IBM GLobal business services Solution Brief
Supply Chain Management
Value of supply-chain optimization tools revealed in IBM Study Overview A recent study found that networkoptimization tools are associated with improved order-fulfillment outcomes, lower inventory costs, and lower freight costs. IBM’s Supply Chain Scenario Modeler (SCSM) is a holistic, end-to-end solution that helps organizations quantify, evaluate and optimize the trade-offs among financial, operational and environmental challenges across the entire global supply chain. SCSM is differentiated from other optimization tools by its visibility into overall profit and loss.
Today’s businesses are facing growing challenges from customers, competitors and shareholders, which constrain supply chain operations and are becoming increasingly difficult to manage successfully. As a result, organizations are increasingly looking for methods and tools to help them effectively and efficiently manage these pressures and create a responsive supply chain. Consider the following challenges:
• Customer expectations and demands are increasing along with multi-channel supply chain needs. • Global, interconnected supply networks are complex, dynamic and growing, making it difficult to support these increasing customer demands. • Inefficiencies are buried in the complex supply-chain network, and it can be difficult to pinpoint specific opportunities for improvement in costs, flexibility or service. • Supply-chain risks are difficult to predict, and supply and demand are volatile. • Energy costs can be substantial and uncertain, and there is increasing demand to demonstrate sustainability. • Optimizing decisions requires cross-functional expertise; no single individual likely has the required holistic view across logistics, inventory, procurement and finance. • Cost minimization is a matter of survival; in reality, cost minimization is more about maximizing profitability and improving working capital.
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