Each business within the global market develops its own variation of a supply chain encompassing five key elements – planning, sourcing materials, manufacturing, delivery, and returns – supported by the logistics industry in managing the movement of these resources. In its simplest form, a supply chain can be described as beginning with materials from a supplier to manufacturer, and completing with the client or consumer receiving their product. Businesses appoint a supply chain manager to target two primary universal concerns: i) minimizing costs and ii) maximizing efficiency.
As the global market recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic, the resilience of supply chains continues to be tested. The onset of economic hardship and increasing probability of recession, consumers continue to seek out lower prices without compromising quality. With that in mind, businesses are challenged to defend their market share while remaining competitive within their industries. Managing the supply chain then becomes all the more essential to reducing and cutting excess costs, ensuring efficiency across inventories, production, distribution, and sales to keep a steady stream of revenue.
Businesses source materials across the globe, outsource a variety of manufacturing to vendors, and take on several risks across their supply chain ahead of delivering a product to a consumer. The current pain points to the supply chain do not lie only within cost, but within a variety of additional factors including, but not limited to: lead time, quality control, inventory management, global logistics and distribution, capital flow, information flow and largely by changes in consumer behavior. A survey conducted by enterprise software firm SAP found that within the past year 70% of consumers sought alternative brands due to supply chain disruption, within this consumer base 29% never returned to using their initial preferred brand. This is exacerbated by longer lead times, the amount of time taken from the beginning to end of the supply chain. Delays in delivery of raw materials or resources has contributed to this pain point, as well as lengthy waiting periods between the collection and payment of funds, otherwise known as capital flow. Additionally, 48% of consumers have adopted new buying habits that include bulk buying of products and earlier restocks of essential items following the effects of the pandemic, according to SAP.
A large spotlight has been placed on last mile delivery, or the last portion of the supply chain describing the movement of the product to its final destination and becomes accessible to the client. This focus, driven by the goal of client retention and product stickiness, has increased demand for improved logistics and transparent information flow to track assets across regional and global borders. In a globalized world, increased supply chain visibility yields benefits in the automation of orders, quotations and optimized routes for transportation. At the forefront of this, Naqla has established secure and reliable operation, allowing the logistical management of resources to be transparent and seamless. Operating through two applications offering real time tracking: the first connecting clients or business to place their shipping order and the second a drivers’ application allowing the order to be received, booked and completed in real time with seamless
