¿Qué es la Gestión de la Cadena de Suministro (SCM)?

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¿Alguna vez se ha preguntado cuántas personas trabajaron en la fabricación del teléfono móvil que posee o por qué subieron los precios de la energía? No es solo una empresa la que produce un producto final y lo entrega en su tienda local, sino varias que trabajan en sinergia para crear un bien y hacerlo accesible para usted o para un cliente.

Pero, ¿cómo es posible coordinar varias empresas para un solo producto? Todo es gracias a la Gestión de la Cadena de Suministro.

¿Qué es la Gestión de la Cadena de Suministro?

Una cadena de suministro es una red que involucra a todos los individuos, recursos, información, organizaciones y su secuencia de actividades para crear y vender un producto o servicio a un destino final. Desde la compra y entrega de material hasta la creación de un producto, una cadena de suministro termina cuando un producto se entrega a un cliente o se distribuye a un usuario final.

Una cadena de suministro busca crear procesos más óptimos, un flujo de caja acelerado y entregas más rápidas. Sin embargo, el objetivo principal de una cadena de suministro es satisfacer la demanda, optimizar la capacidad de respuesta, construir una red eficiente, crear rentabilidad y generar valor para el cliente.

Existen diversas actividades durante la cadena de suministro, como la planificación, el abastecimiento, la fabricación, la entrega y la devolución. La supervisión de estas acciones se conoce como Gestión de la Cadena de Suministro (SCM).

Diferencia entre cadena de suministro y SCM

La diferencia entre la cadena de suministro y la gestión de la cadena de suministro es que esta última supervisa que todos los puntos de la cadena de suministro funcionen correctamente, buscando añadir valor a través de la eficiencia, optimizar los procesos y reducir los costes.

Un equipo de gestores especialistas en la cadena de suministro ejecuta las actividades durante la misma. La mejor manera de gestionar una cadena de suministro dependerá de que todos los implicados en los procesos tengan una buena comunicación y compartan puntualmente la información en tiempo real para identificar y resolver los problemas de la forma más eficaz. El software SCM puede ayudar en esta tarea. El software de gestión de la cadena de suministro es una herramienta utilizada en las diferentes partes de la cadena de suministro para tener un mejor control sobre el complejo trabajo de abarcar las actividades dentro de la red de la cadena de suministro, como proveedores, calidad, logística y distribución.

Hoy en día, el mundo sufre una crisis de gestión de la cadena de suministro. La causa principal son los retrasos dentro de la red de la cadena de suministro. La mayor parte se debe a la pandemia, al crecimiento del comercio electrónico que presiona a los proveedores de transporte, a los cierres por Covid cero en China y a la guerra de Ucrania. Estos acontecimientos han causado estragos en la fluidez con la que colaboran las cadenas de suministro, provocando que los precios se disparen.

¿Cómo funciona la Gestión de la Cadena de Suministro?

Estos son los 5 pasos de la gestión de la cadena de suministro:

1. Planning
   Good planning is the first step to success in supply chain management. It is the step in which companies foresee how much material will be needed for the elaboration of a product, the labor force, the time, the equipment, and who in the supply chain must participate. In addition, the client’s future needs must be predicted in case of placing a larger order later, thus avoiding shortages of raw materials. Most companies use Material Requirements Planning Software to help the SCM to plan the order and achieve the goals more effectively.
2. Sourcing
   Solid relationships and excellent coordination with suppliers help keep SCM processes efficient. A reliable supplier must:
   • Deliver raw materials that meet the given specifications to start manufacturing.
   • It has competitive prices according to the market.
   • It has a verifiable good track record of delivery and satisfied customers.
   • Possesses the ability to deliver last-minute raw material in case of emergency.
   • Maintains good communication with clients.
3. Manufacturing
   It is the essential step of supply chain management. It is the process in which the raw material is transformed into the requested product or service through machinery and labor. The production encompasses assembly, testing, inspection, and packaging. Efficient supply chain management monitors every step so that the product meets customer specifications and avoids production delays.
4. Delivery
   When the product is finished and approved by quality control, the next step is to send the order to the customer. Good logistics and communication with parcel providers are essential for on-time delivery and creating an image with the customer. Supply Chain Management wants delivery to be safe and reasonably priced, so having various parcel options is ideal in emergencies.
5. Returning
   Companies will always seek to deliver the perfect product in compliance with the customer’s specifications; however, sometimes a product has to be returned, either due to changes made by the customer, an error by the company that manufactured it, or another reason. Good customer service does not end with delivery, so a company must have the ability to receive returned products and be able to give refunds to remedy the situation.

Los beneficios de la Gestión de la Cadena de Suministro

1. Reduce costs and make the company more profitable
   An immediate benefit is to reduce operating costs. By having greater control by being able to monitor the progress of production and better fluidity of communication, there are fewer errors in the manufacturing processes, reducing purchase, storage, and workforce costs, increasing cash flow, and obtaining higher profits. It is much easier if a company uses automated supply chain management. An automated SCM will streamline and optimize the processes of creating a product or service and avoid underproduction. SCM will also allow full traceability of all the movements of goods from the supplier to the customer. Companies that use the JIT method benefit significantly from Supply Chain Management Software.
2. SCM allows companies to be up to date with the pace of technology
   The world is becoming more globalized, so companies have to adapt to the new demands of consumers. The best way to achieve this goal is through supply chain management, which will help a company to have more optimal and efficient processes. SCM makes a company more competitive, ready to face the challenges of any bottleneck, new demands, or intermittent problems that arise.
3. Better communication and more transparent information
   In a globalized world, being in constant communication during all the steps of creating a product or service is vital. The faster an error is detected, the easier it will be to solve it, and it will have a lower cost, mitigating expenses. For example, an SCM can seek an immediate solution to avoid delays if a supplier or an outsourcing company has delayed delivery. Supply chain management allows greater visibility of the situation during the production process, enabling everyone that is part of a company’s supply chain to work more harmoniously and holistically. SCM also allows accurate, timely, complete, and relevant information flow to avoid missed opportunities and make a company grow. This step will be quite an easy task using technological tools such as mobile phone applications, software, and conferencing platforms.
4. Boosts shipment efficiency
   Just as a company expects the necessary material to start production, the customer seeks to have their order on time, so shipping methods are a crucial phase in supply chain management. With reasonable control of the SCM, you can collaborate with different shipping companies, having a method segmented according to the package size, destination, and type of product you plan to send.
5. Happier customers
   A good supply chain management creates products faster and delivers earlier or on time without harming or sacrificing the quality of the product or service; it can add added value. Fulfilling and exceeding expectations means more satisfied customers, improving the business relationship, and creating more loyal clients.

¿Cuáles son algunos problemas comunes en la Gestión de la Cadena de Suministro?

Todos los pasos dentro de la cadena son necesarios, pero su adecuada administración y gestión pueden ser complejas y presentar diversos retos. Los obstáculos comunes son:

• Delay or loss of goods
  We have to start this list with the problem that delays the entire supply chain, the lack of material due to loss or delay. If there is no material, the production process can’t start. If there is no contingency plan, this can delay the delivery to the client and end up losing it or paying immediately. A Warehouse Management System can assist SCM in tracking and keeping the inventory under control.
• Lack of Communication and Transparency
  Having control and knowing how each of the stages of a supply chain process is developing is key to its success. If information is obtained in real-time from work, it will facilitate decision-making and solving problems that arise.
• Mismanagement of resources
  If a company doesn’t estimate correctly how much material a process will need or predict the demand that a product may have, it can lead to excess inventory, increasing costs, and wasting time.
• Unsatisfactory Customer Service
  Good customer service and quality product delivery on time are vital to creating a good relationship with customers. Some are even willing to pay a slightly higher price to get a special deal. Therefore, realistic expectations must be drawn up with the client to comply with what was agreed.
• Low capacity for sudden changes
  It is nothing new that several changes can occur when manufacturing a product within the supply chain process, be it due to late delivery, a broken machine, last-minute changes from the customer, or even bad weather or external factors. Therefore, it is necessary to have a tool capable of generating contingency plans at the moment.

Agilice su producción

La gestión de la cadena de suministro genera ventajas que benefician a cualquier empresa, especialmente a aquellas que no son autosuficientes. La mayoría de las empresas trabajan y colaboran con otras simultáneamente, como empresas de transporte o proveedores, para poner el producto final en manos de los clientes. Por esta razón, un SCM es esencial para una empresa que quiera crecer y satisfacer las demandas del mundo moderno.

Puede añadir un software de Gestión de la Cadena de Suministro a un sistema existente, como la tecnología ERP. Esta incorporación hará que el software SCM sea más ágil con la ayuda de procesos automatizados y un flujo de información en tiempo real entre la red. La solución Skyplanner APS puede personalizarse para satisfacer sus necesidades de ERP y SCM. Nuestro equipo de profesionales está preparado para ayudar a su empresa a crecer y afrontar cualquier crisis esporádica.

Consulte y descubra cómo podemos ayudarle.