The efficiency of a supply chain is crucial to the success of any business, as it impacts everything from production and delivery times to customer satisfaction and profitability.

In May 2021, Ola Källenius, CEO of Daimler, spoke about taking on the challenge of speeding up the transition to electric vehicles (EVs), and he said this: "We have to have an honest conversation about jobs. Everyone knows it takes more labor hours to assemble and build a combustion based powertrain compared to an electric powertrain." (1)

Digital transformation has long been a buzzword in life sciences, but the actual practice of digital transformation has lagged behind the buzz. For all the buzz, digital transformation has reached some industries more quickly than others. Ironically, it took the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic to kickstart the digital revolution and accelerate the pace of digital automation in the life sciences industry.

For many companies, regulatory compliance is something of an afterthought — a “cost of doing business” issue that must be dealt with as they grow their global trade activities.

Whether it’s managing numerous suppliers or just a handful, the ability to digitally transform your quality efforts by directly collaborating with suppliers is a game changer. Too often, manufacturers rely on manual methods of communication that limit the ability to track, manage, and report on supplier quality issues. Studies continue to indicate that a high percentage of manufacturers have limited or no visibility into their supplier network.

Among the many new restrictions on our daily lives during the current pandemic crisis, the inability for many of us to return to work "as usual" has been one of the most difficult to manage.

At its foundation, the optimal supply chain of a manufacturing company relies on an advanced, flexible Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution.