The Covid-19 pandemic catalysed change in the freight and trade sector. As supply chains were increasingly plagued with disruption and uncertainty, enterprises turned to technology, implementing automation and digitalisation strategies to save the day. In some instances, changes were implemented virtually overnight, with little resistance both from a business and technology perspective. Louise Wiggett, managing director of Global Trade Solution (GTS), explains: “The traditional change management obstacles were eliminated and the changes were embraced very quickly. If anything, this was a positive learning experience and one that should not be lost as we move further away from the pandemic period.” Supply chains have, however, remained under pressure and meeting demand is now increasingly difficult.Says Wiggett: “While technology is an important part of the solution, it is not the only requirement if the country wants to remain competitive on a global scale.“More than anything, we need to change the approach when technology solutions are implemented. Greater digital collaboration across the end-to-end ecosystem is where the real solution lies.”Anton Eccles, a solution architect at GTS, agrees, saying the move to technology needs to be accompanied by a fundamental change. “If one looks at the cloud-based and software-as-a-service (SaaS) platforms being introduced, they hold the potential to bring stakeholders across the supply chain together by delivering greater digital collaboration across the supply chain. “This, in turn, will deliver increased control, visibility, efficiency and integrated logistics.”These solutions, adds Eccles, are not difficult to implement as the barriers to entry are much lower than what many perceive, while the total spend is also far less than expected. “The ease of use and user-friendliness of these cloud-based solutions further allows companies to experiment by dipping in and out of solutions quite easily until they find what works best for the business.”He says too many companies are still working with a silo approach. “Even though they are introducing the technology into their operation, they are not necessarily seeing the potential benefits that technology can bring simply because of the lack of supply chain coordination and collaboration.”According to Wiggett, a step change is needed throughout the industry in terms of embracing the concept of collaboration far more integrally. She explains that holistic, multi-dimensional collaboration is what delivers the highest total value, including cost, speed, risk, quality and overall customer experience.“We cannot digitise operations and yet continue to hold on to traditional operating models. Embracing new technology and the potential it holds, the real benefit, lies in our ability as an industry to work together. Until we do this, it does not matter what technology is out there because it simply will not give us the enhanced benefits that full end-to-end digitisation can give the industry.”According to Eccles, supply chain collaboration refers to companies and their suppliers aligning strategies and goals by connecting via technology platforms and sharing data and insights seamlessly with each other. This introduces enhanced efficiency and cost savings over the long term. Above all, it eliminates waste in the system.He says it will require companies to take a more entrepreneurial approach when it comes to technology platforms and solutions. “It may seem like a risk, but the benefits are tremendous. The barriers to entry and the costs are far less than what many perceive. There are also the opportunities of introducing these collaborative solutions in smaller sub-sets, allowing a business to find the r ight f it.
