Revolutionize your supply chain with our optimization software development checklist! Dive into features like real-time tracking, predictive analytics, seamless integration, and automation.
As the owner or manager of a midsize business, you likely depend on your supply chain operating at peak efficiency to ensure consistent production. However, many factors can influence this efficiency and you need to be flexible enough to manage the unexpected. The best-run companies consider what-if scenarios to ensure they have a backup plan that will work equally well to get the supplies they need at a reasonable cost and risk.
If it seems complicated, that's because it is. But the complexity of supply chain management doesn't have to overwhelm you. The right software allows you to connect different scenarios, suppliers, and other information to help you make smart decisions and stay productive and profitable. A commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) application can provide the necessary functionality. Otherwise, consider custom software development.
Supply chain optimization software development services are available to help you create exactly the tool you need. While this service costs you money upfront, it can help you save even more in the future by allowing you to easily change plans when something interferes with the smooth running of your supply chain and by helping you expand when the time is right.
What is supply chain optimization?
Supply chain optimization is the process by which business operators ensure a consistent flow of needed supplies, even when the unexpected happens. This process is critical to consistent production, order fulfillment and customer satisfaction, as well as high-level inventory management and business planning, as described below:
1 Consistent production
If your business is manufacturing consumer products, you must have those products available for sale. And you must be able to send them in a timely manner.
2 Order fulfillment
While customers may be willing to wait for a backordered product, this is not a permanent solution. They can easily look for a competitor or decide they don't want to wait and cancel the order entirely. Optimizing loading and delivery routes can help.
3 Customer satisfaction
In today's business climate, positive customer experience (CX) is one of the key differentiators and shipping delays can make it negative. You can use supply chain optimization to know when to send notifications if an order is delayed, ensuring the kind of transparency customers expect.
4 Inventory management
You need to know how much space is needed for inventory, raw materials and other equipment and how these elements will flow through your business. By optimizing your supply chain, you gain control over cost and space planning.
5 Business planning
It's difficult to make decisions about your business without accurate data. This includes current data to make real-time decisions, as well as facts that can help you plan for the next week, month and year. Supply chain optimization can give you the facts you need to be smart about how to move forward.
How custom software can help
As mentioned above, a COTS application could be the perfect solution to help your company with supply chain optimization. But if you decide to opt for a custom software solution, you can develop a system that matches your company's workflows and includes the specific features you need. Additionally:
- You can determine the features that will increase the efficiency of your business processes. The software will adapt to the way you do things, not the other way around.
- On the other hand, you don't need to include unnecessary features that will only bog down the software. And you don't need to waste time learning how to do things that don't make sense for your business.
- As your business grows, you can easily increase the software's functionality, allowing for smooth expansion.
- Custom software is highly reliable, which means less time wasted on frustrating problems.
- Custom software is also highly secure, which means fewer worries about cyberattacks and less likely to spend time and money recovering data and restoring your reputation.
Finding the right supplier is essential
If you are starting your search for supply chain optimization software development services, use the following checklist to get a head start:
Start by thinking about what you want to create.
Ask yourself and your team the following questions:
- What is our biggest challenge and how do we think updated software can help?
- What do we want to be able to do that we can't do right now?
- What are our short and long term goals?
With the answers to these questions.
You'll be able to tell potential software providers exactly what you need. (Remember that good custom software engineers will be good listeners, asking additional questions to refine their understanding of what you hope to achieve).
Next, think about other needs.
As a budget, whether you prefer an outsourced team working on-site or remotely, what staff you already have available, what languages you need the team to speak, and whether you want them to work in your time zone during business hours.
Request recommendations
To start researching potential supply chain optimization software development services, solicit recommendations from colleagues and ask what they liked and didn't like about the service they received. Additionally, ask if the final product met their expectations and if they thought it was worth the cost. You can also do online research to expand your list of potential suppliers.
Limit the list
Narrow down the list and visit each vendor's website to determine if they meet the criteria you developed earlier. Here are some additional considerations for research:
- Does the supplier have experience in your industry?
- Does the supplier understand the commercial considerations in addition to the technical ones?
- Are they open to questions and discussing your project at any time?
- What kind of post-development support do they offer?
Schedule in-person or video meetings
Schedule in-person or video meetings to get to know them even better. When selecting a company to work with, make sure they offer a reasonable contract that you can sign with confidence.
