The Basics of Supply Chain Metrics

Managing your supply chain is indeed an essential inwell bring information overload for the management
any business setting. This is because if you canstaff, which should be avoided because managers
manage your supply chain efficiently, then you canalready have a lot to process to begin with.
enjoy a lot of advantages amongst the toughBombarding them with all these data would just
competition pitted against your business. What'smake things more complicated. Remember that less
more, with effective supply chain management, youis more when you are delving into the field of
can improve customer satisfaction because themetrics. This is according to Pareto's Principle, which
process ensures the fast and quality delivery ofstates that 80% of the benefits you enjoy from any
goods to your customers. Thus, it is very importantprocess actually come from just 20% of the activity
to make sure all aspects of the supply chain are inas a whole. Thus, it is important to determine the
working order. The only way to do this is toappropriate metrics to use when measuring the
implement supply chain metrics.efficiency and performance of your supply chain.
Technological advancements have certainly paid off,You just may hear of scorecards containing as many
especially with the introduction of RFID tags. Theseas 20 to 30 metrics at a time. Yes, this is indeed
tags are actually used to track shipments and palletscommon in a lot of companies all over the world. The
electronically. What's more, with the help of RFIDsad thing here is that most of these companies do
tags, the management system of both stocks andnot really know that the main reason why their
orders is made more efficient. These tags make itsupply chain metrics are not fulfilling the very purpose
very easy to track individual shipments in just aboutthey exist in the first place is the fact that they are
any part of the supply chain. Data is also maintainedjust too many in number. With these many metrics,
efficiently, especially when it pertains to serial codes,you can easily find the interpretation of a particular
quantity, description, and information on the productmetric going against that of another metric.
itself. When you combine RFID data with theHaving just the essentials for your supply chain
information you can get from barcodes, then you willmetrics will definitely go a long, long way for you. If
have a lot of information at your hands. You mayyou are not too sure which particular metrics you
think this is a good thing when it comes toshould include, do not worry. There are several
developing supply chain metrics, but it actually is not.websites that offer quality information that you can
Having all of these data and information will just adduse. Also, there are templates that you can use. Just
to the extraneous variables in the equation. It wouldmake sure to go with the metrics that are indeed
then be difficult to accurately measure what yourelevant for your company.
intend to measure in the first place. This can very