Digital supply networks

About our digital supply networks services

The Deloitte Digital Supply Networks offering helps senior executives, including CEOs, CIOs, and supply chain leaders, identify and realise new supply network opportunities while managing their inherent complexities. Together with ecosystem partners, such as Singularity University, GE Digital and Kinaxis, we immerse clients in the most forward-thinking perspectives on the future of supply chain, including artificial intelligence, advanced robotics, additive manufacturing and the Internet of Things.

Our practice offers deep industry knowledge in all functional areas of supply chain, coupled with robust end-to-end, cross-functional supply chain experience.

We help organisations transform their supply chains by addressing two key areas:

1. Strategy. We help companies create supply network strategies and engage with ecosystem partners that allow the realisation of their business vision and aspirations These strategies may differ by business unit, product and trade channel. We also help clients explore the “art of the possible” through digital supply network immersion sessions.
2. Execution. Once the strategy is in place and/or an accretive digital solution is prioritised and chosen, we build, pilot and deploy the solution(s) using an agile approach. Digitising the supply network may involve building digital threads that run through each of the existing supply chain nodes, blurring the lines between traditional functions, products and divisions. We develop and execute on roadmaps that consist of a series of rightsized, rapid “sprints” to quickly deliver incremental value while we continuously iterate and improve.

How can digital supply networks benefit my business?

The Deloitte Digital Supply Networks offering can help your team turn your supply chain into a competitive differentiator with the potential to achieve results such as:

Increased revenue:

• Reorders and refills. Smart packaging, applications and data can be combined, either automatically or with minimal intervention, to push reorders and refills.
• Marketing effectiveness. Targeted marketing, combined with data from inventory and competitive pricing, can facilitate dynamic discounting.
• Direct connection to customers. Increased access to customers can drive sales at the precise point of consumption, for example ordering groceries directly from the refrigerator.
• Value of data. Gathering, packaging and selling data from existing customer bases can open up new channels of revenue.
• Speed to market. Effective use of product lifecycle management accelerates every step from product development to delivery and enables innovative products to reach customers more quickly.

Improved margins:

• Cost of R&D. Rapid prototyping can lower the cost of R&D.
• Cost of raw materials. Digital advances can help identify substitute materials, or can connect buyers to alternate lower-cost sources.
• Cost of quality. Increased visibility and monitoring can decrease cost of quality. For example sensors can identify root errors and drive process improvements that dramatically increase first pass yields.
• Cost of service. Digitally gathering data from products and/or users and sending it to remotely located, skilled technicians decreases the cost of service and the cost of transport of service technicians.
• Cost of transport. Automated warehousing robots and driverless trucks utilise analytics and dynamic routing to improve efficiency and reduce accidents and errors.

Greater asset efficiency:

• Idle assets. The sharing economy can be leveraged for high cost and under capacity assets. For example, a company that only operates two shifts per day could sell its third shift to another company.
• Supply chain downtime. Predictive maintenance can maximise performance and reliability of manufacturing devices.
• Idle workforce. Sensor-enabled labour monitoring can optimise workforce assignments and scheduling.
• “Click-to-ship” time. Automated inventory management can dramatically increase supply chain efficiency.
• Error propagation. Augmented Reality can assist in maintenance and reduce error propagation and rework costs.

Meeting shareholder expectations:

• Geographic responsiveness. Increased connectivity enables rapid responses to unexpected issues, such as natural disasters or supplier shutdowns.
• Brand responsiveness. Increased insight to customer concerns or issues enables fast responses to events like food contamination outbreaks.
• Proactive risk mitigation. Increased transparency demands proactive assessment of risks and fast response to customer demands.