Modern supply chains were built to bridge the gap between original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and consumers in the most remote locations. And, while this expansion has created unprecedented growth opportunities, it has also led to obstructed supply chain visibility, poor traceability, unstandardized processes and data silos.
These challenges are particularly evident for serviceable products that need to maintain maximized uptime and operate efficient spare parts supply chains, and, as the market moves away from the pay-to-own model and towards a pay-to-use model with maximized uptime guarantees, gaining supply chain visibility is pivotal for OEMs. But, with blockchain technology – digital, tamper-proof ledgers based on protected distributed architectures – OEMs can achieve unprecedented supply chain visibility in their multipolar supply chains.
That’s why we created our latest Syncron original Orange Paper, Blockchain: Powering Unprecedented Supply Chain Visibility, where we discuss how blockchain technology can help OEMs overcome challenges with achieving supply chain visibility, and how to address subsequent security concerns that come along with the technology.
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As we head into a changing industry focused on servitization and maximized product uptime, supply chain visibility is one of the major keys to balancing both service and cost. It empowers collaboration between suppliers and buyers, while also bringing responsiveness, reliability, and flexibility to supply chain operations. James Henderson, Senior Manager of Material Management at Al-Futtaim, supports this claim that, in an environment with large manufacturers with wide networks of distributors, it’s unlikely that any one solution will serve as a common centralized solution for visibility without trusted blockchain-based solutions.
Blockchain technology has the potential to completely disrupt the way global supply chains operate today. In fact, many manufacturing initiatives have emerged over the past decade with goals of optimizing supply chains through blockchain; and, they’re almost entirely focused on either supply chains of heavily regulated markets (such as pharmaceutical, medical equipment or food industries) or those of luxury consumer goods (think: jewelry, apparel and footwear). But, these initiatives overlook one major area of opportunity for blockchain success: after-sales service.
After-sales service logistics are more challenging than that of finished goods, as volatile demands and expansive spare part types make visibility a prerequisite for effective service supply chain – but, supply chain visibility is being left behind. Ultimately, this lack of visibility is serving as the biggest obstacle to achieving quality service. In a survey conducted by Geodis among over 600 supply chain professionals, supply chain visibility was listed as the third most important strategic business priority, while only 6 percent of companies had achieved full supply chain visibility.
“Blockchain technology is revolutionary for powering supply chain visibility in multipolar networks,” says Henderson, “and Syncron is the only after-sales service solution on the market that adequately addresses supply chain visibility through the lens of this emerging technology.”
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Download our new Orange Paper to learn how manufacturers can leverage blockchain technology to overcome the common challenges with achieving supply chain visibility today.
