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LEARNING RESOURCE
Neil Ross, ACMA, CGMA, a senior finance
professional in Johannesburg, South
Africa.
Blockchain for Supply Chain
2. Consider basic upgrades first
This dynamic course looks at three supply chain interactions
to see how blockchain can be implemented to reduce errors, Often, Smith said, the best place to start is
increase auditability, and drive collaboration. with more basic upgrades, including
rethinking the approach to forecasting,
COURSE planning, spend management, contract
management, and inventory visibility in
the supply chain.
Foundational efforts can also address
the excessive paperwork and “human
glue” that many supply chains rely upon.
Resources Such upgrades can include RPA to more
Articles efficiently settle transactions, sign
contracts, and track recalls — along with
“8 Steps for Finance Leaders to Deliver Digital Transformation”, FM magazine, greater integration into ERP and analytics
26 September 2022 systems.
“How Finance Leaders Can Rethink the Supply Chain in 2022”, FM magazine, “If you can alleviate the burden which
10 January 2022 is in some cases consuming the majority
of people’s time, you can reorient them
toward strategic planning,
troubleshooting, and risk prevention,”
data-enabled factories, and blockchains 1. Ask questions and understand your Smith said.
that track goods across companies. needs Higgins agreed that basic
Whenever they’re proposed, they bring In his role, Smith works with upper-mid- modernisation for forecasting, demand
new questions for company leadership, market companies to fortify their supply planning, and statistical modelling are
including the CFO. There are opportunities chains. In some cases, he said, companies the most common supply chain projects
not just for better flow of goods and access are moving too fast — overinvesting in today.
to data, but also for financial forecasting single areas or projects before they “That’s how you steer your supply
and reporting that strengthen the whole understand their true needs. chain and cement your cost basis,” he
company. Also, these emerging “We’re going to clients, and sometimes said.
technologies come with their own they’ll be so far down the road. They’re Basics may also include physical
challenges. trying to solve a specific supply chain need upgrades of manufacturing and
Here’s what five experts in finance and and specific technical needs,” he said. processing facilities, such as using smart
technology had to say about the new sprint Smith advises instead taking a short- and machines that can continuously report
to digitally transform the supply chain. long-term look at the organisation’s their status and other information about
strategy. the production line.
4 steps toward supply chain Kate Baucherel, FCMA, CGMA, a Transforming a supply chain and
transformation UK-based consultant on emerging integrating it digitally also requires an
Companies have started to pour new technology and a blockchain specialist, upfront investment in compiling and
resources into the supply chain in recent also suggested taking a strategic look cleaning up data sources. In the world of
months, Higgins said. before implementing digital the supply chain, information can live
“The role of supply chain executive[s] transformations. She urged leaders to first anywhere from Excel sheets to paper
has been elevated, and they’ve been ask what kinds of information they need to stacks and off-site drives.
provided more resources to manage the track, from factory to consumer. “There is lots of buzz around advanced
organisation,” he said. “They’re not shy “It starts with communication with the data, but if your foundational basis is not
about raising their hands and making a suppliers all the way down the line to cleaned up and you’re still pulling from a
new level of investment.” understand what the key measurements multitude of ancillary systems, the
The biggest problems to solve include are, the key things you need to know,” organisation will struggle — you can’t
hiring and retaining quality workforces, Baucherel said. “Because you can’t make real progress,” Smith said.
growing input costs and fees, and measure what you don’t know, and if you
demands for business continuity and know about it, you can manage it.” 3. Examine next-generation
supply chain resiliency, said Colin Smith, More broadly, the CFO must learn technologies
a US-based manager of Sourcing and enough about these technologies to ask Beyond upgrading the basics, companies
Supply Chain Transformation for Grant the core financial questions about a also are looking to next-generation digital
Thornton. project’s return on investment. That can technologies. As IoT sensor networks
To tackle them, consider these four be a complex question in supply chain produce ever-growing volumes of data,
steps: transformations, according to companies may use machine learning to

10 I FM MAGAZINE I April 2023