SAP SUPPLY CHAIN CONTROL TOWER (SCCT)
IMPORTANCE OF END-TO-END SUPPLY CHAIN VISIBILITY
We live in a VUCA world where (V)olatility, (U)ncertainty, (C)omplexity and (A)mbiguity are all on the increase. To effectively navigate in such an environment, supply chains need, among other things, a friction-less flow of information and tools for monitoring performance in real-time and for collaboration on resolution of issues that arise.
IBP's Supply Chain Control tower provides metrics for performance management (KPIs) and capabilities to configure rule-based monitoring of issues (custom alerts) and collaboration (through case management) on issue resolution.
SOME KEY TRENDS AND CHALLENGES IN END-TO-END SUPPLY CHAIN VISIBILITY
OVERVIEW OF SOME KEY CAPABILITIES OF SCCT
CASE MANAGEMENT
Supply chains are an intricate system that consist of myriad components that interact in complex ways. Therefore, when problems do arise, solving them often require a collaborative effort within and across functional boundaries, and sometimes even across organizational boundaries. Case management in IBP is a capability that allows for such collaboration on resolving issues. Typically, this functionality is used in conjunction with one or more alerts that provide the context for collaboration. Traditionally, issue resolution in a planning context has been one of the areas where activities were conducted offline, and for good reason. However, with robust tool support for exception management (e.g. using custom alerts and case management), all of these activities can now be conducted from within SAP IBP.
CUSTOM ALERT
Exceptions to planned situations are very common in Supply Chain Management. Unless the planners/managers are notified and corrective measures are taken in time, situations might escalate and lead to bigger problems.
IBP's Control Tower has a very useful feature that allows triggering of alerts based on predefined business rules. Through this, users can define their own custom rules based on business requirements and when conditions are met, alerts will be triggered automatically so that the users can take timely corrective action.
For example, the warehouse supervisor can define his/her own alert(s) to get notified when the stock reaches a certain level or a supply planner can define alert(s) to get notified when the resource utilization reaches a certain critical level. These custom alerts can be defined and executed on the fly, so no intervention from the IT team is required. Once an alert is defined, other users can subscribe to it.