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Why You Need Predictive Insights to Drive Top-Line Growth

THE RESILIENT ENTERPRISE | THE RISKMETHODS BLOG

One of the biggest misconceptions about procurement and supply chain organizations is that they’re only there to save costs (for example, by sourcing wisely or by reducing warehouse stock), not drive top-line growth. If your company thinks this, you’re missing out on a huge piece of the market share puzzle: Getting ahead of the competition.

We talk a lot about supply chain visibility at riskmethods, and there’s a good reason: Because it’s a hot topic and an important issue for any company with a supply chain to manage. Let me be clear: You can definitely benefit from supply chain visibility. No question here.

But let me just throw something out there: How much does visibility provide in terms of supporting top-line growth for your company?

Picture it: You’ve got your GPS trackers, you’ve got your blockchain, you’ve got your drones, you’ve got your sharks with lasers (this last one is a joke; please don’t put lasers on sharks). Great! But if an unexpected bankruptcy takes down one of your key suppliers, well...all the supply chain visibility in the world isn’t going to help you. You’ve seen the problem, but now it’s too late to do anything about it.

With visibility and predictability, your procurement and supply chain organizations can drive top-line growth.

Even if you have complete supply chain visibility, there might be a key ingredient missing from your operations: predictability. And here’s the thing—with visibility and predictability, your procurement and supply chain organizations can do more than avoid disasters—they can drive top-line growth.

I know, I know. You’re asking yourself. Top-line growth? Procurement and supply chain can support top-line growth? I understand the question. Too often, these groups are looked to for saving money, not earning it. But if these teams have access to predictive insights that will help them guide their actions, there’s a very real opportunity for them to not just avoid costs—but to actually help your company win market share.

Here’s an example. Let’s say your company produces tractors, and all of the sudden a major tire supplier starts showing up in the news for financial woes. Your procurement organization sees a potential bankruptcy coming, and make a quick decision: Buy up all the tires they can right now, and start to work on sourcing for alternative tire suppliers. Meanwhile, your main competitors don’t see it coming—so what do they do? Well…nothing, of course.

Fast-forward 3 months down the road. The tire supplier goes bankrupt, and guess what—your company has all the tires. Your competitors are left with massive plants full of completed tractors…that can’t actually move. And without tractors that move, they can’t fulfill their customer’s orders anymore. But guess who can?

That’s right. Thanks to your procurement and supply chain organization: You can.

You can win the customers of the competition that couldn’t keep up with you.

Nearly 50 percent of people admit to having left a preferred brand in order to go to a competitor that meets their needs better. With predictive insights that will help you anticipate problems before they happen, procurement and supply chain organizations can win the customers of the competition that couldn’t keep up with you. It doesn’t have to be tractors—any company that produces a product has to worry about losing customers due to a supply chain disruption. With the right mix of supply chain visibility and predictive insights, you can not only not lose your existing customers—you can win the customers of your competitors. And that, dear reader, is how you increase market share.