Delayed, in transit, more delays, and finally, delivered! Logistics resource shortages, advancing cyber threats, geopolitical tensions, and economic uncertainties — whether you’re a retail chain or a B2B manufacturer, as a leading multinational organisation — these unforeseen challenges can and will inevitably affect your supply chain. Precision, timeliness, and resilience are paramount in the supply chain industry today, as any delay can have cascading effects on distribution and production processes, which impact consumers and, ultimately, businesses.
However, while risks in the supply chain can’t be avoided, they can be managed. With heightened awareness surrounding these disruptions, and the inevitability that a crisis can strike at a moment’s notice, organisations are proactively looking for new strategies to prepare for upcoming challenges.
As we explore the topic further, we interviewed Neerav Shah, VP for EMEA at commercetools, a leading provider of composable commerce solutions, to discuss the current challenges faced by the supply chain industry and how to fix them.
Today’s eCommerce supply chain challenges
Some supply chain issues are beyond any organisation’s control. To mitigate the overall impact and build critical resilience in today’s market, companies could focus on tackling the challenges that are within their power.
Inventory management
A particular struggle I’ve noticed organisations often grapple with is walking the tightrope of inventory management.
According to a 2024 Gitnux report, businesses lose a collective $1.1 trillion annually due to inventory distortion, with retail operators maintaining 63% inventory accuracy. Inaccurate predictions can result in understocking, leading to missed sales opportunities, or overstocking, which ties up capital and risks losses on perishable goods.
We advocate for the use of composability, using independent services to integrate with any inventory system, while also offering the flexibility to scale and enhance the inventory service independently as your business grows.
Outdated technology
Another crucial factor that I’ve seen organisations overlook is their legacy systems. All too often, companies cling to their ‘tried and true’ tech, thinking it will continue to serve them as it once did. However, times have drastically changed… relying on older systems to manage shipping and returns won’t prove efficient.
Persisting with ‘old’ technology can soon create inefficiencies in inventory tracking, order processing, and customer service as more features become redundant, leading to fragmented processes and error-prone operations. With more consumers turning to online shopping to take advantage of cheaper buying opportunities, these gaps in operational efficiency are sore spots for eCommerce businesses. Customers expect a seamless, swift, and sophisticated service from online providers, so these companies can’t afford to fall short.
The secret to harnessing supply chain resilience
Fast-fashion giant Shein recently took a bold step in the world of eCommerce, announcing its new business model — ‘supply chain as a service’.
As a company that possesses the unique ability to manufacture, ship and deliver exceptionally more than its direct competitors, this unique offering plays to its strengths and allows external brands and designers to tap into Shein’s sophisticated infrastructure and facilitate greater innovation and efficiency across the global fashion market.
How did they achieve this in the current climate?
It’s simple. They digitised their entire supply chain from top to bottom, providing real-time visibility into capacity, inventory levels, and demand signals to facilitate data-driven decision-making and rapid response to market trends and potential setbacks.
So, how can organisations optimise their operations to handle the unexpected? The answer lies in addressing the following pain points:
End-to-end visibility
With a comprehensive view of the supply chain from start to finish, organisations can pinpoint potential bottlenecks and mitigate them.
New technologies such as cloud-native and cloud-agnostic platforms can give businesses access to a centralised repository of supply chain data, enabling them to standardise data formats and protocols across systems. These solutions can also provide the real-time capabilities that legacy systems lack, offering essential visibility and advanced analytics to alert companies of potential supply chain issues and provide actionable insights for timely decision-making.
Flexibility in innovation
Tech is the driving force behind eCommerce. It’s always changing and shows no sign of stopping any time soon.
From the rise of generative AI to machine learning, automation, the Internet of Things (IoT), and more, the supply chain has never been ‘smarter’, and businesses must demonstrate a willingness to innovate and upgrade in order to keep up with modern systems and operate more efficiently. A composable architecture can support these initiatives by enabling businesses to swap out, adopt, and drop technologies as and when needed. The outcome? Greater scalability, innovation agility, and system connectivity.
Conquering eCommerce fulfilment
Nobody can predict the future. But what we can do is ensure we’re prepared for sudden disturbances and have the flexibility to adapt to whatever may arise.
Siloed systems should be coming to an end. By embracing new, innovative technologies and infrastructures, organisations can not only unlock more agility for rapid scaling but also focus on optimising resilience to better handle unexpected disruptions.
In an era defined by digital connectivity, companies that keep their finger on the pulse of cutting-edge tech solutions will be best poised to stay ahead of the curve and thrive against competition.
- Collaboration & Optimization
- Risk & Resilience
