Various businesses are recognizing the opportunity which they can utilize to gain a competitive advantage which is associated with the supply chain. For the businesses which operate internationally, supply chain strategies are recognized to increase operational efficiencies. The supply chain is a dynamic model, unlike other business affecting factors such as technology and other factors. The project managers who are in charge of the supply chain projects are faced with different types of challenges which they are expected to overcome for the projects to be successful. The paper is meant to discuss different roadblocks and problems which are faced while implementing the operations of the international supply chain projects.
Most global projects are made up of different locations and nations, and the managers and sponsors are scattered in the different nations involved. It is a problem since it becomes physically impossible for the project managers to organize and control all the activities taking place in the different places. It is necessary to establish different duties such as planning and designing the project to a single person, and the rest of the team members will be assigned the implementers and enablers who will result in dilution of focus and energy (Guide).
Most supply chain projects involve technology implementation such as software and infrastructure. There are as well various logistical modules which involve international freight, transporting and warehousing. The control period for the implementation of the project is critical in the logistics projects which involve external, internal and multiple agencies. The project managers are expected to pay attention to the rolling out of the projects in a single nation. It depends on the number of sites as well as the logistical components involved. If the project in question concerned setting up a warehouse or distribution center, the reasons for the roll out for limitation increase to the nation level.
Technology advancements can be used in overcoming the roadblocks in the supply chain management. Adopting the correct technology and its implementation is known to improve chances of achieving the global supply chains. Technology has been used in different factors such as technology solutions, the cost of the absorption of technology, external and internal resource capability and availability of the technology infrastructure (Guide).
Most companies which are multinational gets their supply chain operations from different parts of the globe and are managed through the implementation of standalone systems and legacy methods for management of single national logistics activities. Software solutions require several activities since the work volume is large depending on the supply chain network. It can be implemented in different places. However, the cost of the absorption of technology is an issue.
Technology absorption is usually expensive as it calls for the IT team to travel through all the involved areas to establish the systems and link them together. It might be a problem since the projects might not be able to cater for all those requirements, thus hindering the supply chain projects. The nations involved might not also be able to take care of the cost thus causing a fail in the project.
Different nations contain different availability of technology infrastructure. Bandwidth and internet connectivity cannot be same across the nations which are involved in the supply chain projects. It can hinder the implementation of the application of an internet based technology. Such reasons result in nations involved not to consider the use of technology in the supply chain thus reducing the efficiency. The resources both externally and internally are necessary for the implementation of the supply chain project (Guide).
In conclusion, supply chain management is necessary as it ensures that the roadblocks and problems which are faced during the supply chain projects are overcome. For successful projects, it is critical for the involved nations to cooperate and use all the resources available to overcome the issues.
Work Cited
Guide, Management Study. Management Study Guide. 2016. 15 January 2016 <https://www.managementstudyguide.com/supply-chain-management-problems.htm>.
