reduction of inventories across all warehousing stages is no problem at all.

In the case of extremely expensive parts and/or large replacement part inventories, having the right inven-tory secures competitiveness. Innovative supply chain software transforms dead, tied-up capital back into agile working capital.

Fig.: Reducing spare parts inventories

Before After

> -20 %

Optimum inventory based on excellent data

Smart inventory management

Improved ability to deliver

At falling costs

25 I

All authors work for Barkawi Management Consul-tants, a Genpact company. Innovative supply chain solutions across industries is the core competence of Barkawi. Being part of the larger Genpact organization offers extended opportunities.

With a network of operational centers across the globe it is not just the design of supply chain solutions that can be offered. Many clients decide to hand over operational responsibility to Barkawi and Genpact receiving a committed gain in efficiency and perfor-mance.

The concept of supply chain maestro and the solution based on ClearOps for AGCO are examples of that approach. Companies design supply chain innovations together with Barkawi and rely on the same compe-tence during implementation and operation.

An additional advantage is at hand to ensure innova-tion is actually realized. Leveraging all the possibili-ties which come with new digital capabilities not only require investments – in addition project manage-ment capacities are needed to an extent which is new for supply chain organizations.

Own resources are often not available to the neces-sary extent. Working with a partner offering design, implementation and operation overcomes that shor-tage.

Barkawi Management Consultants and Genpact

“We combine consultancy with real operational responsibility.“

Dr. Andreas Baader Managing Partner & Head of Europe Barkawi Management Consultants

This triggered Genpact to establish supply chain as a dedicated service line that serves as a holistic partner. The Barkawi experts together with the operational strength of Genpact bring a unique offering to the supply chains services market making change manageable and technology affordable.

25 I

I 26

DisclaimerData contained in this document is not binding and serves information purposes only.

Liability claims filed against Barkawi Management Consultants GmbH in relation to material or intangible damages resulting from the use of this publication shall be principally excluded.

© 2019 Barkawi Management Consultants GmbH. All rights reserved.

Image rights Shutterstock:

Pages 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 12, 13, 14, 17, 20, 22, 23, 24, 26, 28

Barkawi Management Consultants GmbH & Co. KG Baierbrunner Str. 3581379 Munich

Phone: +49 89 749826-0info@barkawi.comwww.barkawi.com

Excellence in supply chain managementBarkawi‘s strict focus on supply chain topics leads to outstanding and sustainable results. As we jump into a project, we roll up our sleeves and muck in together with our clients to together tackle their most pressing supply chain challenges.

All of our recommendations are well-founded on data, numbers and analyses since facts give us and our clients the confidence that we are making the right decisions. We develop a profound understanding of the operational conditions and business processes of our clients and use this as a basis to develop new concepts and strategies, and optimize processes and organizational structures. The fact that we do the im-plementation is another USP of Barkawi Management Consultants.

We combine consulting with real ope-rational responsibility! Barkawi has won many awards such as ‘Beste Berater‘ and ‘Hidden Champion‘, and it repeatedly comes ahead of the major strategy consultancies in rankings in the fields of logistics and supply chain management

I 26

Hidden Champion Hidden Champion Hidden ChampionBest of Consulting

Best of Consulting Hidden ChampionBest of Consulting

Beste BeraterDigital Transformation Award

Beste Berater Beste BeraterHidden ChampionBest of Consulting

Beste Berater2012 201620092006 20152014 2017 2018

I 26

27 I

Dr. Andreas BaaderManaging Partner & Head of Europeandreas.baader@barkawi.comPhone +49 89 749826-712

Henry GreulichVice Presidenthenry.greulich@barkawi.comPhone +49 89 749826-803

Short communication paths for a successful technology transformation:

As a specialized management consultancy, we are the experts in all things supply chain related, be it technology, processes, organization, strategy or even its underlying mathematics.

When talking about technology and analytics, we often find that the data needed to determine the causes of performance problems and take decisions resides in many different data sources. With data volumes growing at exponential rates,

Excel spreadsheets just don’t cut it anymore; not to mention that joining, transforming and interpreting these pieces of information requires deep supply chain management knowledge. It is time to leave behind the custom IT reports and the spreadsheets created monthly by the intern. A hyperconnected, real-time, purpose-built system is what is required to find the causes of performance issues and make effective decisions. Building these up is our daily bread and butter!

I 28

Customers are more demanding than ever and the world is just complex and unpredictable. Traditional reactive supply chain management methods would require ridiculous amounts of safety stock to deal with the situation. There is a better way: predictive, autonomously-adapting supply chains – and technology is the key to achieve this. Supply chain planning systems help companies attain real time end-to-end visibility and assist proactive decision making with analytics augmentation. Digital champions simultaneously achieve great customer satisfaction and improved operational efficiency.

Barkawi Management Consultantswww.barkawi.com

Even today, despite the many advances in information technology, chaos prevails in many companies. Count-less Excel spreadsheets fly around, each with a different format and formula, or even macros that might break at any moment! Consolidating information to make decisions is as titanic exercise. The daily struggle costs time, money and ultimately customer satisfaction. Companies know that digitization is the way to go but don’t know where to start.

Should we keep using our ERP system for planning or acquire specialized planning software? If so, which one is the most appropriate from the multitude of vendors? Do we want end-to-end visibility or individual modules? How much does it cost? How long does it take to implement? Are our processes even mature enough to embark on the digitization journey?

These and many more other questions are important and Barkawi Management Consultants helps clients answer them and has the expertise to further assist with the implementation. Become a digital champion with the right supply chain software.

Good-bye Excel chaos! Become a digital champion

with the right supply chain software