Last week, all the media ofthe world were polarized on the American elections, but in the Supply Chain world the shocking news was the announcement of COUPA SOFTWARE acquiring LLamasoft (Supply Chain Guru, Optimiza, llama.ai, etc.). Conseil 2.0 is an official partner with these two companies and we are very proud to see these industry leaders join forces to offer connected solutions that meet multiple supply chain needs.
If the current year has shown us anything, it is the fact that for many companies the weaknesses in their supply chain’s structure can quickly make them collapse in the event of an unforeseen shock. This article aims to introduce you to the Supply Chain Guru (SCG) tools. This software offers modeling, optimization, and simulation solution that can help build a stronger foundation for the supply chain and help study the impact of shocks before they happen.
Modeling tool
The first opportunity that SCG offers is the possibility of modeling your network. You want to map your supply chain with products movements? You want to understand the breakdown of your different operating costs? The modeling tools allows you, with your internal data, to better understand your current business process. Like the proverb “a picture is worth a thousand words”, SCG offers several visuals to help you understand your data, and potentially identifies issues that will help taking decisions that are much more informed.
Optimization tool
The second opportunity that the SCG offers a “Machine Learning” module integrated directly into the software. Once the modeling of your network is created, it is possible to create a mirror image, and make the current model compete with the optimized one. It will help visualize the potential improvements of your network and its financial impact. The optimization of your supply chain will be based on metrics like product flow, service costs, production costs, transport cost, etc
Simulation tool
The third opportunity that SCG offers is a simulation tool. For any improvement project that you want to do in the supply chain, it is recommended to use the simulation before launching it. This step can help reveal issues that were not initially identified or even the infeasibility of the project. Like in the optimization tools, the SCG simulation tool create a mirror image of the initial model, on which it is possible to apply different constrain. For example:
- Impact of demand increasing by X% in the current network
- Closure / Opening of X distribution centers around the world
- Increase / decrease in vehicle fleet
This solution can make your business save a tremendous amount of time and money if the project was initially poorly defined.
One of the strengths of SCG is that it is possible to use these 3 modules together. When using the software for Optimization or Simulation, it will be important to use the Modeling module to identify a “Baseline” as a comparison tool. This part of the work is crucial to the success of the project because all the studies will be made from this initial model. It is therefore important to put a lot of time and emphasis on validating the data that will be used as a baseline. Once this referent has been modeled and approved by the stakeholders, you only have to define the constraints to be simulated in the different scenarios, and run the software according to them.
One of the possible avenues of the simulation, which was not widely exploited before and which is expected to become more and more widespread, is the simulation of the impacts of natural disasters and climate changes on supply chains everywhere across the world.
• What happens if overnight we must close our borders?
• What are the impacts if we can no longer produce for 2 months?
• What is the impact if one of our raw materials becomes increasingly rare and its price rises exponentially?
With the SCG simulation tools, it is possible to evaluate these scenarios to be ready in the event of a possible outcome, like the one we are currently experiencing. This proactivity could pay off hugely for your business.
If you would like to learn more about the Supply Chain Guru software, please do not hesitate to contact us, we will be happy to help you. At Conseil 2.0 we offer several tailor-made services to meet your needs.
