Elemica Shares Eight and a Half Supply Chain Priorities for 2016

WAYNE, PA--(Marketwired - Jan 7, 2016) - Elemica,^[1] the leading Supply Chain Operating Network^[2] for the process industries, discusses eight and a half supply chain priorities for industrial companies to deliver greater value in 2016. Manufacturers implementing these evolving practices will capture new market opportunities, accelerate growth and mitigate risk, significantly reduce operating costs and improve their ability to delight customers.

"2016 will see accelerated adoption of next-generation technologies as a strategic driver for supply chain leaders," said Ed Rusch, VP of Global Marketing at Elemica. "Replacing legacy systems with more effective alternatives will eliminate recurring pain points and create new levels of decision making, teamwork and performance."

Priorities for Supply Chain leaders in 2016 include:

1. Unleash the Potential of Connected Devices - The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) will transform how people work. New interactions between humans and machines will change the basis of competition and create a new wave of disruptive companies with unprecedented levels of partnership and productivity. For example, factories of the future will seamlessly tap into the IIoT to gather customer buying habits and automatically increase production when demand is high.

2. Proactively Create Risk Management Strategies - As global dynamics change, successful companies understand that risk management plays an important strategic role in handling the dynamic of pandemics, natural disasters and economic uncertainty by protecting valuable assets with a unified, high-performance risk mitigation model.

3. Actively Engage in Supply Chain Communities - Social will build exceptional levels of trust and connectivity among trading partners. Incorporating effective communication styles across a community of trading partners enables companies to share best practices, key performance indicators, business intelligence analysis and more to cut costs, improve efficiencies and build resilience.

4. Reinvent Traditional Supply Chains with Digital Proficiencies - Digital Supply Chains enable true synchronization with expansive connectivity, greater scalability, and more speed. As people become more connected, so should the supply chains of companies who want to interact with these people.

5. Unlock Outside-in Capabilities for Demand-Driven Customers - Industrial manufacturers want to better sense and respond to market demands in a timely manner while remaining profitable. Companies need a network that supports seamless information flow and real-time responses coupled with robust business process orchestration and advanced analytics.

6. Address Prevailing Carrier Capacity Issues - As a result of aging and retiring truck drivers, strains in capacity will cause carriers to be more selective in who they do business with. Companies need to become "Preferred Shippers" by paying quicker, communicating better and sharing forecasts for demand.

7. Adapt to An Increasing Number of Millennials in Workforce - Understand and anticipate the benefits of working in a digital society. Forward-thinking companies will blend expertise, technology and teamwork to keep everyone accountable and contributing to supply chain success.

8. Overcome Complexities with End-to-End Visibility - Removing information silos allows companies to work together more effectively, while driving value for their business and customers. The resource of information, acquired through a business network, is like a currency that can be spent to enable intelligent and rapid responses to real-time market events.

A carry-over priority from 2015 completes this list, and as such, is given a half designation:

8.5 Remove the #1 Barrier to Collaboration - Multi-partner information sharing creates an ecosystem where business partners combine products and services to meet customer needs, with trust a must for meaningful collaboration. Using a supply chain operating network as the backbone removes the trust barrier, maximizing information sharing and benefiting all participants.

With customer requirements ever-changing, process manufacturers are deploying more sophisticated strategies to keep service levels high without piling on costs. By implementing these supply chain priorities, businesses are able to respond more quickly to demand changes, better absorb market disruptions and capture new market opportunities. Business Networks enable companies to ultimately find common ground with their customers and deliver an easy-to-do-business-with experience.

About Elemica

Elemica^[3] is the leading Supply Chain Operating Network for the process industries. Elemica transforms supply chains by replacing manual and complex approaches with efficient and reliable ones. Launched in 2000, customers like BASF, BP, Continental, The Dow Chemical Company, DuPont, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, LANXESS, Michelin, Shell, Solvay, Sumitomo Chemical, Wacker and more process nearly $400B in commerce value annually on the network. Elemica drives bottom line results by promoting reduced cost of operations, faster process execution, automation of key business processes, removal of transactional barriers, and seamless information flow between trading partners. For more information, visit www.elemica.com^[4].