OPERATIONS

As a supply chain function , it is responsible for operational facets such as controlling and overseeing purchases from suppliers and customers , maintaining the storage of stock , controlling the amount of product put out for sale , and also order-fulfilment .

Before the pandemic , the just-in-time ( JIT ) inventory system was dominant , and the undisputed champion of JIT was Apple , who at its pre-pandemic peak , was able to turn over its inventory once every five days . Its ability to launch , manufacture , and ship millions of iPhones globally like clockwork – with virtually no inventory surplus – was held to be a miracle of JIT .

But the JIT model is susceptible both to supply and demand shocks , and there have been a seemingly endless succession of these in recent years . As well as the pandemic and the Suez blockage we ’ ve had Russia ’ s invasion of Ukraine , and now the attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea .

This conveyor belt of disruption has seen technology become pivotal to modern inventory management , and at the heart of much of this is IoT technology .

IoT devices can be integrated into every stage of the supply chain , from production to delivery , allowing businesses to track their goods in real time . supplychaindigital . com 83