Looming Rail Strike Inspires Business Leaders To Confront Next Disruption Around The Corner

Innovation Looming Rail Strike Inspires Business Leaders To Confront Next Disruption Around The Corner SAP BRANDVOICE Storytelling and expertise from marketers | Paid Program Oct 13, 2022, 08:59am EDT | Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin By Tony Harris, SVP and Head of Marketing and Solutions for SAP Business Network In mid-September we breathed a collective sigh of relief as major U. S. railroads and unions representing rail workers reached a tentative deal to avoid a major strike that would have created supply chain chaos and severely disrupted the U.

S. economy. The deal remains subject to ratification by tens of thousands of union members, many of whom are still angry about working conditions.

By mid-October, optimism about avoiding a strike was shaken as the third largest railroad union rejected the deal . A strike of this magnitude would affect every U. S.

business and stretch beyond U. S. borders, impacting rail links to Canada and Mexico as well as ships carrying goods worldwide.

It would be especially hard on industries like energy, which relies heavily on rail shipments of coal, oil, and gas; and retail, where about 60% of intermodal vehicles and containers carry goods manufactured overseas for consumption in North America. MORE FROM FORBES SAP BrandVoice: AdBlue Shortage Could Bring Trucking Industry To A Screeching Halt By SAP Guest We all hope the unions and railroads find common ground in the coming weeks. Though even if they do, the last few years have reminded us that the next disruption is just around the corner and the status quo isn’t good enough when you can’t predict what’s coming next.

How can procurement, logistics, and supply chain leaders keep their businesses from becoming paralyzed in times of disruption? Or better yet, capitalize when the competition struggles? While I don’t have all the answers, I suggest starting with two familiar concepts: visibility and collaboration. Visibility: See it. Solve it.

Visibility enables businesses to see into their supply chain to anticipate and act on disruptions before they can paralyze operations. Staying with the rail example, let’s say raw materials you need to produce goods are in transit to your factory. In the event of a rail disruption, you’ll need to know which purchase order the shipment pertains to, and the production order that will be affected by late delivery.

You’ll also need the precise location of the shipment to determine if you can dispatch another carrier to take over shipping to the final destination. MORE FROM FORBES SAP BrandVoice: How A Procurement Reset Can Reduce Supply Chain Risk By SAP Guest Businesses with deep visibility into their supply chain are in a far better position to withstand a disruption because they can see what may be coming and pivot as needed. Business networks that offer track and trace solutions integrated with core planning, production, and fulfillment processes provide this level of visibility.

A cloud-based intelligent business network like SAP Business Network connects companies with thousands of suppliers, logistics providers, equipment repair vendors, and other business partners worldwide. Onboard once, share and collaborate with many. This makes it possible to avoid costly peer-to-peer connections by working within a network that supports n-tier supply chain visibility and collaboration.

Collaboration: Put insight into action What good is visibility when business partners don’t share information collaboratively to solve problems and drive better results? If rail workers decide to strike, partners up and down the supply chain will scramble to find alternate means of transportation or alternate sources of raw materials and components ꟷ most likely at a higher cost. That assumes stock would be available from backup suppliers. Add to this the problem of how businesses locate materials suppliers and logistics providers.

Today, many companies still rely on fax, phone, e-mail, or a website. Others employ peer-to-peer data sharing like Electronic Data interchange (EDI), although this has proven to be hard to scale, and costly and time-consuming to set up and maintain. MORE FROM FORBES SAP BrandVoice: Metrics That Matter: How To Unlock The Full Value Potential Of Digital Transformation By SAP Guest Here’s a little secret: Companies that thrive during times of disruption leverage the power of business networks.

These networks are easy-to-join, and they provide a technology infrastructure in which buyers collaborate with suppliers; suppliers collaborate with customers; shippers collaborate with carriers and service providers; and asset operators collaborate with OEMs and service providers. Did you notice I used the plural in each use case? Business networks have elevated us from the one-to-one scenarios of the past, enabling businesses to collaborate with many partners quickly and efficiently. Supply chain, procurement, logistics, and asset management processes can work across organizations, making them more collaborative, transparent, and resilient.

In times of disruption, organizations that leverage business networks are more agile. They are also better equipped to find alternate forms of supply, solutions, and transportation by collaborating with a network of partners. And when it’s not possible to gain access to the supply they need, sourcing, procurement, and supply chain teams are equipped to identify new suppliers and start doing business with them quickly.

Are You Prepared For The Disruption Around the Corner? When outside disruptions like a rail strike, or a natural disaster, or a pandemic, or any major global event take place, visibility and collaboration are essential. Business networks enable companies to look across multiple tiers of the supply chain, giving them insights to make quick and effective decisions, and to work collaboratively with partners. SAP Editorial Standards Print Reprints & Permissions.