When businesses work together to optimize their supply chain, everyone succeeds. Good supply chain collaboration requires businesses to share information together in real time, leading to better inventory planning and overall better optimization, as well as improving customer service and increasing net sales. Ultimately, by working together, businesses that utilize supply chain collaboration are capable of gaining a lasting competitive advantage over other businesses, making it more than worthwhile to incorporate this type of collaboration into one’s practices.
Sharing Information
In supply chain collaboration, businesses may share many types of information. Forecasts are one such type of information businesses may share; for example, production forecasts that allow businesses to gain better insight about decisions that must be made in the future. Businesses may also share information regarding prices and promotions, current inventory, product and material availability and even contract terms for current customers.
Joint Planning
In addition to simply sharing information, businesses that take part in supply chain collaboration typically take part in joint planning regarding many issues. Some of these issues include details, such as working together on forecasts to help improve their accuracy, which in turn allows businesses to make even better decisions in the future, enhancing sales and creating pricing plans. Altogether, supply chain collaboration can have numerous benefits, from lowering inventory levels to reducing out-of-stock levels, decreasing lead times and earlier and faster decision making.