Is your business being held back by hidden costs in your supply chain? You’re not alone. Many businesses are surprised to find out that they’re paying way more than needed to ship or receive goods simply because they don’t have adequate visibility into costs. And it’s eating into profits.
Fortunately, there’s a solution to restore profitability. At CloudLogix, our supply chain audit software can help you uncover hidden costs, refine processes, and keep track of costs to save your business money.
In fact, we recently helped one of our customers obtain a six-figure refund after performing a full audit of their shipping processes. Don’t let excessive costs keep hiding in the dark. Let’s work together to sniff out costs and implement change!
4 Ways We Use Supply Chain Audit Software to Help You
Here’s how we help companies regain control of their supply chain.
1. Identify Supply Chain Issues
The first step to saving money is identifying where you’re losing it. The search might start with your ERP system.
ERP systems are rarely used to their full potential. These systems often fall short when it comes to data integrity, or their automatic ecosystems fail to account for the full scope of processes necessary to manage a complex supply chain.
That’s where CloudLogix comes in. We’re not looking to replace your ERP system, but to complement your system by uncovering areas that are often overlooked. Our platform fills in gaps by providing end-to-end visibility into your supply chain, so you can see exactly where your company’s money is going.
We’ve audited countless supply chains and have seen first-hand how much money businesses can save simply by having visibility into their costs.
- One of the most common hidden costs we uncover is unnecessary payments to third-party service providers. Once your processes and software are optimized, there’s no need to pay for these services at all in most cases.
- Our audit management process also commonly identifies freight costs that can be reduced almost immediately.
- In our experience, the bulk of the hidden costs can be attributed to a lack of time management and efficiency. This often presents itself in the form of staff spending too much time on manual tasks. We can help companies find ways to automate processes and enable employees to manage by exception rather than being bogged down with busy work.
2. Recommend Process Improvements
Many times, logistics challenges are overlooked simply because they’ve been occurring for so long. As a result, employees get used to doing things a certain way without realizing there is a better way. If recent supply chain disruptions have taught us anything, it’s that now is the time to review these areas and decide that it is worth it to address them.
At CloudLogix, we take a systematic and proactive approach to analyzing and improving supply chain processes. This begins with a recommendation to take a good look at processes that depend on manual activity:
- What processes require data entry, spreadsheets, multiple emails, or checking multiple sources to resolve?
After these manual processes are identified, the goal is to eliminate them through corrective action and simplify your supply chain. We’ll also connect any systems that may not be operating collaboratively. Many times, if disconnects are addressed, then the issue of depending on manual processes resolves itself.
The most significant process improvement, however, is making sure that you communicate well with your personnel, that they understand the “why” behind the need for improvement, and that you achieve buy-in to drive positive change.
We get it that people want to see data to understand why you are pushing for a new way of doing things. Using the results of our supply chain audit can help you become a champion for change!
3. Reduce Blind Spots
Usually, hidden costs are caused by blind spots in a business’s logistics ecosystem. Our software addresses this issue by providing a centralized location for everyone to see the information they need.
When you use the CloudLogix platform, you’ll have access to the wide variety of proven supply chain management tools in your arsenal. For example, we can bring pricing options together to make better shipping decisions. This saves businesses money by reducing the chances of overpaying for shipping services.
We can also unite all freight bills in one location. This allows bills to be audited appropriately and ensures that you always have a clear picture of your freight spend. Additionally, our software can centralize all your freight carriers so you can have a complete, real-time snapshot of tracking information for all your freight.
This is just a taste of what CloudLogix can do to improve your business’s visibility and reduce hidden costs. With our ability to integrate quickly and seamlessly with your existing systems, we can bring virtually any siloed information together to eliminate blind spots and help you see clearly.
4. Prevent Future Obstacles
As your business grows and changes, your supply chain will need to adapt as well. That’s why it’s vital to have a platform in place that can grow with you.
CloudLogix is that platform. Our logistics management software is designed to help you take a proactive approach to your supply chain. By providing you with a clear and simple picture of your logistics operation, you will enjoy greater visibility into shipping activity, better lead times to make decisions, and more power to manage risk.
For instance, our straightforward method of providing information will allow you to easily observe any potential cost increases or gaps in data. As a result, you can make changes to your operation quickly, which will help you avoid any issues that could arise down the road. In other words, hidden costs can no longer hide!
Contact CloudLogix for a Supply Chain Audit!
If you are ready to take your business to the next level, contact CloudLogix today. We would be happy to provide you with a demo of our supply chain audit software and answer any questions you may have. Together, we can improve your operations and help your business become more profitable.
