Business Reporter: Building a Better Supply Chain to Meet Consumer Demand

Many businesses see their supply chains as a necessary evil. But by redesigning them to suit their needs, they can become an enabler for growth, not a burden

LONDON, April 23, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Whether you're shopping for fashion, electronics or groceries, it's always frustrating when you can't find what you're looking for. And it can be just as frustrating for businesses facing market volitility  being at mercy of weaknesses in their supply chains. With today's customers expecting to get what they want when they want, companies can often struggle to meet demand. Indeed, many businesses are ill equipped to do so, with some – even larger ones – still running their supply chains on Excel spreadsheets.

Mikkel Rasmussen, Head of Supply Chain Services, Europe at international logistics firm Maersk, believes it's time companies looked at their supply chains as an enabler for growth, rather than just a burden on their bottom lines. In a video from Business Reporter, he explains that there are two main reasons companies can struggle to bridge the gap between customer demand and logistics: a misalignment between functions, and a lack of end-to-end visibility. Companies can often be their own worst enemies too. "If you look at the way in which companies are organised, sometimes they have competing objectives between different departments," Rasmussen points out.

But there are solutions available if firms are willing to look beyond their preconceptions about supply chains. Modern supply chains need to be agile, in order to cope with external factors such as trade wars, for example. They also need to be able to accurately interpret huge volumes of data in a meaningful way, to help them cut through the noise and enable good decision-making. Speed and flexibility are also factors – some firms might want to be able to move goods faster, while others will want to secure the right level of inventory based on their selling cycles. "With some customers it's all about being fast, with others it's about having the right level of inventory," explains Rasmussen.

Maersk operates some of the most complex supply chains in the world, and, says Rasmussen, the first port of call when overhauling a customer's supply chain is to start with the customer experience. "We start with the promise you have made as a customer to your consumer," he explains. "And then we work backwards from there to design and supply a supply chain that meets those needs. For us, it's all about making sure we're clear on your outcomes and building a supply chain that supports them."

"The customer journey is becoming more and more complex," says Rasmussen. "We want to have choice wherever we are serviced, and we want to make sure we are getting things delivered in the way we find most optimal." Changing consumer demand has had an enormous impact on supply chain operation. But if companies start to look critically at how they organise their supply chains, they'll find they can be an asset, not a burden – and there is help out there.

To learn more about Maersk's supply chain solutions, click here

Notes for editors

This press release has been provided by Business Reporter (www.business-reporter.co.uk).

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About Maersk

A.P. Moller – Maersk is an integrated container logistics company connecting and simplifying trade to help our customers grow and thrive. With a dedicated team of over 76,000, operating in 130 countries, we go all the way to enable global trade for a growing world.