Is your supply chain adding value - or costing you money?

CHICAGO, March 17, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- McGladrey's Optimizing your supply chain to counter rising costs and improve processes explains what a healthy supply chain allows a company to do. It allows the company to adapt quickly to evolving risks and market opportunities, improve and maintain customer satisfaction, control costs and grow your business.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140317/CL84827

By carefully evaluating your current strategy, identifying areas for improvement, addressing risks, improving processes and implementing new technology, your organization might be able to significantly increase performance and profitability.

Responses to McGladrey's 2013 Manufacturing and Distribution Monitor survey (2014 results will be available this June) demonstrated the emphasis companies are putting on supply chain optimization. When asked what strategies they were using to maintain or improve profit margins in the current economic environment, the most popular answer was lowering costs through operational efficiencies. That response was followed by working with suppliers and customers to improve processes and costs, and investing in equipment.

Respondents also saw costs related to transportation and fuel, utilities and inventory and materials rising from four to six percent, putting additional pressure on increasing supply chain efficiency to counteract these growing expenses.

To enhance supply chain performance, management must first develop a strategy that details processes and identifies areas that provide the greatest opportunity for improvement:

• detail, measure and manage unique supply chain risks and how they could affect customers.
• develop a technology plan that supports the strategy, and
• identify and implement KPIs throughout the processes.

Optimizing the supply chain does take some work, but with benefits like increased efficiency, cost savings and improved customer satisfaction, it is worth the effort. Learn more about this topic in McGladrey's Optimizing your supply chain to counter rising costs and improve processes.

SOURCE McGladrey