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Aditya Eswarapragada
Principal, Washington D.C., PwC US
Infrastructure breakdowns, public health crises, changing customer demands and technology breakthroughs have dramatically changed the face of supply chain management in recent years. As companies in various sectors examine their ability to manage risks and take advantage of new opportunities, many are recognizing the need to upgrade their systems and processes. New technologies offered by PwC and Oracle offer organizations advanced supply chain solutions to help them address issues across the supply chain—including challenges in master data management, order orchestration, sourcing/procurement and manufacturing/fulfillment.
No two supply chains are alike, and the challenges many organizations can face are as diverse as the organizations themselves. Some companies are discovering efficiency shortfalls in outdated systems that pose obstacles to integration and result in fragmented data. Others have identified the need to stay current with evolving data governance and regulatory requirements. With advanced supply chain management, businesses can enable the caliber of demand forecasting, inventory improvements, supplier collaboration and production scheduling they need to boost efficiency and reduce costs—no matter how complex or global their supply chain operations may be.
During an Oracle CloudWorld 2024 panel discussion, representatives of multiple companies working in very diverse sectors shared their experiences working with PwC to help achieve supply chain efficiencies within Oracle Cloud. Their experiences put a spotlight on challenges familiar to many companies struggling with the complexities of the modern-day supply chain.
Each of these companies chose an Oracle cloud-based supply chain solution to help establish data consistency and efficiency. The common building blocks included solutions for master data, order orchestration and supply chain management, which created a foundation that could then be customized for each individual organization’s industry, business model, product structures and procurement processes.
One company, a network storage provider, was increasingly conscious of its extended supply chain and the need for visibility into every part contained within its products. The parameters of that visibility had to extend to parts developed and marketed by their vendors or other partners. The extended supply chain covered not only first-tier suppliers, but also their suppliers, and synchronizing data on those supplier tiers without a cloud-based solution was a daunting task. Moving to an Oracle Cloud supply chain solution enabled the company to harness its data, improving decision-making and streamlining operations.
Sourcing and procurement can be a related area of challenge that plays out very differently depending on the industry. A contract drilling company, for example, maintains multiple quality inspection checkpoints for their drilling rigs. Planning for replacement parts and keeping them in stock became much easier with Oracle Cloud, which enables the company’s inspectors to quickly share data with procurement planners for fast remediation and reduced downtime.
Cloud-based supply chain enhancements also support transitions to new business models, such as when companies add services to their legacy product offerings or explore subscription-based revenue streams. Oracle’s cloud integration capabilities enable real-time connections between previously isolated data sets, facilitating more efficient and productive business-to-business communication for improved sourcing and procurement.
Cloud-based supply chain optimization should include a strong data governance and management component. This can be a challenge for businesses experiencing a period of rapid growth, such as the network storage provider. With multiple applications that involved more than 150 applications, the company found it difficult to retain enterprise-level data governance and management across its finance, supply chain, sales and boundary applications as it grew. Through close collaboration with PwC and Oracle, fast-growing organizations like this can establish stronger policies and procedures that can help establish data integrity, compliance and quality, supporting compliant growth.
Each of these challenges will be characterized differently depending on the industry or the individual company involved, and no one supply chain solution can be replicated in another implementation. Oracle’s flexible capabilities combined with PwC’s industry knowledge can help you create a tailored approach to enhance your business processes, vendor relationships, customer experience and order fulfillment.
By seeking guidance from PwC and Oracle, companies can enhance not only their supply chain management but also their ability to mitigate operational risks and maintain business continuity.
Get in touch with us to learn how PwC can drive your Oracle supply chain transformation.