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AWS intros cloud solution for supply chain industries

Sibahle Malinga
By Sibahle Malinga, ITWeb senior news journalist.
Johannesburg, 02 Dec 2022

Amazon Web Services (AWS), an Amazon company, is targeting the global supply chain industries with its new cloud-based application – AWS Supply Chain – which helps businesses increase supply chain visibility.

The new service was announced this week at the AWS re: Invent 2022 event in Las Vegas.

The software solution aims to help improve the delivery of goods on any mode of transport, and provides insights to mitigate supply chain risks, lower costs and improve customer experience for businesses.

According to AWS, companies such as Lifetime Brands, Traeger Grills and Whole Foods Market are among the first customers to use AWS Supply Chain, to streamline their supply chain services.

The software works by automatically combining and analysing data across multiple supply chain systems, so that businesses can observe and track their operations in real-time, find trends more quickly, and generate more accurate demand forecasts to meet customer expectations.

The cloud giant says it has more than 30 years of retail experience through its Amazon.com online shopping site, which has significantly grown over the past few years.

According to research firm Statista, Amazon is the leading e-retailer in the US, with net sales amounting to close to $470 billion in 2021.

In recent years, supply chains and the online shopping industries have experienced unprecedented supply and demand volatility, accelerated by several factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic, widespread resource shortages, geopolitics and natural events.

These disruptions put pressure on businesses to plan for potential supply chain uncertainty, respond quickly to changes in customer demand and keep costs low.

When businesses inadequately forecast for supply chain risks − such as component shortages, shipping/port congestion, delivery backlogs and unanticipated demand spikes – they face excess inventory costs, or stock-outs that cause poor customer experience, notes AWS.

“Customers tell us that the undifferentiated heavy lifting required in connecting data between different supply chain solutions has inhibited their ability to quickly see and respond to potential supply chain disruptions,” said Diego Pantoja-Navajas, VP of AWS Supply Chain at AWS.

“AWS Supply Chain aggregates this data and provides visual, interactive dashboards that provide the insights and recommendations customers need to take actions toward more resilient supply chains. And this is just the beginning − we will continue our investment in AWS Supply Chain to help our customers solve their toughest supply chain problems.”

AWS Supply Chain was introduced in collaboration with the Accenture AWS Business Group, a key partner that works closely with AWS to combine resources, technical capability and industry knowledge, to help enterprises unlock innovation and drive business value.

Accenture will leverage AWS Supply Chain across its supply chain offerings, including the management consulting and technology services firm’s SynOps platform, to bring pre-built solutions that allow companies to move at speed, delivering automation into complex processes to realise value faster.

“As supply chain disruptions continue for the foreseeable future, companies need to stay focused on balancing cost-efficiency, sustainability and relevancy across their supply networks to support growth,” said Kris Timmermans, global supply chain and operations lead at Accenture.

“Executing a cloud-based digital strategy can enable an agile, resilient supply chain that is responsive to market changes and customer demands.”

AWS Supply Chain is currently available in select parts of the US, with availability in additional AWS regions “coming soon”, according to the company.

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