The advancement of technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, among others, revolutionized the market and contributed to the emergence of Supply Chain 4.0. Faster, more digital, efficient and accurate. All of these changes increased both the level of customer demand and the need to reduce costs to maintain a competitive advantage.
Within this context, a new management model called the Control Tower emerges, whose objective is to monitor the operation end-to-end and provide greater visibility and control. Supported by tracking systems, a control tower provides data both for faster action to correct problems and to prevent them. In addition, it facilitates the preparation of more assertive plans. In a simplified way, its function is to increase productivity and service level.
More than a technological need, the implementation of a Control Tower presents a major challenge for change in Mindset, because This is an area Cross with interfaces and actions that go beyond operations and take place in different structures within the organization. The concepts of collaboration and performance management are stressed in this new strategic model.
How does a Control Tower work?
The scope of action and the governance of a Control Tower may vary from company to company. Although there is no single model, a control tower can monitor road collection and/or delivery operation, the life cycle of a product, and many other applications.
The diagram below summarizes one of the possible models, with two different biases: the treatment of problems and the generation of inputs for analysis.
The core of the Control Tower is the operational area, comprised of resources dedicated to monitoring and problem solving. They carry out a control Real Time, crossing with what was planned and reporting deviations. This allows for the rapid identification and correction of problems that make the operation more productive and with a higher level of service. For example, a truck that has a problem with an order may take up to three times longer to complete the loading process if there is no proactive action in advance. This structure has the availability of data and information, allowing this action to be taken in such a way as to minimize deviations.
For this reason, it is important that there are well-structured processes with a clear definition of the roles and responsibilities of those involved in the operation. The definition of information flow And triggers for taking actions, the level of problem resolution and who is responsible for those actions is essential for the success of the monitoring tower.
In this context, the establishment of these Triggers it's a fundamental point. These alerts facilitate monitoring and help operators to prioritize actions and to know when to intervene. However, your metrics must be well defined so as not to create unnecessary alerts that do not represent inefficiencies in the process.
Complementing this operational area, there must be an analytical area - which may or may not be within the Control Tower structure. This area will be responsible for analyzing all the data generated to identify patterns to act on the root causes of the problems. While the operational area works to solve problems, analytics works to prevent problems, being responsible for changing the company's efficiency level.
What systems support the Control Tower?
One of the pillars of a Control Tower is the tracking system, since it is the facilitator of monitoring.
A robust system has different technology requirements, such as functionality that allows monitoring Real Time effectively; intelligence to create Triggers and data processing and easy interface so that the user can operate the system.
However, market research conducted with different companies with a strong logistical bias, pointed out that there is still a low maturity with regard to monitoring technologies.
Many companies still do not have any system that allows monitoring, while others have systems with little intelligence and a low degree of automation. It is clear that there is a Gap with a large offer, with few suppliers with a low degree of maturity.
However, it is already possible to observe companies that are moving to change this situation, investing in new technologies and the development of customized systems. Companies such as Unilever, P&G, L'Ă“real, Klabin, Rede and RaĂzen already have control towers in their structures, thus encouraging the market to bring new technologies.
The evolution of Control Towers is directly related to this application of technology to the operation, consolidating itself as a logistics trend and boosting the competitiveness of companies. Without a doubt, there is still a vast arsenal of possibilities to be explored in the direction of automating decision-making and intervention in the operation, which is still happening to a very limited extent in companies. However, there is no doubt about the results and efficiency to be captured by those who manage to overcome these technological and deployment challenges.
External references
[1] Web Log (2019) Control tower in “supply chain”. Have you ever heard of it? Source: http://www.logweb.com.br/colunas/torre-de-controle-em-supply-chain-ja-ouviu-falar/
‍
About the author
Ana Pantaleão She is a Visagio consultant specializing in logistics, supply chain and operations projects, having worked in operational and support areas in the retail, banking, oil and gas, mining, and other sectors. He holds a master's degree in Supply Chain from the Écoles des Mines de Nantes.
‍