Ever since the coronavirus pandemic, there have been several trends changing in the market across the world. Supply chains have become a crucial part of businesses today as there are exciting strategies put in place that enhance a business’s performance. Due to COVID-19, supply chain practitioners face a post-pandemic recovery armed with a set of new systems and practices. Supply chain management ensures that consumer demands are met and the different components of your business run smoothly. The pandemic made it even more important for businesses to stay on top of the latest trends and development especially in supply change management.

Being up-to-date with the latest changes will ensure that you stay resilient with the ever-changing market. Supply chain management (SCM) consists of a wide range of components and activities that require attention to every single detail. SCM is all about being able to make sound business decisions and quick to source out alternatives to stay on top of business trends. Digitization of the supply chain has been crucial in the post-pandemic era. Having an excellent web hosting provider can improve your online marketing performance. If you are looking for a hosting service with the best feature, read the reviews on Hosting Foundry.

In this article, you will learn about different supply chain trends you must optimize in 2021 to improve your company’s productivity and performance.

Blockchain technology

Blockchain technology has been incredibly essential for businesses to minimize disruption of the supply chain and improve customer service. The worldwide spending on blockchain is expected to rise upt0 11 billion before 2022. Over the last few years, this trend has integrated different streams of your business such as shipping lines, carriers, logistic providers all into a single platform. It also allows businesses with logistic operations to efficiently process data by cutting out waste. The transparency offered by blockchain technology helps supply chain managers to identify issues even before they occur.

Internet of Things (IoT)

Businesses have understood how to leverage the power of IoT, extensively in warehouse automation. By implementing IoT devices, businesses can improve supply chain visibility that can provide businesses to optimize their assets and ROI. It is considered one of the most vital supply chain trends as it allows logistic companies to connect digitally and transfer data efficiently. IoT technology in warehouses and retail outlets can also improve visibility in production, inventory management, and predictive maintenance.

Elastic Logistics

Market fluctuations can make or break a business during a crisis. Having supply chains that are responsive, effective, and stable will ensure that businesses can still thrive during this tough time. This is where elastic logistic trends come into play and enhance the ability to expand or shrink according to current market demands. This technology helps companies manage and adjust potential issues with minimal disruptions. The flexibility of elastic logistics can improve your business performance and optimize it to greater heights.

Robotic Automation

Even though robotics automation is still in its infancy when it comes to supply chain operations, it has shown its effectiveness for many businesses. It can play a huge role in upgrading your process leaving little to no room for errors. Many companies have already integrated robotic automation to streamline logistics by using drones and driverless vehicles for various purposes. The technology is focused on speeding tasks through machines and empowering your human workers to focus on strategies that enhance customer experience and improve your business productivity.

E-commerce Logistics

Ever since the pandemic, e-commerce sales have skyrocketed as people have been quarantined at home. E-commerce logistics is expected to expand to €557 billion by 2025 as consumers are constantly looking for companies providing value-added services. Great e-commerce logistics will optimize your transportation and distribution hubs to specific retail partners who can provide picking, packing, shipping, and even real-time updates. Digital fulfillment is one of the important components of e-commerce logistics as it ensures consumers that their product reaches its destination.

Gamification

Gamification is one exciting supply chain trend in 2021 that boosts productivity amongst warehouse workers. Gamification offers employees to have healthy competition using digital tools that can be integrated into real warehouse processes. This technological trend can track your employee’s accuracy, speed, and progress time all contributing towards improving skills and work performance. It also enables companies to reward workers with bragging rights through their fun and interactive tasks. This trend is highly effective that can encourage employees to work smarter and harder.

Green Logistics

In the past few years, we have seen eco-friendly communities and consumers searching for environmentally conscious companies that responsibly push the supply chain. The main objective of optimizing green logistics for a company is to make the warehouse eco-friendly which reduces their carbon footprint on the earth. Due to the rise in demand, more and more companies are opting to switch their supply chain management into going green that can benefit the environment. Some of the essential factors of this trend would include consuming less energy such as gas, water, electricity, etc which can directly benefit the environment. Electric vehicles or solar-powered vehicles is another factor that companies can take into consideration. Companies that use climate-smart supply chains can benefit more through these resources which can help the company gain profit and customer loyalty through these practices.

Supply chain trends are constantly evolving as they are interconnected with the growth of the market. Any sort of disruption can cause havoc in the management which can affect workflow and productivity. Focusing on these 7 supply chain trends you can improve your overall performance at work.