Why Supply Chain Operations Are Horizontal: Tackling Data Silos and Coordination Challenges

Supply chain operations are inherently horizontal. Unlike siloed departments like finance or marketing, supply chain management touches every part of an organization, from procurement and production to logistics and customer service. These operations cut across departments, systems, and external partners, creating a network that spans both internal and external entities. As a result, coordinating between different teams, systems, and partners is crucial, but it's also where most of the inefficiencies occur.

The Problem: Data Silos and Lack of Coordination

One of the biggest challenges in supply chain management is data silos. Information needed to manage supply chain operations is often scattered across various systems, such as ERP (enterprise resource planning) systems, warehouse management tools, or transportation management systems. These systems rarely communicate effectively with one another, making it difficult to get a clear, real-time view of operations.

To make things worse, coordination between internal teams and external parties—like suppliers, manufacturers, and distributors—is usually poor. Each party tends to focus on its own tasks, using separate tools and processes, which leads to gaps in communication. As a result, everyone is working with partial information, which impacts decision-making and leads to delays, missed opportunities, and higher costs.

Adding to this complexity is the absence of standardized or living documentation. Most companies lack formal, written procedures for their operations, and even if they exist, they’re often outdated and not actively followed. Without a clear, up-to-date process document, it’s nearly impossible for teams to track changes, trace problems, or improve their workflows over time. This blind spot is a major reason why supply chain professionals often work inefficiently—constantly reacting to issues instead of proactively managing and optimizing their operations.

The Solution: Process Management and Orchestration

What if there was a way to make supply chain operations more transparent, coordinated, and efficient? The answer lies in a process management and orchestration platform that centralizes workflows and automates routine tasks. Such a platform would allow companies to design and manage their entire supply chain with a no-code application. By using drag-and-drop functionality, teams can easily build workflows that reflect their unique processes without needing extensive technical skills.

This platform would act as a “living mechanism,” continuously evolving as it learns from different processes. Imagine having a system that not only tracks what happens but also adapts and suggests improvements based on real-time data. This would eliminate the need for outdated operational documents, as the platform itself would become a dynamic source of truth for the entire organization. Every process change or upgrade could be tracked, analyzed, and applied seamlessly, allowing for ongoing optimization.

The Role of AI in Supply Chain Optimization

AI plays a critical role in this vision. AI agents could take on repetitive and manual tasks—such as data entry, inventory tracking, or order processing—that currently slow down supply chain teams. This would free up human employees to focus on higher-level decision-making and problem-solving.

But the potential of AI goes far beyond automation. Over time, AI models can be trained on the data flowing through the supply chain to make predictive decisions. For example, AI could forecast demand more accurately, optimize shipping routes, or even identify potential disruptions before they happen. By learning from past processes and outcomes, AI models would become smarter and more effective, continuously improving the efficiency of the entire supply chain.

Conclusion

Supply chain operations are horizontal by nature, requiring coordination across teams, systems, and external partners. However, most companies struggle with data silos, poor communication, and outdated processes, which result in inefficiency and missed opportunities. The solution lies in adopting a process management and orchestration platform that centralizes workflows and uses AI to automate and optimize operations. With such a platform, businesses can finally gain visibility into their supply chain, improve coordination, and stay ahead in an increasingly competitive market.

By embracing process automation and AI, companies can not only fix today’s inefficiencies but also future-proof their supply chain operations for tomorrow’s challenges.