Essential Components of a Logistics and Supply Chain Tech Stack

In a world where supply chains are increasingly complex and prone to disruption, leveraging new technology is crucial to boosting supply chain performance and reliability. 

Supply chain technology offers numerous benefits, from real-time visibility and streamlined stakeholder collaboration to AI-powered data analytics. The ongoing shift towards supply chain digitization is evidenced by the sourcing and supplier management software market's projected 10% CAGR from 2021 to 2027. 

Importantly, supply chain technology is no longer the exclusive domain of large enterprises and legacy ERP systems like SAP and Oracle. Small and mid-market brands now have a diverse (and affordable) set of options to choose from when it comes to their supply chain tech stack. 

This article explores the components of the modern supply chain and logistics technology stack, offering insights into enhancing visibility, optimizing inventory, streamlining logistics, implementing warehouse automation, and harnessing the power of supply chain analytics.

Supply chain visibility 

Supply chain visibility solutions provide real-time awareness of your shipments, enabling you to track freight, be alerted to delays, manage the impact of disruptions and generate insights into route and carrier performance. A good visibility solution supports proactive risk management and improved coordination among supply chain stakeholders, leading to enhanced efficiency and reduced costs.

Visibility is most easily achieved by using purpose-built platforms (like Beacon) that integrate with ocean carrier, airline, road haulier and freight forwarder systems to provide the latest tracking milestones and ETAs. IoT technologies like RFID tags, sensors, and ELD devices can also be used to understand the real-time location of freight. 

Inventory planning

Efficient inventory management and planning  is integral to any supply chain tech stack. It can mean the difference between costly stockouts and excess inventory gathering dust on warehouse shelves. Given the costs associated with procuring and holding inventory, investing in a good inventory management system is just as important for small companies as it is for enterprises.

ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) and MRP (Material Requirements Planning) systems combine inventory and sales information to forecast demand, streamline procurement and ensure goods arrive when you need them. While comprehensive enterprise solutions like SAP and Oracle are the most well known, small and mid-market companies can opt for affordable alternatives like Cin7, Katana, and Brightpearl. 

Transportation and logistics management  

Transportation and logistics management systems (TMS and LMS) are vital components of any supply chain tech stack, offering a one stop shop for managing logistics operations. TMS solutions streamline transportation procurement and booking processes while LMS solutions go further by integrating storage, transportation, cataloging, handling, and packaging in one hub. 

These systems greatly reduce the administrative burden associated with managing logistics and transportation. 

Warehouse automation and robotics

Warehouse automation tools are another crucial element of the modern supply chain and logistics tech stack, transforming warehouses from mere storage facilities into dynamic logistics hubs. 

Technologies such as Robotic Process Automation (RPA), Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs), Warehouse Management Systems (WMS), and Yard Management Solutions are revolutionizing warehousing operations. Collectively, these innovations drive efficiency, accuracy, and safety, reducing human error, speeding up order fulfillment, and minimizing accidents and costly mistakes.

RPA automates repetitive tasks like order processing, allowing workers to focus on more complex activities while AMRs efficiently navigate warehouse floors to pick and move goods. WMS are essential in optimizing warehouse operations. They help to optimize storage, and streamline yard management, loading, unloading and cross-docking processes. 

Supply chain analytics

In the era of big data, supply chain analytics and business intelligence (BI) tools are essential for turning the masses of supply chain data being captured by your tech stack into actionable insights. 

Supply chain data analytics tools help you move beyond traditional reporting. By analyzing data acquired via the various sources mentioned previously, you can improve demand forecasting, optimize inventory levels, mitigate risks, identify problematic routes and carriers, understand root causes of your demurrage and detention costs and more. 

While many tools discussed earlier have inbuilt analytics capabilities, integrating data from disparate sources is essential to getting a single view of your supply chain. This is where tools like Microsoft Power BI come into play, offering powerful data integration and visualization capabilities that enable businesses to bring all their supply chain data into one centralized platform for analysis.

How to integrate your supply chain tech stack 

Technology is great, but to get the most from your tech stack you want to ensure your various tools and systems can talk to each other. Integrating your systems helps avoid inconsistencies, data silos, and information gaps while ensuring you are getting a single, comprehensive view of your supply chain. There are several approaches for connecting your systems.

APIs

Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) allow businesses to create tailored connections between their various systems and data sources. APIs enable real-time data exchange and synchronization, ensuring information flows seamlessly across the supply chain ecosystem. With APIs, businesses can customize integration workflows between systems to suit their unique requirements. 

Plug-and-play solutions

On the other hand, many out-of-the-box supply chain SaaS products provide a simpler alternative to custom API development with plug-and-play integrations. Platforms like Zapier, Segment, and Airtable provide pre-built connectors and workflows that enable businesses to quickly integrate disparate systems without requiring extensive development efforts. These integrations leverage APIs behind the scenes, abstracting away the complexity and technical challenges of custom integration.