What is Supply Chain Engineering?
We’re engineering your supply chain…but what does that actually mean?
Supply Chain Engineering: noun: using the principles from engineering to analyse, optimise and improve the business elements of the supply chain, to enhance operations and resource utilisation; for full control.
Supply chain engineering is new field, where the boundaries are still to be defined, and its entire existence is yet to become common knowledge amongst supply chain professionals and those outside the industry alike.
To engineer a supply chain, you must truly understand what is occurring within it. You must be able to observe every step and each detail of your operation, and measure the impact of the changes you make.
In the current logistics landscape, this is not possible. Technology is the key to having this accurate and quantifiable data.
But why not just say supply chain management…distribution services…supply chain technology… or anything far beyond or in between?
Well, even though they explain elements of supply chain engineering, they leave out key factors. For example, a quick Google search of supply chain management and we are told it “is the management of the flow of goods and services, and involves the active streamlining of a business’s supply-side activities to maximise customer value”.
Which is true of supply chain engineering but it leaves out the technical side. Supply chain technology however, misses the specific business elements that the management side brings.
This was our journey through defining the category in which we wanted to operate; we fit into so many in one sense, but in another, couldn't be further from them.
So we went back to the drawing board and the brainstorming sessions on who we were, which were interesting, to say the least. The idea of supply chain doctors was thrown in the air, but we can assure you, was quickly vetoed. The same with professors, which was closer but still slightly pretentious.
We landed on supply chain engineers, and it stuck - we have a team full of engineers, so it’s not as far of a reach as some of the other suggestions.
Engineering: noun: the branch of science and technology concerned with the design, building, and use of engines, machines, and structures.
Supply chain: noun: the network of all the individuals, organisations, resources, activities and technology involved in the creating and sale of a product.
Put together, we apply science, mathematics and technology with the intention to design, build and utilise supply chain networks and activities.
We have spent over four years building our technology, analysing supply chains and gathering data, all with the aim to make supply chain’s more efficient, transparent and sustainable.
Supply Chain Engineering: noun: using the principles from engineering to analyse, optimise and improve the business elements of the supply chain to enhance operations and resource utilisation; for full control.
To engineer a supply chain means to completely revolutionise it. It means utilising technology to truly understand what is occurring in every step and detail of your operation. Applying science to business, to create resource, cost and planet-saving solutions.
Engineering is the future of supply chains.
Which is why we built the tech for it.
