We’re thrilled to announce the upcoming launch of the Supply Chain Resiliency module as part of IBM Sterling® Order Management in May 2024. This marks the beginning of our highly anticipated collaboration of IBM Sterling^® Order Management with IBM Sterling^® Supply Chain Intelligence Suite.

IBM Sterling Order Management manages the day-to-day operations of order fulfillment across the omnichannel network and provides strong in-house analytics capabilities through OrderHub. The Supply Chain Resiliency module aims to enhance and provide more comprehensive, customizable and action-driven analytics capabilities that would add to the basket of analytics tools of our clients.

Why is supply chain resiliency important?

Do you miss the mark on customer delivery promises due to too many stuck or delayed orders? Are you having trouble maximizing profitability due to over-saturation of aging inventory and excessive end-of-season markdowns?

If so, you might benefit from real-time supply chain data visibility that can help you promptly identify inventory issues and respond quickly to customer demand. In fact, an IBM Institute for Business Value study shows that surveyed supply chain leaders are adopting a data-first mindset. Notably, 73% of these leaders recognize the strategic value of data and 64% are using data to identify new opportunities.

True supply chain resiliency can be realized when supply chains have the visibility to look across data silos, combined with the intelligence to identify actions and make decisions that promote agility. This enhanced resiliency can help companies address supply chain disruptions, reduce fulfillment risk and help improve profitability and customer satisfaction.

Boost the resiliency of order fulfillment

The Supply Chain Resiliency module for IBM Sterling Order Management provides enhanced value for merchandising, inventory and fulfillment managers. It features capabilities that detect patterns and trends in potential disruptions, enabling organizations to quickly identify bottlenecks. The module’s automated execution helps minimize risk and strengthen the resilience of order fulfillment operations.

The Supply Chain Resiliency module offers several key features that ensure comprehensive management and proactive response throughout your operations:

• End-to-end visibility: Real-time visibility that connects the dots across disparate transactional systems can help you intelligently identify operational issues that need immediate attention.

• Intelligent pattern detection: A customizable low code visualization framework powered through “Builders” helps users toidentify patterns and trends of potential disruptions. The Supply Chain Resiliency module is built on the powerful, scalable IBM Sterling Supply Chain Intelligence Suite, which provides APIs and graphical user interfaces that enable low-code configuration to address specific requirements.

• Actionable insights for agile operations: Work queues and resolutions power proactive and actionable insights. A work queue consists of configurable alerts for potential issues that users can easily review, assign and address. The platform automatically identifies and prioritizes these issues based on initial configuration by the client. Resolutions recommend ways to resolve the issue. Users can address the issue by taking the recommended actions for the individual work item in the work queue.

Resilient supply chains can mitigate disruptions and limit their impact

With this add-on module, you can optimize your operations for the following challenges:

• Detect patterns in inventory management: Course-correct for seasonal and time-sensitive inventory to help avoid expensive markdowns. Enhance revenue and reduce holding costs by promoting products early and by strategically relocating stock based on views of overstocked, understocked and aging products.
• Manage node performance with pattern detection: Identify stuck order patterns and their root cause to help increase your program’s OTIF (on-time in-full) rates.​ Manage node performance, such as fulfillment SLAs and capacity, with dashboards to quickly address customer satisfaction and process improvements.  
• Manage B2B orders and shipments: Identify and track B2B orders and shipment patterns, along with any changes and substitutions, to quickly mitigate any impact on planned manufacturing and contract commitments. 

While the first release of this module focuses on patterns of inventory management, future releases in upcoming quarters will expand to include use cases such as node performance and B2B order management. Today’s shoppers will go elsewhere when their expectations are not met, so companies must focus on meeting these promises, while tackling key inventory challenges. This powerful new add-on provides support for businesses to help keep their customer promises by increasing on-time order fulfillment through stuck order resolution, improving profitability by promoting products more strategically, and delivering higher quality customer experiences.