Blockchain has great potential to solve problems and address supply chain problems. Personally, the area that excites me most is track and trace—especially when you consider the possibility of taking these capabilities to the next level.
Let us take a step back and look at the current supply chain processes and their evolution.
Packing slip, paper ASN
Let us take a step back and look at the current supply chain processes and their evolution.
Packing slip, paper ASN
- Advance Shipment Notices (ASNs) are sent in advance to let the receiver know what products or deliveries are hitting the facility. This allows the receiver to do a few things better including:
- Preparing labor to receive the product.
- Plan for order allocation and fulfilment.
- Effectively plan the supply and demand to run the corporate supply chain optimally and efficiently without huge spikes.
- Raise awareness in advance of potential exceptions.
In the past, supply chain partners shared packing slips via fax. Information sharing in this manner, although labor intensive, was worth it because it resulted in collective benefit. It was a step in the right direction. However, the human element and the vagaries of fax technology made it a slow and error prone process.
This first step provided a concrete example of the benefits of sharing information. In many cases, it created a new mindset. Even though many partners were competitors, collaboration provided a win/win.
EDI – ASN
Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) allows partners in the supply chain community to share information through an established communication infrastructure. Early on, before the internet, organizations needed to invest in T1 lines or modems to establish this connectivity. Today, it is a seamless and easy process over the Internet.
Along with EDI came EDI standards that hoped to streamline and create standards for consistent types of information. For the system to work, all the different partners need to interpret the data in the same way and send and receive the same data in a shared and understood format. One of the most frequently used transactions was the 856 (a shipment status message) that was sent every time a shipment arrived at a different point in the shipping process. It provided visibility across the supply chain about shipment status.
Click here to continue reading this article.
This first step provided a concrete example of the benefits of sharing information. In many cases, it created a new mindset. Even though many partners were competitors, collaboration provided a win/win.
EDI – ASN
Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) allows partners in the supply chain community to share information through an established communication infrastructure. Early on, before the internet, organizations needed to invest in T1 lines or modems to establish this connectivity. Today, it is a seamless and easy process over the Internet.
Along with EDI came EDI standards that hoped to streamline and create standards for consistent types of information. For the system to work, all the different partners need to interpret the data in the same way and send and receive the same data in a shared and understood format. One of the most frequently used transactions was the 856 (a shipment status message) that was sent every time a shipment arrived at a different point in the shipping process. It provided visibility across the supply chain about shipment status.
Click here to continue reading this article.
Comments
Post a Comment