Supply chain constraints and disruptions are making headlines and affecting the performance of companies in many business sectors. According to Aberdeen Research, lack of supply chain performance can have a catastrophic effect on customer service and retention ⁶. One of the key contributing factors to an effective supply chain is labor, a vital resource in most industries. Various workforce challenges play a significant role in constraining supply chain execution. The disconnected nature of operational and analytical systems makes it difficult to resolve these challenges, but a single integrated framework can empower managers to navigate more effectively through disruptions and crises.
Currently, there are a number of inter-related factors which have combined to create a perfect storm that adversely impacts supply chain performance and efficiency, including:
While these factors have caused logistical headaches for organizations, supply chain activity is heavily labor-intensive, and the challenges facing the workforce have further exacerbated supply chain complexity. Manufacturing production, port activity, truck transportation, and warehouse logistics all require trained labor at the point of operation. According to Brian Olsavsky, Amazon CFO, labor was Amazon's "primary capacity constraint" in its latest quarter, forcing shifts in fulfillment patterns to maintain a reasonable level of deliveries and customer satisfaction ⁵. Companies are facing many challenges that hinder these operations, including:
The problem is not just that companies face supply chain or labor challenges; it is that they face severe challenges in both areas at the same time. Supply chain operations are critically dependent on access to timely, qualified labor. Finding a solution requires quickly analyzing combined operational and workforce performance data to enable faster, more effective decisions.
Supply chain and HR leaders shouldn't struggle to share information and make the best decisions by relying on disparate systems. A unified analytics solution for supply chain and HR can provide insight into inter-related operational and workforce bottlenecks and provide decision-makers with the information they need to rebalance the production-distribution network. For example, transportation, warehouse, and logistics leaders can quickly assess demand/supply imbalances and adjust workforce requirements to maximize on-time delivery and minimize cost. HR leaders and hiring managers can understand staff shortages and skill gaps for manufacturing and logistics roles in different locations and adjust their hiring and retention policies appropriately.
An effective cross-functional analytics solution must be based on a unified cross- functional data model that incorporates supply chain and HR dimensions and finance, sales, customer satisfaction, and other roles. It must include integration with operational data sources and self-service visualization to simplify and speed use for managers and front-line analysts. And it must provide pre-built dashboards and KPIs based on industry best practices, so people can get up and running quickly and extend with additional data from any source when needed. Oracle Fusion Analytics is designed with a common cross- functional framework to empower managers, decision-makers, and front-line workers to connect the dots with their colleagues in other functions and eliminate siloed visibility and sub-optimal decision-making.
Oracle Fusion SCM Analytics (Supply Chain Management) is a prebuilt cloud-native solution for Oracle Cloud SCM that helps supply chain professionals uncover underlying drivers to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and ensure customer satisfaction. Oracle Fusion HCM Analytics (Human Capital Management) is a prebuilt cloud-native solution for Oracle Cloud HCM that provides human resource professionals with ready-to-use workforce insights to improve their decisions related to workforce diversity, employee attrition and retention, talent acquisition, compensation, and team effectiveness. Together Oracle SCM and HCM Analytics provide a single, common view that provides connected intelligence across both functions.
Learn more about Oracle Analytics’ built-in data preparation and enrichment. Click here. Also get additional information at Oracle.com/analytics, follow us on Twitter@OracleAnalytics, and connect with us on LinkedIn.
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Footnotes
¹ https://www.wsj.com/articles/supply-imbalances-continued-to-hold-back-u-s-growth-this-fall-feds-beige-book-says-11638386787?mod=Searchresults_pos2&page=1
² https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/10/big-business-bosses-are-warning-that-supply-chain-issues-and-inflation-are-here-to-stay.html
³ https://www.natlawreview.com/article/how-labor-shortage-impacting-supply-chain-would-immigration-reform-help
⁴ https://www.supplychainbrain.com/blogs/1-think-tank/post/34055-is-there-a-solution-to-the-supply-chain-worker-shortage
⁵ https://www.supplychaindive.com/news/amazon-earnings-ecommerce-peak-season-labor-shortage/609075/
⁶ https://analyticsadvantage.libsyn.com/the-benefits-and-drivers-of-cloud-based-analytics-across-retail
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