Scanning the benefits of Barcoding
At precisely 8:01 on June 26th, 1974, a humble pack of Wrigley chewing gum made history as it became the first ever item to utilize bar code technology. Nearly 40 years on and the so called GS1 barcode has become the most used form of product identification. While the significance of bar code technology is seldom appreciated, an interesting article released this week highlights the amazing contribution the GS1 barcode has made to the modern supply chain.
Barcodes are now used extensively across global supply chains in practically every imaginable industry. Given that barcodes are used to scan nearly 6 billion items on a daily basis, this technology has driven some sizable efficiency across the supply chain. The benefits of this technology encompass everything from enabling mass automation to supporting end-to-end traceability. When barcoding started to become commonplace across businesses, the technology eradicated manual data entry tasks as the machine-readable black and white bars changed the way businesses managed product data. However, the use of barcoding has become far more sophisticated as it now supports some of the most advanced logistics management tools available.
Without this simple yet revolutionary technology, it is impossible to imagine what the modern supply chain would look like.
To read more about this topic, click here.
Unlocking competitive advantage through supply chain practices
New research has emerged from the University of Tennessee this week, highlighting 10 key supply chain practices which create competitive advantage. According to the report, collaboration, big data analysis and process integration were all noted as vital for achieving an effective supply chain. In addition, supply chain experts who took part in the research also noted inventory management and demand planning as critical to maintaining a competitive advantage over competition.
Are there any other supply chain practices which you feel create value or support competitiveness?
To read a summary of the research, click here.
Beefing up sourcing policies
Following the horse meat scandal, businesses across the food industry have received a roasting from both the media and the public over the complexity of their supply chains. However, Sainsbury’s, one of the UK’s top supermarkets, has this week announced a major new sourcing strategy which is set to shorten the supply chain.
According to reports, all of Sainsbury’s pork will now be sourced from British farms. This follows a decision back in 2003 which now requires all chicken products to also be sourced from the UK. Through developing stronger links with farmers, Sainsbury hopes to create a more sustainable supply chain. This is a huge step forward for the food industry and it will be interesting to see how other major industry players respond.
To read the full story, click here.
Have a nice weekend!
