Published on the 08/09/2014 | Written by Newsdesk

Stripping friction out of supply chains has become a key weapon in the battle for efficiency and profitability with information technology delivering the foundations for agile and lean supply chains.

The top ten supply chains across Asia Pacific, as identified by Gartner were those of Samsung, Lenovo, Toyota, Hyundai, Huawei, Woolworths, Honda, Flextronics, LG Electronics and Sony.

According to Gartner, Woolworths, the only Australian company to make the list, had one of the highest return on assets performances in the region.
“While other regional retailers are still developing supply chain strategies, Woolworths has already embarked on its supply chain transformation journey. Efficiencies gained from historical initiatives like ‘Mercury One’ – that touched almost every aspect of the supply chain including procurement, distribution, order consolidation, inventory management, merchandising, and in-store stock availability – have helped integrate and mature Woolworth’s supply chain capabilities.

“With an eye toward the future of online retailing, ‘Mercury Two’ looks to couple an already capable network with advanced analytics and deeper direct selling expertise to drive the future of retail and define the evolution of the company’s network. Last year’s investment in Quantium delivered advanced demand-sensing capabilities, positioning Woolworths to better understand the rapidly changing consumer environment and make informed trade-offs to optimise the flow of goods in and out of its network.”

Woolworths’ elevation to the top ranks of regional supply chains comes as arch rival Coles announced plans to streamline its operations in order to boost efficiency. The company last week announced a slew of changes planned for its Store Support Centre, where much of the retailer’s IT work is handled. The company announced that 438 positions would be lost as a result.

Some reports suggest that the company’s chief information officer Conrad Harvey may leave the company – although this has not been officially confirmed at time of writing.

According to Gartner research director James Lisica the key themes that most industry segments are addressing when overhauling their supply chains include; “Building customer-centric supply chains, aligning to local markets while still serving global customers, strengthening risk management processes, improving cross functional communication, driving operational excellence to achieve fiscal discipline and prioritising talent management programmes.”