One of the backbones of every company is its supply chain – a complex network of organizations and activities, whose collaboration changes the raw materials into the finished products, and thus, complies with the needs of the customers. Considering the intensity of activities performed within the chain, there is always a place for mistakes and deficiencies that disrupt the holistic approach of the company and make it look for optimizing solutions.

Such a problem was addressed by an omnipresent IT sector, who came up with a brilliant solution – an SAP ERP cover-it-all software that helps to streamline the work of the supply chain, and thus, improve the company’s performance on every level. According to statistics, this system is used by half a billion users across all products.

How can the implementation of an SAP ERP maximize the efficiency of a supply chain, and what are the modules to choose? Let’s clarify together.

Every supply chain is like the heartbeat of the company, as it is responsible for delivering ready-to-be-used products to the market. However, due to a lack of attention and lack of organization, the expected results may not match the real outcome. It is actually a common problem for enterprises that still use a great deal of manual work in the era of automation and artificial intelligence. On the way to optimizations, there are three main steps:

1.    Define the problematic areas

It is important to be sensible and take into account real figures and reports as even the smallest deficiency may aggravate and bring permanent damage. Aiming to see the big picture, the managers should de-layer the supply chain and define the activities that are detrimental. A typical supply chain consists of manufacturing, suppliers, transporters, warehouses, distributors, service providers, retailers, and customers. It is highly recommended to look into every component, analyze all the activities, and check all the reports.

1.    Check up on solutions

Once the problems and pain points are outlined, it’s time to embrace technology and let more intelligence into the supply chain structure. The implementation of a third-party provider will help to maximize the efficiency of a supply chain and help to achieve the most important goal – getting the product to the customer at the right time and at the right cost (with the possibility to lower the price and speed up the time).

When the efficiency of the multilayered and multifunctional enterprise is under question, there is no better solution than SAP ERP software. Unlike other types of software, SAP ERP consists of various independent yet centralized modules. Let’s see how it works:

1. One of the main trouble zones in the supply chain may be a yard area, as it is a relatively small, yet vital territory, however, due to the misplacement, manual load, and bottlenecks, some of the inventory may get lost, goods are not registered, etc. By introducing SAP Yard Logistics (SAP YL), managers can control the flow of goods and plan an efficient movement within the area, avoiding blind zones.
2. Another common pain point is lost inventory. Finding them manually in the huge warehouse isn’t possible, however, implementation of SAP for Warehouse Management will help to track every single product within the supply chain, right until it reaches the customer.
3. When addressing the issue of transportation management, there is also a whole module dedicated to it— the SAP TM module, which brings clarity and visibility to all transportation activities.

Basically, every component of a supply chain can be covered by SAP solution, giving you real-time insights into the matter. What’s even more important, all these modules are connected to one centralized platform, which creates a so-called ‘supply chain at your fingertips’, as you can track down every single activity 24/7.

Such a level of accessibility and intelligent management brings about another question, how to choose the SAP integrator?

2.    Choose the integrator

The world market is full of offers regarding SAP implementation, as it is a leading software nowadays. However, it is important to take time a choose only the most experienced and time-proven companies to work with, as their expertise is the foundation of your success.

The selection should be based on a few cornerstones: experience, expertise, and customer-centric approach.

When googling the list of reliable integrators, there is always LeverX being mentioned. Let’s analyze their offers:

• LeverX has been in the market for over twenty years now. Their portfolio mentions world-known names like Miele, British Imperial Tobacco, Philips, SRI International, etc., which is an indication of trust and reliability.
• LeverX professionals practice what they preach. While helping the companies grow and develop, they follow this policy themselves, adopting new editions and modifications of SAP ERP, and developing their level of expertise.
• The reviews on reputable websites like GoodFirms, Indeed, and Clutch have averaged from 4.5 to 4.9, which indicates a high level of proficiency.
• The reviews of the former employees are all positive (although it isn’t the most important option, it is good to know that the company you are working with creates a healthy working environment).

Taking all the bits and pieces into account, it is clear that LeverX is one of the best candidates to contact when aiming to introduce SAP ERP into the structure of the company.

The Bottom Line

In our highly intelligent world, there is no place for manually organized processes within the company, especially a supply chain, with its multitude of activities, organizations, and people. It is important to introduce state-of-the-art technologies in order to create an efficient, seamless working environment.

Don’t hesitate and contact LeverX for further explanations and advice.