Why Growing Businesses Struggle with Supply Chain Visibility

Supply chain visibility is the number one issue plaguing growing businesses.

Contents

What you’re going to learn:Why Supply Chain Visibility Is More Important Than Ever Growing Businesses Lack Visibility For 3 Main Reasons Outdated Systems Supplier Relationships Multi-Channel Complexity The High Cost of Guessing Inventory Optimization Software Gives You The Visibility You Need Take Action To Improve Visibility TODAY The Bottom Line

It seems like such an easy concept. Know what inventory you have, where it’s located, and when it’s moving.

But…

Truth is most businesses have no visibility past their front door. And that lack of visibility costs them thousands of dollars every year.

What you’re going to learn:

Why Supply Chain Visibility Is More Important Than Ever
The 3 Reasons Growing Businesses Lack Visibility
How Inventory Optimization Software Solves The Problem
Steps You Can Take To Improve Visibility TODAY

Why Supply Chain Visibility Is More Important Than Ever

Let’s define supply chain visibility.

Supply chain visibility is the ability to see into your supply chain.

To track products, orders, and shipments from raw materials to your customers doorstep.

Here’s the problem…

Only 6% of businesses have complete visibility into their supply chain. Meaning 94% of companies are flying blind.

Can you imagine?

99% of businesses are making decisions about their inventory based off of assumptions.

Guesses.

And guesses lead to:

Stockouts that anger your customers
Excess inventory that’s destroying your cash flow
Missed delivery dates that cost you dearly in penalties

Optimization tools like Netstock inventory software can help growing businesses see into their supply chain. With tools like real-time tracking, demand forecasting, and automated reorder points there’s no more guessing.

Without visibility scaling your business becomes an absolute nightmare.

Growing Businesses Lack Visibility For 3 Main Reasons

Growing businesses are hit harder by poor supply chain visibility.

Why?

Let’s take a look at what makes visibility so difficult for expanding companies:

The more your business grows. The more your supply chain grows with it.

More suppliers. More products. More warehouse space. More sales channels.

And every new development in your supply chain creates a new opportunity for blindspots.

45% of respondents in a McKinsey survey either had no visibility into their upstream supply chain or could only see as far as their first-tier suppliers. Nearly half of survey participants couldn’t see what was happening beyond their suppliers.

Outdated Systems

Growth is hard.

And growing businesses often struggle to keep up with their inventory using antiquated systems.

This isn’t a problem when you’re a small business with relatively low sales volume.

But as that volume grows? So should your inventory management tech.

Using Spreadsheets & Manual Processes

We all know spreadsheets have their limits.

But did you know that 66% of SME’s are still using spreadsheets as their stock management system?

Pretty shocking when you think about it.

Manual Processes

Dragging out inventory with manual pen and paper means plenty of room for human error.

These mistakes create:

Stock discrepancies
Fulfillment delays
Dissatisfied customers

Supplier Relationships

As your business grows you’ll probably add new suppliers.

But with new suppliers comes a brand new set of variables.

Variable lead times. Minimum order quantities. Communication styles.

More suppliers = More potential for poor visibility.

According to SME’s delivery times from suppliers are unpredictable. Suppliers with long lead times and little to no reliability make accurate inventory forecasting impossible.

Multi-Channel Complexity

Running your business across multiple sales channels is nothing new.

But each new sales channel introduces unique complexity to your inventory.

Amazon. Your website. Retail partners. Brick and mortar storefronts.

Managing inventory across these channels without complete visibility creates stock discrepancies and fulfillment chaos.

And that’s just scratching the surface of why growing businesses struggle with supply chain visibility.

The High Cost of Guessing

Bad supply chain visibility leads to failed guesses. But those guesses come at a high cost.

Let’s look at several examples:

Lost sales from stockouts.

Customers don’t like waiting for products to be restocked.

They go buy it somewhere else.

Costs associated with excess inventory.

Storage fees, insurance, depreciation. It all adds up.

Emergency shipping costs.

Rushing orders to fulfill a customer because you didn’t have stock on hand is bad for your margins (and your stress levels).

Damaged customer relationships.

Missed deadlines and backorders ruin your reputation.

Bottom line. When you don’t have supply chain visibility you have no idea how much money you’re leaving on the table.

Every dollar you have tied up in excess inventory is a dollar you can’t spend growing your business.

Inventory Optimization Software Gives You The Visibility You Need

Implementing an inventory optimization software suite isn’t hard.

And it can bring SO much to growing businesses.

Software like Netstock allows you to:

Track inventory in real-time throughout your entire business
Forecast demand based on historical sales data
Set automated reorder points to know when to restock
Accurately identify slow moving stock before it hits your shelves
Monitor supplier performance to identify issues before they become problems

Inventory optimization software removes the guesswork from inventory management.

Instead of reacting to problems you can proactively prevent them with the right tools.

Businesses that leverage supply chain visibility technology are already ahead of the game.

They have better visibility which allows them to make better decisions.

Decisions that save money and please their customers.

Netstock’s cloud based software allows users to access their inventory from any device at any time. All updates are synced through the cloud in real-time. And our smart AI learns from your business to identify areas for improvement. Automated notifications keep your team on top of stock levels BEFORE they become an issue.

The technology is out there. Will you use it or continue to drown in spreadsheets?

Take Action To Improve Visibility TODAY

There’s no reason to keep flying blind.

Take action TODAY by:

Auditing your current systems. Map out your current inventory management process and identify where the gaps are. What data aren’t you seeing? Where are your systems failing to communicate with each other? By performing an audit you’ll identify where your visibility stops.
Centralizing your inventory data. Put ALL of your inventory data in one place. Stop relying on spreadsheets and keep your information in a centralized location.
Investing in technology. Choose inventory software that works for your business. Look for features like real-time tracking, demand forecasting, sales channel integration, automated alerts, and supplier management. Netstock has got you covered on all fronts. Not only that our software is scalable so you can continue to grow without worrying about outgrowing your tech.

Continue to build supplier relationships that push BOTH parties toward more visibility.

And remember, supply chain visibility isn’t a set it and forget it deal.

Make sure to routinely check inventory levels, and talk to your suppliers about issues as they crop up.