BT Trace. Supply chains that flow

Supply chain performance is under the spotlight as never before. Not just because recent geographic and political events have very publicly disrupted supply chains, but because it is clear that improving supply chain performance can transform your business and enhance competitiveness.

Global visibility and end-to-end management of inventory and assets can help fulfil service obligations to customers and partners, strengthen the balance sheet and improve risk management. Accurate, timely information about what is selling enhances forecasting and response to market trends. Better information about location and flow of goods helps keep expenditure under control. Effective supply chain management underpins carbon reduction, and the full traceability required to comply with regulatory requirements or ethical and environmental accountability. All of these help to manage operational costs, enhance customer service and improve profitability.

Supply chain executives see increasing the profitability of their companies’ supply chain and reducing total supply chains costs as their top priorities.”
- Pricewaterhouse Coopers (Next-generation supply chains: Efficient, fast and tailored PWC, 2012)

Better supply chain performance is also on national political agendas. With spending constrained in many countries, the public sector is embracing the need to procure, control and manage its assets more effectively

Of course, there are many challenges to address. Natural disasters and political upheaval have highlighted the physical vulnerability of today’s complex global supply chains. Counterfeiting, piracy and theft remain international problems that no organisation can address alone. Increasingly volatile patterns of demand, driven in part by the growing appetite of mobile consumers and omnichannel shopping, make it harder to plan and forecast accurately, or achieve the right balance between inventory and cost. 

Then there is the problem of getting the right information. The world’s supply chain is awash with data, as connected devices, assets & inventory proliferate. The problem is the lack of accurate, timely data. According to Forrester Research, “the process of data exchange today is so error-prone that, on average, 30% of product data is incorrect across the supply chain” .

The real challenge is how to efficiently, cost effectively and securely collect, access, share, store and interpret supply chain data. And then turn it into actionable intelligence that will drive innovation, deliver competitive advantage and improve the bottom line.

Companies that focus on improving their supply chain performance consistently outperform their peers financially.”
- Pricewaterhouse Coopers (Next-generation supply chains: Efficient, fast and tailored PWC, 2012)

BT Trace is a portfolio of practical applications that leverage industry leading technologies, global networks, infrastructure and industry standards to provide supply chain solutions for our customers. It includes:

• BT Global Trace to drive operational efficiency with end-to-end supply chain visibility
• BT Warehouse Trace to optimise space, inventory, equipment and people
• BT Asset Trace to optimise reusable mobile assets to improve operational efficiency
• BT Inventory Trace to optimise inventory, maximise availability and minimise costs
• BT Trace for Retail to increase sales and improve customer service with Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) solutions