ERPs (Enterprise Resource Planning systems) are systems of records that control the company’s core activities, such as procurement, inventory, production, invoicing, and finance. Their popularity is quite high, and almost all medium to large companies have invested in an ERP. Although they do well at tracking and capturing transactional details, they oftentimes miss the dynamic, real-time insights necessary for Supply Chain Visibility (SCV). However, with modern and specialized solutions in different parts of the supply chains, it is possible to modularly append supply chain visibility into ERP systems to bridge this gap.

This article will examine why integrating supply chain visibility into ERP systems is required, what its benefits are, and which ERP modules can be integrated. We will also discuss how companies can achieve supply chain visibility through the integration of data, technology, and processes that monitor activities in real-time. But first, let’s understand the need for this integration.

Why Integrate Supply Chain Visibility into Your ERP System?

*Integrating Supply Chain Visibility into Your ERP System*

Supply Chain Visibility adds the power of real-time data to the immensely reliable and widely adopted ERPs.

ERPs are the well-accepted backbone of enterprise operations. These systems centralize critical functions like finance, HR, inventory, and procurement. However, traditional ERP systems often lack real-time supply chain visibility. This creates blind spots in logistics, inventory management, and supplier performance. This is where supply chain visibility adds a new dimension to the strength of these already robust ERPs.

By incorporating supply chain visibility into an ERP process, businesses can:

Improve Flows: Develop a single platform whereby data flows from procurement, production, sales, and logistics.
Sharper Decision Making: Ensure real-time data availability, allowing teams to make data-driven choices.
Unlock Higher Efficiencies: Workflow automation with end-to-end helps remove duplication of work and manual intervention.
Better Resilience: Adopt quickly to disruptions, risks, or bottlenecks.
Improved Supply Chain Efficiency: Streamline operations and reduce costs by optimizing supply chain processes.
Provide Customer Satisfaction: Provide exact status of orders & delivery times, gaining loyalty and trust.

By integrating SCV into ERP, companies can gain a single, unified view of their supply chain operations. This enables them to make data-driven decisions and drive business growth. Let's go one level deeper and discuss how SCV can add value to different modules.

Integrating Supply Chain Visibility with Different ERP Modules

ERPs contain modules for all functional areas, such as Procurement or Warehouse Management. An ERP software system integrates these modules to manage and streamline various essential business processes, acting as a central nervous system that connects all operations to improve overall efficiency and collaboration. Often, these modules are a part of the larger process cycles like Procure-to-Pay and Order-to-Cash cycles. Historically, all these modules have focused on transactional data maintenance, but adding supply chain visibility can completely change this. Let us understand how.

ERP Module: Inventory Management

Inventory Management can be immensely improved with the SCV software system. Solutions like RFID tags and IoT sensors can feed real-time stock data into the ERP. Adding SCV to the inventory planning module can:

Include real-time inventory level tracking across warehouses and locations.
Follow stock rotation strategies like FIFO (First In, First Out) or LIFO (Last In, First Out).
Optimize stock levels: minimize overstock and stockouts to reduce carrying costs.

ERP Module: Procurement and Supply Chain Management

SCV highlights supplier reliability trends, enabling informed decisions about vendor contracts by analyzing the business process. This can add further value to the procurement module by:

Tracking supplier lead times and performance metrics like on-time delivery and order accuracy.
Identifying bottlenecks in procurement processes and suggesting alternate suppliers.
Supporting collaborative platforms where suppliers can view demand forecasts and order statuses.
Facilitating multi-sourcing strategies to minimize risks of disruptions.

ERP Module: Production Planning and Scheduling

Real-time SCV data helps to adjust production priorities when raw materials are delayed, ensuring minimum downtime. Integrating core business processes can also help to:

Boost production efficiency through real-time data on material availability and machine capacity.
Reduce downtime by identifying and mitigating risks like material shortages or delayed deliveries.
Support adaptive production schedules based on demand fluctuations and disruptions.

ERP Software Module: Warehouse Management (WMS)

ERP software can integrate with IoT devices and barcoding systems to provide supply chain visibility. This can improve order picking and packing efficiency in the warehouse. Apart from this, SCV for the WMS module can provide:

Real-time visibility into stock movement within and across warehouses.
Optimizes storage layouts based on demand patterns and SKU turnover rates.
Reduces mispicks and errors using advanced tracking and visibility systems.

ERP Module: Transportation Management (TMS)

Supply chain network analysis integrated with GPS data and ERP suggests alternate routes for faster delivery when disruptions occur. In addition, for TMS, SCV can:

Monitor shipment statuses and route efficiency in real-time.
Optimize freight costs by identifying the most efficient carriers and routes.
Enables dynamic rerouting in case of disruptions like weather delays or road closures.

ERP Module: Sales and Distribution

Retailers can track their incoming orders in real-time, enhancing trust and collaboration through effective customer relationship management. With SCV, ERPs can further:

Align sales forecasts with inventory and production data, ensuring smoother distribution.
Provide transparency in distribution channels by tracking shipments to retailers and distributors.
Reduce order-to-delivery cycle times with real-time insights into logistics and inventory.

ERP Module: Quality Management

For the Quality Management module, an ERP solution integrated with supply chain visibility platforms triggers alerts when raw materials fail quality inspections. It can also:

Track quality metrics at every supply chain stage, from raw material procurement to final delivery.
Flag quality issues in real-time, enabling corrective actions before they escalate.
Monitor supplier quality trends and enforce compliance with quality standards.

8 Steps to Integrate Supply Chain Visibility into Your ERP System

1. Assess Current ERP Capabilities

Start by evaluating your ERP system’s current capabilities and identifying gaps. Does it support real-time data integration? Can it process inputs from IoT devices or RFID tags? What interfaces will be required? Understanding these limitations will help you define the scope of integration.

2. Define Clear Objectives

Set measurable business goals for the integration project. These could include reducing order-to-delivery lead time, improving inventory accuracy, or increasing forecast accuracy. Clear objectives will guide the selection of tools and technologies.

3. Invest in Integrated Tools and Platforms

Choose tools that complement your ERP solutions and provide seamless SCV integration. Consider the following technologies:

IoT Devices: For real-time tracking of shipments, assets, and inventory.
Advanced Analytics Platforms: To analyze data and generate actionable insights.
Cloud-Based Solutions: For scalability and easy integration with existing systems.

4. Standardize Data Formats

One of the biggest challenges in SCV integration is inconsistent data formats. To ensure standardization across all systems, implement data governance policies. Use middleware solutions or APIs to enable smooth data exchange between the ERP system and external platforms.

5. Create Real-Time Dashboards

Build custom dashboards within your ERP system to display SCV metrics, such as:

Order fulfillment rates
Inventory turnover
Supplier reliability
In-transit shipment status

These dashboards provide actionable insights for supply chain managers and decision-makers.

6. Improve Collaboration with Partners

SCV integration is most effective when it extends beyond the organization. Establish data-sharing agreements with suppliers, 3PL providers, and customers. Use supplier and customer portals to enable real-time collaboration and information exchange.

7. Train Your Workforce

Invest in employee training to ensure teams can use the integrated ERP system effectively. Conducted workshops and created user manuals to familiarize employees with new workflows and features

8. Monitor and Optimize

Continuously monitor the performance of your integrated system. Measure success using targetted KPIs. Regularly review processes and implement improvements based on insights.

Key Challenges in SCV-ERP Integration

Despite its advantages, integrating SCV into an enterprise resource planning software system is not without challenges. Here are a few common hurdles:

Data Silos: Disparate systems and formats across departments or geographies can hinder seamless data integration.
Legacy Systems: Older ERP systems may lack the flexibility to incorporate modern SCV tools.
High Costs: Investment in integration supply chain visibility technologies such as IoT equipment and predictive analytics are expensive to implement and maintain.
Resistance to Change: Employees used to standard workflows might not be prepared to embrace new technologies and processes.

Keep a watch on these problems and timely mitigation could help achieve smoother implementation.

Future-Proofing Your Supply Chain with Holocene

Integrating supply chain visibility in your ERP system is an evolution to a much more nimble supply chain. Real-time insights paired with predictive analytics and collaboration help companies improve operations, resilience, and outstanding customer experiences. Additionally, utilizing modern accounting software can streamline financial data management and track essential metrics, preventing inefficiencies caused by outdated systems.

Holocene provides digital supply chain transformations with visibility solutions. Our specialists partner with organizations to architect custom ERP SCV integrations that provide quantifiable outcomes.

Contact Holocene today to discuss how we can help you embed supply chain visibility in your ERP, boosting productivity and better managing the competition.

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