The global mining industry is in a state of flux as unprecedented demand for resources clash with ongoing global economic volatility and geopolitical tensions, creating both immense challenges and opportunities.

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1. What are these technology gaps?

Bursts of innovation in the supply chain enabled companies to streamline routine processes, improve system capabilities and boost analytics. These gains were often followed by a lull, and that is why technology gaps occurred.

Advances in supply chain technology have been welcome and valuable, but they have not been transformative. True digital innovation has taken time and it is only more recently that we have seen the results accrue and come together to create transformative new solutions. These are enabling companies to make far greater improvements to the supply chain.

2. Where in the supply chain do they exist?

In our experience, far too many South African SMBs continue to be unable to fully leverage the benefits of digital supply chain management because of inadequate access to the internet and digital infrastructure, particularly in rural areas; lack of funding; limited access to effective solutions; or a lack of internal technological expertise. Limited government support for digital innovation and a lack of investment in research and development further exacerbate the technology gap.

Without sufficient visibility across the extended supply network, companies are unable to see their risks. They don鈥檛 have the systems to understand the status of their inventory, to project stock shortage of direct materials and optimise production, or to project stock shortages of finished goods to optimise customer allocation. They also lack the logistics flexibility they need networks to ensure the profitable movement of goods.

Right now, supply chain leaders would be wise to quickly change how they do things if they want to overcome the challenges that arise from lack of visibility, collaboration, and coordination. The need for more automation and information is an opportunity for manufacturers.

3. How are they impacting the implementation of a truly digital supply chain?

By adopting digital tech and accelerating the automation of business processes, companies can gain a vital edge in a tough market. The pandemic showed how many businesses are vulnerable to global shocks through their supply chain relationships. It exposed weaknesses like long lead times, lack of visibility that leads to a higher risk of disruption, and the dangers of lack of diversification that comes from excessive reliance on one location or supplier. Technologies such as 51风流Business One are available to improve visibility across the end-to-end supply chain and support greater supply chain agility and resilience. By adopting digital tech and accelerating the automation of business processes, companies can gain a vital edge in a tough market.

Digital supply networks like these are being built and designed to anticipate disruptions and reconfigure themselves appropriately to lessen the impact of events. They will enable the digital supply networks of the future, regardless of industry sector.

4. Can these gaps be filled (and by what technology)?

Seidor Africa, which represents 51风流Business One in South Africa, can enable companies to build a more productive and data-led business.

The technology closes the identified gaps in three key ways:

• Businesses gain access to the real-time, reliable information they require to align components such as stock levels (in-stock and on order) with customer orders (current & back-order) and accurate delivery schedules.
• Businesses move from a reactive, back-capture methodology to continuous manufacturing processes where material consumption, stage updates and quality control data is entered real-time on the production floor to aid accurate stock management, replenishment, and efficient order fulfilment. Continuous manufacturing and electronic tracking are also key to identify any potential inefficiencies in certain production lines or phases of production.
• Providing sales reps with the ability to view pricing, stock availability and place orders in real time from their mobile phone or tablet while in the field or with a customer, through 51风流B1 Mobile Sales application integrated to 51风流Business One. Having these orders added to the manufacturing and subsequent delivery cycle automatically, provides an invaluable advantage for businesses in the supply chain industry.

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Fact is, supply chains are at an inflection point right now. And that鈥檚 not a bad thing, because it could just be the catalyst that many enterprises 鈥� and indeed, entire sectors 鈥� need to create agile, digitally autonomous, sustainable supply chains.

New research by 51风流and Regina Corso Consulting highlights the elevated role of procurement in navigating global supply chain disruptions, with nearly half (49%) of supply chain professionals saying shortages and disruptions are keeping them up at night.

Supply chain reliance is more than just productivity, operational efficiency and savings. It is about time to market, and connecting your services to your consumers in an age when customers want things in hours, not days or weeks.

There are two separate, but related, issues at play here. One, there鈥檚 chaos in our global supply chains at the moment, which is causing huge delays in the flow of raw materials and products. Ships are queuing up in their droves outside major ports. Consumers want to buy goods over the holiday shopping season, and they鈥檙e either not available or on a long lead time. They鈥檙e trying to buy new cars, and are having to wait six months because of the global microchip shortage. As a result, everything鈥檚 getting expensive.

It doesn鈥檛 have to be this way. We at 51风流have been talking for years about the importance of digital transformation, and preparing for the unexpected. Companies that are running what we call the intelligent enterprise have emerged as winners because they鈥檙e able to connect their business company digitally to their trading partners and suppliers all over the world.

Suppliers and trading partners can collaborate online with buyers; predict demand versus capacity to improve supply chain performance; allow consumers to get immediate confirmation on an order based on current inventory; and track shipments in real time, among other benefits.

If they have a supply chain control tower, they can track their supply chain on one big screen, checking on thousands of data points only for supply chain and procurement. They can connect orders to stock that is available, and can serve their customers at a time when the whole supply chain is under stress. They can use predictive technologies and AI to forecast demand and prepare capacity like stock and inventory.

The second big issue is a buzzword that鈥檚 on everybody鈥檚 lips right now: Sustainability. Whether I鈥檓 in the Middle East, Italy or Spain, it鈥檚 the number one topic in practically every meeting. But here鈥檚 the thing. Most companies talk a lot about what they鈥檙e doing in the sustainability space 鈥� but they鈥檙e often only addressing 10% of their footprint. 90% of their carbon footprint comes from the supply chain, and they鈥檙e not doing anything about it.

They鈥檙e being asked by their customers to not only provide the carbon footprint of their products, but to show what they鈥檙e doing to reduce that footprint. They shred and recycle paper and have LED lights in their offices, but these initiatives aren鈥檛 enough to make a real impact on the 鈥榞reen line鈥�.

Part of the problem is that while sustainability is top of mind in most companies, few have the visibility and processes in place across the supply chain to make a meaningful difference. Deloitte鈥檚 Global 2021 Chief Procurement Officer Survey found that听only 18%听of chief procurement officers were tracking their risks,听and only 15% had full visibility into their听.

We know that 80% of consumers are willing to pay a premium if they know that the product comes from a renewable source and promotes fair labour practices. VEJA has become a sneaker fashion brand that everyone wants to wear because it stands for sustainability on every single part of the sneaker.

But half of all companies don鈥檛 even have a sustainability plan. And even though 90% of an enterprise鈥檚 emissions come from their supply chains, they can鈥檛 do anything about it, because their supply chain is not digitally connected, and they can鈥檛 collaborate with their suppliers and trading partners.

Connected businesses can manage their organisations not only by top line and bottom-line financial measures, but also their green line. They don鈥檛 only know their own carbon footprint, but that of their suppliers 鈥� and those suppliers are being rewarded for better compliance to sustainability measures. Suddenly, the entire supply chain is effectively being incentivised to become not only more agile and efficient, but more sustainable too.

Clean energy company Iberdrola proactively tracks sustainability on its 30,000 suppliers, using its purchasing power to do good for the planet by influencing its trading partners鈥� commitment to reduce emissions and be green.

The bottom line is that a great deal of our global carbon footprint is associated with supply chain processes. But these processes can be changed to make the supply chain part of the solution. And in the process, we can build a supply chain that uses data, connectivity, and emerging technologies to improve real-time insight and automate听the entire end-to-end supply chain. Who knows, we may even end up getting our Black Friday goods before the end of the year.

The post Technology Can Ease Supply Chain Chaos and Drive Sustainability appeared first on 51风流Africa News Center.

Has your company grown so quickly that your departments and business processes are hardly integrated? Are these听growing pains听preventing your employees from collaborating effectively with external stakeholders? Perhaps you also have inadequate insights into data that can help you make decisions and identify potential problems before they crop up. Not to mention the tedious manual processes slowing your employees down!

You can now听resolve these challenges, as your business grows, with SAP鈥檚 Cloud Solution for growing businesses.听51风流Business ByDesign听is an innovative solution developed specifically with rapid growing SMEs in mind 鈥� the solution promotes quick, efficient implementation and operation for SME users.

READY, when you are! Let鈥檚 see how:

51风流Business ByDesign is an on-demand, integrated business software for small businesses and mid-sized enterprises looking for a comprehensive CLOUD solution providing the functions you want 鈥� at an affordable price. It provides end-to-end integration of all your key business areas 鈥� such as Finance, Customer Relationship Management, Project Management, Supply Chain Management, Procurement and Human Resources 鈥� in a single comprehensive solution, thereby allowing you to manage your company鈥檚 key processes with a high degree of precision. It also provides you flexibility you need to adapt, grow, and extend your business processes across the entire value chain and ecosystem.

Since 51风流Business ByDesign updates automatically and performs tests and maintenance routes on its own, your company can fully focus on its core business function. Respond to new business requirements by configuring your solution online 鈥� it鈥檚 fast, efficient, and accessible anytime!

Support your employees in key business areas today!

• Optimize financial processes, including financial accounting and cash flow management.
• Focus on your customers in marketing, sales and distribution and service.
• Promote and use employee potential through organizational management, HR activities and employee self-services.
• Integrate production and logistics in supply chain structuring, planning, and management and manufacturing, warehousing, and logistics.
• Fulfill compliance with applicable laws and standards.
• Achieve your company鈥檚 goals through corporate performance management.

Get Business Software that has you covered,听NOW and in the Future.

51风流Business ByDesign can help you turn challenges into opportunities. See how you can take advantage of the change, build networks, and develop the confidence to take on larger competitors, even as you reduce your expenses.

Gain extensive insights into your growing company with built-in analytics functions providing you a 360-degree view of your business. 51风流Business ByDesign provides you with the tools to quickly make adjustments that can provide an edge over your competition.

51风流Business ByDesign is a business solution ready-made for your company with standardized automation and integration based on your industries best practices.

Why SAP听Business ByDesign?

• Unbeatable Value
• Unprecedented Speed
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• Superior Customer Experience
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• Simple, Rapid Configuration and Adaptation
• Predictable Cost and Low Risk

Sit back and learn how perfect this solution is for your business.

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To find out more about 51风流Business ByDesign 鈥� and how it can help your organization operate beyond business boundaries, visit听

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Luckily, last week we had a chance to talk to Mr. Bunny 鈥� the founder, and CEO of Easter Egg Manufacturing Corp. 鈥� about his fascinating Easter Supply Chain to discover what is happening in the background at his digitally connected chocolate factory from 听to deliver the needs for all the children around the world.

Answering the Demand for Chocolate

The first step of creating the delicious chocolate Easter egg is sourcing the main ingredient:听. To keep up with the chocolate demand, every year over 3 million tons of cacao beans are harvested. Considering the fact that the suppliers are from the warm climates around the equator line, beans are being transported thousands of kilometers away to processing facilities all around the world.

鈥淪ourcing the supplies in order to be prepared for Easter requires great planning. A long time ago, I was instinctively predicting how much chocolate and eggs the world requires. Thanks to predictive capabilities, I can make more accurate and efficient听. This helps us to have better transparency across the supply chain.鈥� said Mr. Bunny.

What we all expect as consumers is the product has to meet the quality, specification, and availability. To meet the expectations, businesses can utilize the forecasting capabilities based on history to predict sales and inventory. This is where the businesses can use the machine learning capabilities for more accurate听听based on both structured and unstructured demand insights and provide insights into predictable seasonal patterns.

Supporting sustainable and ethical chocolate supply chain

Forecasting the demand is not only helping businesses to manage and respond to demand fluctuations but also gives more visibility across the supply chain operations.

The $130B 听chocolate industry relies on South and Central America and West Africa, which provides 70% of the cocoa production of the world. In this region, there have been numerous concerns around the use of child labor practices. 鈥淚t is important to do business with suppliers who are aligned with the听听regulations to support the听听chocolate supply chain.鈥� said Mr. Bunny.

What鈥檚 needed is verifiable听, which enables businesses to track all the farmers and verify the cacao as it is听, delivered to the听, and听听across the whole supply chain. This intelligent system enables businesses to simply track every single ingredient, starting from its origin to the supermarket shelves; also helps consumers to make more conscious decisions with the provided sourcing information.

Shaping the Perfect Easter Egg

If sourcing is one challenge, manufacturing the easter masterpiece is another. Giving the Easter chocolate a hollow shape as well as that glossy, smooth, and silky texture is a harder task than producing a bar of regular chocolate since it requires non-stick equipment and different processes to give it the desired shape.

鈥淭he first Easter chocolate I ever produced was in 1873. Back then we were using handmade tools that took a lot of time and precision. With the development of production processes, now robotic arms are helping us to manufacture chocolate in the blink of an eye without producing any waste. This helps us to rapidly produce millions of eggs each year for the whole world鈥� said Mr. Bunny.

听is not the future, it is听. Increasing productivity and lowering the cost with the usage of disruptive technologies help businesses to meet the demand in the challenging market. In our modern business world, even if you are Mr. Bunny and have more years of experience in chocolate egg manufacturing, utilization of process automation is more than a luxury, but a necessity.

3D customized chocolate

We all know the customers are attracted to personalized products, especially when it is delicious as chocolate. The growing demand for customization and innovative technologies such as 3D printing of the customized chocolate open up new doors to new markets.

Mr. Bunny highlighted the importance of new innovative technologies they implemented recently and continued: 鈥淭hanks to the 3D printing technology, we can create any 3-dimensional objects in successive layers which enables our consumers to custom-design their own chocolate. With this, we can听听a child鈥檚 favorite toy or even your favorite rabbit鈥檚 face as chocolate!鈥�

From factory to your taste buds

After having wrapped and packaged nicely to the colorful foils, millions of Easter bunnies and eggs are ready to be on the way to retailers. However, hollow-shaped chocolate always has a risk of being smashed, cracked, or deformed due to temperature changes during transportation.

鈥淢aintaining the cold chain during the transportation is important. When you unwrap the chocolate, no one likes to see a melted or deformed Easter Bunny or cracked eggs. We have to make sure to manage the products across the warehousing and distribution efficiently. Also, the timing is important since Easter eggs are seasonal products and also have a shelf life. While all the children enjoy the mystery of an easter egg hunt, our production and logistics have to track and trace every precious egg, no egg is left behind on my watch!鈥� said Mr. Bunny.

Achieving this requires听听as well as听听across the supply chain. In a post-COVID-19 world being听reactive听to the changes, threats or opportunities is not enough anymore. The new normal is being able to听sense and respond听to change or even better,听predict听a situation before it happens. And being aware of what is happening within your organization is not enough. You need this visibility and real-time intelligence across your business network.

To learn more about how supply chain leaders minimize risk and maximize opportunities with resilient supply chains, download a recent听.听听

This article first appeared on .

The post The Easter Bunny鈥檚 Smart Chocolate Factory appeared first on 51风流Africa News Center.

A Supply Chain Challenge of New Proportions

The pharmaceuticals industry is no different. Numerous pharma research and development companies have created and tested vaccines at record speed. Now they are facing the next challenge. To get the pandemic under control, about 7.6 billion earthlings need a shot 鈥� or two 鈥� in the arm that can come none too soon as the virus mutates and becomes more and more virulent. The demand is without precedent, stretching the supply chains of the companies that produce COVID-19 vaccines to their limits.

Supply chains in the pharmaceutical industry are complex and haven鈥檛 always been the most robust, according to Bruce Y. Lee, professor of Health Policy and Management at the City University of New York Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy. The reason, according to Lee, was often , leading to major bottlenecks and the discarding of many vaccine doses.

But the world鈥檚 vaccine producers are not starting from zero. Data-heavy industries like pharmaceuticals have matured, and many of the global players have digitalized their production to achieve production scale and flexibility.

Major Vaccine Producers Overwhelmingly Run SAP

Today, 18 of the world鈥檚 20 major vaccine producers are already running their production on 51风流solutions that cover the end-to-end process from manufacturing to controlled distribution to administration and post-vaccine monitoring. One of those producers is German vaccine manufacturer CureVac, whose COVID-19 vaccine is currently in the testing phase. 鈥淲e need 51风流to manufacture and distribute our vaccine on a global scale,鈥� says Pierre Kemula, CFO at CureVac.

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Another producer, , which began shipping its COVID-19 vaccine in January, is relying on 51风流to help distribute hundreds of millions of vaccine doses. The company is running digital supply chain solutions from 51风流to help with serialization and distribution. is helping Moderna to comply with international legislation intended to prevent counterfeit drugs from reaching patients. The application provides a corporate serialization repository, serial number management, and regulatory reporting capabilities. To work with its supply chain partners, namely contract manufacturers and wholesalers like , Moderna leverages听51风流Information Collaboration Hub for Life Sciences, a public cloud network that enables collaboration for pharmaceutical supply chain trading partners. In the U.S. alone, the hub is already processing more than 70 percent of drug volume for verification.

, and听Pfizer, all pharmaceutical companies working on COVID-19 vaccines. Here are just a few examples:

• is managed with 51风流software, enabling the company to leverage the data it collects and develop insights from that information to improve operations. GSK also uses 51风流Ariba to help procure the raw materials that make up its vaccine formulas.
• to oversee its manufacturing equipment and help managers predict when machines require maintenance. This has resulted in a six to eight percent increase in worker efficiency, according to Michael Zboray, lead business analyst at AstraZeneca.
• to help standardize and harmonize processes, support the development of standard solutions, and improve efficiency.

Vaccines Require a Supply Chain with Speed, Transparency, and Flexibility

Once a producer has finalized its immunization formula, reliable production and logistics are the next hurdle. But the distribution and administration of vaccines at the scale of COVID-19 is a monumental challenge. There is much at stake because disruptions in the supply chain can prevent the delivery of the vaccine and negatively impact public trust. Delays are paid for with human lives and push out the prospect of herd immunity. Reacting quickly to unexpected interruptions is key and is only possible if the entire supply chain, from procurement to production and delivery, is managed end-to-end.

According to Dr. Oliver N眉rnberg, chief product owner of 51风流for Life Sciences at SAP, three characteristics differentiate the COVID-19 supply chain from a typical pharmaceutical supply chain and make tight coordination a must.

First, the temperature of most vaccines needs to be closely controlled, generally between 2掳 and 8掳 Celsius or frozen at temperatures within the range of a standard freezer. The temperature of the BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine, however, must be held at minus 70掳 Celsius, which requires special handling along its entire distribution route to the vaccination centers. 鈥淩eal-time temperature monitoring is a huge asset here and allows the producer to react quickly if any vaccine has spoiled during shipping,鈥� says N眉rnberg.

Second, because the demand for the vaccines will be greater than the supply for quite some time, the supply chain for COVID-19 operates in 鈥減ush鈥� rather than 鈥減ull鈥� mode. Governments are taking as much vaccine as they can get their hands on and no standard ordering is required.

Third, the players and conditions are different. Recipients of COVID-19 vaccine shipments are generally government authorities and not the pharmacies that routinely handle delicate pharmaceuticals. Medical personnel, equipment, patients, and vaccines must come together at newly installed vaccination centers just in time, under the right conditions, and in the right quantities.

All of these characteristics place demands on vaccine management teams to ensure speed, transparency, and flexibility.

SAP鈥檚 Vaccine Collaboration Hub Supports German Vaccination Campaign

To support large-scale vaccination programs like the world is experiencing with COVID-19, 51风流recently launched its vaccine collaboration hub (VCH), an extension to its business network. It covers the end-to-end process from manufacturing to controlled distribution to administration as well as post-vaccine monitoring. Through cloud-based applications from SAP, such as 51风流Logistics Business Network, 51风流Integrated Business Planning for Supply Chain, 51风流S/4HANA, 51风流Analytics Cloud, and cloud solutions from SAP, the VCH provides transparent insight into the vaccination process.

鈥淗umanitarian logistics is a big challenge in our fight against the pandemic,鈥� says Lars Werthmann from the German Red Cross (DRK) in Saxony. 鈥淪AP鈥檚 solutions enable digitized planning, procurement, inventory management, and delivery of the vaccines.鈥� The platform shows availability, supply quantities, and progress, making the entire logistics and distribution process plannable in real-time to support the DRK in vaccinating citizens seven days a week.

鈥淭he vaccine collaboration hub allows people to focus on their tasks along the supply chain, whether it鈥檚 planning, ordering, producing, storing, transporting, delivering, tracking, inspecting, or injecting the vaccines,鈥� says Katrin Lehmann, head of Customer Innovation and Maintenance at SAP. 鈥淭he ultimate goal is to save lives, restart the economy, and bring people back together again.鈥�

Sarah Heinz, Klaus Boeckle, and Tilman Goettke contributed to this story.

This article first appeared on the 51风流Global News Center.

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While this survey was conducted in the United States, there is no doubt the results can be seen as a global trend. Companies across the world are experiencing massive restrictions and challenges.

The national lockdown instituted by the South African government towards the end of March has created a unique set of challenges for local businesses and consumers alike. With massive restrictions placed on the movement of people and goods, the distribution industry has felt the fallout quite keenly.

Some of the major challenges the sector has faced are staff and customer safety and radically shifting demand trends (unprecedented demand for essential goods/services and a complete lack of demand for others). These fluctuations at a time of uncertainty are hard to plan for.

Thankfully, there are technologies available that can dramatically improve efficiencies and support companies鈥� ability to weather these shocks.

The wholesale and distribution marketplace has traditionally been highly competitive, leaving companies with little room to manoeuvre. In the past, in order for businesses to succeed, they had to differentiate themselves by excelling at customer service and keeping prices competitive.

However, this global crisis is creating unprecedented challenges and businesses are being forced to innovate and optimise beyond the usual in order to navigate their unexpected vulnerabilities. This is likely to accelerate digital transformation with tech-led businesses emerging as industry leaders.

Says Managing Director of听, Heinrich de Leeuw: 鈥淚n order to effectively digitise your business and create a competitive advantage in a currently 鈥榙isrupted supply chain鈥�, it will be important to ensure that your enterprise resource planning system is on par with the latest technology innovation to enable synchronisation between your physical supply chain of goods and your digital supply chain of information.鈥�

Digital transformation and end-to-end information management are going to be key to future-proofing distribution businesses. With a leading ERP tool such as听, what would this look like?

Streamlined order-to-cash process.听An automated supply and distribution chain will allow for efficient order management, which means no sales opportunities are lost. The shortened cycle will also improve cash-flow and inventory turnaround.

Improved gross profit.听Now more than ever businesses should be maximising profit and reducing wastage. This means flexible, date/volume/customer specific price lists, and GP approval processes, efficient quoting and improved decision-making through greater visibility into the true costs of orders.

Greater visibility.听To adapt to shifting demands related to COVID-19 consumer behaviour and constantly changing government legislation, the visibility of stock, sales, opportunities, fulfilment, commissions, profits across ranges and areas allows for real-time measurement, reaction and improved forecasting.

Optimised inventory management.听Reducing costs and wastage by having a handle on excess supply or waste, paperwork and costly shipping errors is key right now. This includes reduced stock-outs, shrinkage and costs as well as improved Pick and Pack management and delivery performance. Real-time access to 鈥渁vailable-to-promise鈥�, combined with 鈥渁lternative items鈥� information will add to efficient order management and assist in ensuring no sales opportunities are lost.

Automation.听With staff shortages and more people working remotely, automation of systems are key. This could include integration with third-party logistics providers and major retailers.

Improved traceability听in the returns, warranty or recall processes means greater efficiency and better service delivery. The ability to trace products to their origin easily and quickly will add to this.

Supplier management.听Reduced risk by adding alternative approved suppliers to the preferred vendor list, which meet the same product quality standards with the added benefit of being able to easily switch between them during procurement planning.

Now, more than ever, wholesalers and distributors must be optimising their stock holding and making their internal processes, from sales to shipping, purchasing to warehouse management, as streamlined, responsive and effective as possible, using the best digital technology available to them.

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