Partnership Announcement
6th October 2023
Scope Systems and PeopleTray Announce Strategic Partnership to accelerate the delivery of workforce management software to the mining and mining contracting market.
Read More
Home / Blog / Greater Visibility Across Mining Supply Chains Will Reduce Supplier Risk
Greater Visibility Across Mining Supply Chains Will Reduce Supplier Risk
In Partnership with NETSTOCK
Published: 28th March 2022
Global supply chains can continue to experience disruptions from global pandemics to freak accidents such as the Suez Canal obstruction by the Ever Given, natural disasters, and ongoing trade wars. Companies are caught right in the middle, but with agile processes and the right technology, companies can effectively navigate the impacts of these disruptions, reducing risk factors and setting their business apart from their competitors.
For mining companies to meet rising demand for resources, being prepared and proactive in navigating future events requires visibility across your mining supply chain. Given supplier volatility and the remote locations of mines, mining companies often experience stock-outs and long delays from suppliers due to inadequate inventory management systems.
Increased supply chain visibility starts with mining your data
Given the complex nature of an average mining supply chain, from having the right equipment to mine to extracting, processing, and then distributing the end product via ship or rail often to different locations, very few companies in the mining industry have end-to-end supply chain visibility. With poor quality data and the lack of upstream information, mining companies find it challenging to plan and forecast their inventory accurately.
Accurate data will equip your business to:
- Monitor your overall inventory levels and ensure you don’t experience stock-outs or incur excess stock
- Identify trends in your supply chain
- Respond to anomalies in the procurement process
- Plan various ‘what if’ scenarios to measure the impact of each
- Measure how well your suppliers perform
- Improve your customer service levels
Establishing a dedicated team to ensure your data is consistently accurate and updated as well as investing in the right software will help you create actionable insights to make intelligent inventory decisions for your supply chain.
Manage supplier risk: Measure how well your suppliers perform
Suppliers are one of the most critical links in the mining supply chain, providing the necessary machinery, equipment, and parts to mining operations. Suppliers also face disruptions, and their delays in supplying the right stock on time and in full can add costly delays to your mining project. With mining taking place mostly in remote locations and the end product needing to be transported to its final destination, measuring how well your suppliers perform is a game-changer for your business.
Tips to reduce extended lead times with your suppliers:
- Working with existing data, measure how well your suppliers perform. Identify reliable suppliers, those who deliver on time and in full.
- Review the suppliers who are unreliable and potentially look for alternative suppliers.
- With an accurate list of high-performing suppliers, you can potentially negotiate better terms and conditions based on the sales forecast.
- Develop good relationships with your suppliers. Some mining projects last for many years, but it’s essential to keep the communication lines open and honest.
- Share your forecast with your suppliers. The more your suppliers understand your demand, the more prepared they can be. If a supplier has delays in supplying a product, they can give you enough time to plan an alternative option.
- Always reconfirm the lead time with the supplier. Disruptions can happen quickly. You will then have a line of sight of all the products affected by that particular supplier.
Review your inventory planning and processes further reduce the effects of lead times by:
- Classifying your inventory and having a clear idea of your essential stock items will help you know which suppliers to review.
- Increase departmental collaboration. Demand planners should know what stock is needed to support upcoming sales and marketing campaigns.
- Hold the right level of safety stock based on the supplier’s volatility.
- Understand how the supplier’s minimum order quantity (MOQs) will impact the replenishment cycle.
To discover how NETSTOCK automatically measures supplier performance and provides actionable insights to optimise inventory successfully, register for the NETSTOCK and Scope Systems Mining industry webinar, Drive smarter inventory decisions on Tuesday, 5th of April at 10 am AWST.
Register here: https://netstock.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_K-v-UTxuSyixvhunHaKXAQ
Discover more.
Scope Systems Parked Invoice System
26th July 2023
The Parked Supplier Invoice Approval System is a Pronto Xi enhancement created by Scope Systems that provides you with additional functionality by adding the ability to edit and include an approval process for invoices.
Read More
The Mining Outlook According to RIU
14th March 2023
The RIU Explorers conference this year saw a packed full house of over 1800 delegates and 200 exhibitors in the Esplanade Hotel, Fremantle. Both exhibitors and attendees there had a pretty bullish outlook, despite the repeated doom and gloom in the media.
Read More
Workforce Engagement Through Digital Automation
29th November 2022
With staff retention a key issue currently facing the mining industry, discover why digital automation is key to increasing you workforce engagement.
Read More
Top Risks in the Mining Industry 22/23
13th October 2022
The mining industry has once again faced many challenges this year, with a major one again being the microscope the industry has been put under for its male-dominated culture. This year’s Australian Mining Risk Forecast has been recently released by KPMG and it’s an interesting read on what is top of mind for mining executives.
Read More
Going for Gold – The Year in Review
18th August 2022
Take a look at the year in review. From the RIU Explorers conference to Diggers and Dealers, our Sales and Marketing Manager Sonia Turner give her summary of the financial year.
Read More
What is e-invoicing?
8th August 2022
E-invoicing isn’t a new idea, the first electronic invoices were sent over 30 years ago through an electronic data interchange. Since then, e-invoicing has developed into a safe and secure way for suppliers to automatically and digitally exchange invoice information to customers through a secure network. So why move to e-invoicing and what are the benefits it can give to your company?
Read More
ERP Software Solutions for Exploration Mining
28th July 2022
Starting up an exploration venture requires careful planning of capital, with keeping costs to a minimum one of the highest priorities for a company. One aspect of keeping costs low can include the business systems designed to help control expenditure.
Read More
Why Partner with a Software Solutions Provider?
12th July 2022
Why partner with a software solutions specialist? Is it worth considering or are you better off managing on our own? To answer these questions, let’s look at what a specialist like Scope Systems can bring to the table.
Read More
Why Integrate your ERP Software?
28th June 2022
Companies today are more diverse then ever, finding they to have multiple software solutions to add extra functionality to their system. Having an integrated solution allows all your systems to 'talk' to each other , with your ERP acting as your primary system.
Read More
3 Benefits of Software Training
14th June 2022
For some companies, the idea of training staff to use new or existing software is a no brainer, recognising the benefits to the company from the outset. Others are more hesitant, with questions such as if there will be any tangible benefit, what will the true ROI be and what’s stopping staff jumping ship to another company after.
Read More
.Au Domain Names Have Arrived
30th May 2022
From March 2022 a new domain name category has become available for Australian domain names, with the new, shorter .au name arriving.
Read More
Improve Your Budgeting and Forecasting
24th May 2022
Budgeting is one of those unavoidable tasks that most of us would prefer not to do, investing in a budgeting solution can help improve your processes.
Read More
Improving Your Passwords Strength
4th May 2022
A password is the first line of defence in protecting not only your own personal data, but also confidential company data. Check out our tips for creating a strong and memorable password.
Read More
What You Need to Know About STP Phase 2
19th April 2022
Are you ready for the upcoming reporting changes for STP Phase 2? Learn what you need to do now to prepare and what to expect.
Read More
Modern Enterprise Data Architecture – Data Lake or Data Warehouse?
5th April 2022
For data to be transformed into understandable information it first needs to be stored somewhere accessible, most commonly in a Data Warehouse or Data Lake.
Read More
Greater Visibility Across Mining Supply Chains Will Reduce Supplier Risk
28th March 2022
With accurate inventory data, you can measure supplier performance and help reduce extended lead times across your mining supply chain.
Read More
Is Your Tenement Management System Time Consuming?
24th March 2022
Ensuring your multiple tenements activities are being recorded and reported on is vital, as failing to do so can affect your whole mining operation and lead to costly penalties.
Read More
Intelligent Inventory Management Solutions will Transform the Mining Industry
14th March 2022
An inventory management solution will give mining companies data-driven insights to help increase profits by focusing on having the right stock to meet demand.
Read More
How Your ERP System can Help Relieve Worker Shortages
8th March 2022
With shortages of skilled workers across many industries, optimising your ERP system can reduce the stress caused by gaps in your workforce.
Read More
