In today's competitive business landscape, supply chain visibility has become critical for companies looking to stay ahead. Transparency across all aspects of the supply chain - from manufacturing and procurement to logistics and labor - can offer numerous benefits, including increased revenue, reduced waste, improved production efficiency, and cost savings. However, achieving this visibility can be challenging, and companies often need help to make sense of the vast amounts of data generated by their supply chains.
One effective way to tackle this challenge is through data visualization, which allows companies to gain insights into their supply chain operations and identify areas for improvement. SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC) is a powerful tool that enables businesses to do just that. SAP SAC offers a wide range of highly customizable charts and tools that can be used to create individualized dashboards tailored to specific supply chain needs. A company may make multiple dashboards, each consisting of numerous pages, allowing for further data investigations, predictive analytics, support with decision-making, or visualize live data. Areas that often benefit from dashboards include logistics or transportation, inventory management, financial departments, operations, procurement, and sales.
SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC) is a cloud-based analytics solution designed to provide organizations with a comprehensive set of analytics capabilities to analyze data, create interactive visualizations, and share insights across the organization.
SAP Analytics Cloud combines business intelligence, augmented analytics, and planning functionalities into a single platform. It integrates with various data sources, including on-premises and cloud-based systems, databases, spreadsheets, and other applications. SAC allows users to access and consolidate data from multiple sources for analysis and reporting.
Although logistics, inventory management, financial departments, operations, procurement, and sales are areas you may most commonly hear about utilizing dashboards, SAC can also be used to achieve supply chain visibility in the legal department through monitoring compliance with labor laws and sustainability standards. With labor law/human rights and increased environmental protection efforts globally, SAC’s tools can help monitor a company’s performance in such areas. This may include labor statistics such as turnover rates, working hours, utilization, and compliance with labor laws. In turn, this ensures companies are meeting their ethical obligations, thus building trust and integrity. Additionally, sustainability analyses can help companies track environmental impact through waste production, resource usage, and emissions. Similarly, SAC can be utilized to monitor compliance with environmental agencies and regulations.
As we can see, companies leveraging SAP SAC can gain a competitive advantage by improving their supply chain visibility and making data-driven decisions. Some examples of dashboards that Archlynk has created in the past include Transportation Sustainability Analysis, Carrier Performance Analysis, and IBP Product Classification.
Below, you can see Archlynk’s Demo Carrier Performance Analysis Dashboard. This demo dashboard was created to show clients a potential, innovative way their company can explore their carrier performance through visualization in SAC. In this dashboard, there are two pages that explore this: one covering general carrier performance (first image shown below) and one covering more specific shipment information. The latter photo is the mobile version of the Carrier Performance Analysis Dashboard. SAC can be customized in the mobile/tablet format to maximize user-friendliness and access from any device. SAC’s Responsive Page feature can be used to adjust dashboard layouts for iOS, tablets, Androids, and more.
In conclusion, while achieving complete supply chain visibility can be a daunting task, it is necessary for companies that want to succeed in today's marketplace. Transparency is critical to success in financial, operational, sales, and legal matters. However, companies must be prepared to invest in innovative technologies and foster strong partnerships to make the most of their supply chain data, as achieving supply chain visibility is easier said than done. As explored, SAP Analytics Cloud is a beneficial, user-friendly platform that companies can use to reach transparency. Not only will it help them gain a competitive advantage, but it will position them for long-term success in an ever-evolving marketplace.
ArchLynk, with its specialized capabilities in the supply chain domain, further enhances the power of SAP Analytics Cloud. By leveraging ArchLynk’s expertise, businesses can unlock the full potential of SAC and achieve greater supply chain visibility. Speak to an expert to dive deeper into the benefits of SAP Analytics Cloud and personalized insights and guidance on how your business can leverage these tools to transform your supply chain operations.
