Build a Resilient Supply Chain

How to strengthen supply chain resilience and reduce risk in product development

Why Supply Chain Resilience Matters

In this unprecedented age of disruption, unforeseen events like labor shortages, natural disasters, geopolitical tensions, and material scarcity have strained global supply chains, leading to product delays, increased costs, and reduced profitability. To overcome these hurdles and stay competitive, manufacturers must strengthen supply chain resilience by adopting innovative business strategies and digital solutions that improve visibility, agility, and collaboration across the entire product lifecycle.

In this unprecedented age of disruption, unforeseen events like labor shortages, natural disasters, geopolitical tensions, and material scarcity have strained global supply chains, leading to product delays, increased costs, and reduced profitability. To overcome these hurdles and stay competitive, manufacturers must strengthen supply chain resilience by adopting innovative business strategies and digital solutions that improve visibility, agility, and collaboration across the entire product lifecycle.

Strategies to Transform Your Supply Chain

Graphic-Obtain partner feedback via formal ECOs or informal chats

Real-Time Collaboration

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Cloud Technology

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Agile Product Development

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Supply Chain Intelligence

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Strategic Sourcing

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Enable Real-Time Collaboration

Frequent, real-time collaboration with your supply chain partners is crucial throughout new product development and introduction (NPDI), especially amid constant disruptions. Keeping the lines of communication open gives everyone full visibility into part shortages, long lead times, and other bottlenecks that impact your production schedule. The earlier you can identify and resolve issues, the more likely you will meet your delivery targets.

Collaborate to compete by creating collaborative supply chain partnerships and speeding time to market.

Image-Real-Time Collaboration, group collaborating over the cloud
Image-Real-Time Collaboration, group collaborating over the cloud

Real-Time Collaboration

Frequent, real-time collaboration with your supply chain partners is crucial throughout new product development and introduction (NPDI), especially amid constant disruptions. Keeping the lines of communication open gives everyone full visibility into part shortages, long lead times, and other bottlenecks that impact your production schedule. The earlier you can identify and resolve issues, the more likely you will meet your delivery targets.

Collaborate to compete by creating collaborative supply chain partnerships and speeding time to market.

Image-Cloud Technology, group collaborating via cloud technologies

Improve Transparency With Cloud Technology 

Manufacturers have long depended on paper, spreadsheets, CAD, and other disconnected systems to manage product information. What’s more, they often correspond with supply chain partners through phone and email. These outdated methods make it hard to keep everyone aligned and maintain full visibility throughout the product development cycle.

The key to improving supply chain transparency is centralizing product information, teams, and processes in a controlled digitized system. Advanced technologies like cloud-native product lifecycle management (PLM) and quality management system (QMS) software provide a secure single source of truth for internal teams and external partners to collaborate in real time and exchange information. By removing data silos and communication gaps, cloud-native PLM and QMS minimize errors and improve information flow for faster issue resolution.

Read our white paper for additional insights on how cloud-native solutions remove product development barriers to keep your teams and partners in sync.

Image-Cloud Technology, group collaborating via cloud technologies

Cloud Technology

Manufacturers have long depended on paper, spreadsheets, CAD, and other disconnected systems to manage product information. What’s more, they often correspond with supply chain partners through phone and email. These outdated methods make it hard to keep everyone aligned and maintain full visibility throughout the product development cycle.

The key to improving supply chain transparency is centralizing product information, teams, and processes in a controlled digitized system. Advanced technologies like cloud-native product lifecycle management (PLM) and quality management system (QMS) software provide a secure single source of truth for internal teams and external partners to collaborate in real time and exchange information. By removing data silos and communication gaps, cloud-native PLM and QMS minimize errors and improve information flow for faster issue resolution.

Read our white paper for additional insights on how cloud-native solutions remove product development barriers to keep your teams and partners in sync.

Adopt Agile Product Development

From pandemics to devastating hurricanes and labor strikes, supply chain disruptions show no signs of slowing down. Manufacturers must be nimble to address the next wave of shocks that come their way.

Cloud PLM and QMS solutions support agile business practices by driving frequent, real-time collaboration between cross-functional teams.

Read this article for tips on establishing an agile operation that drives greater visibility and efficiencies throughout your new product development process.

Image-Agile Product Development, group collaborating
Image-Agile Product Development, group collaborating

Adopt Agile Product Development

From pandemics to devastating hurricanes and labor strikes, supply chain disruptions show no signs of slowing down. Manufacturers must be nimble to address the next wave of shocks that come their way.

Cloud PLM and QMS solutions support agile business practices by driving frequent, real-time collaboration between cross-functional teams.

Read this article for tips on establishing an agile operation that drives greater visibility and efficiencies throughout your new product development process.

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Predict and Prevent Risks With Supply Chain Intelligence

Supply chain risk is higher than ever. Reducing exposure to constant disruptions such as part shortages, end of life (EOL) notifications, tariffs, and evolving compliance requirements is critical to staying ahead. Companies are using Arena Supply Chain Intelligence (SCI) to embed real-time electronic component and supplier insights into their product lifecycle to anticipate and mitigate risks before it impacts cost, compliance, or delivery. By monitoring the health of your bill of materials (BOM) and using predictive analytics, Arena SCI empowers product teams to make proactive, data-driven decisions during new product development and introduction (NPDI), strengthening supply chain resilience while accelerating time to market and facilitating collaboration with supply chain partners.

Plus, companies are using analytics capabilities within Arena PLM and QMS to monitor supply chain activities and make informed decisions.

Discover how you can glean valuable, data-driven insights from Arena SCI and your supply chain partners to help reduce lead times, mitigate risks, and improve relationships.

Image-Digital Supply Chain Management Concept on Laptop in Factory Setting

Predict and Reduce Risk With Supply Chain Intelligence

Supply chain risk is higher than ever. Reducing exposure to constant disruptions such as part shortages, end of life (EOL) notifications, tariffs, and evolving compliance requirements is critical to staying ahead. Companies are using Arena Supply Chain Intelligence (SCI) to embed real-time electronic component and supplier insights into their product lifecycle to anticipate and mitigate risks before it impacts cost, compliance, or delivery. By monitoring the health of your bill of materials (BOM) and using predictive analytics, Arena SCI empowers product teams to make proactive, data-driven decisions during new product development and introduction (NPDI), strengthening supply chain resilience while accelerating time to market and facilitating collaboration with supply chain partners.

Plus, companies are using analytics capabilities within Arena PLM and QMS to monitor supply chain activities and make informed decisions.

Discover how you can glean valuable, data-driven insights from Arena SCI and your supply chain partners to help reduce lead times, mitigate risks, and improve relationships.

Simplify Reshoring and Strategic Sourcing

Many manufacturers are diversifying production locations and moving their operations closer to home to mitigate supply chain risks. This shift aims to reduce costs, enhance quality, and improve supply chain efficiency. Additionally, companies are focused on strengthening supplier relationships through supplier evaluation, qualification, consolidation, and negotiation.

Cloud PLM supports reshoring and strategic sourcing initiatives by enabling manufacturers to maintain control of the entire product record, regardless of their geographic distribution. With secure, online access, product teams and supply chain partners can review the latest designs and track parts availability from any location. This ensures high-quality, compliant parts are always sourced at the best price and delivered on schedule.

Watch this on-demand webinar to see how Digi International, a leader in IoT, leverages an integration between Arena PLM and Part Analytics to enhance sourcing and supply chain relationships.

Image-Strategic Sourcing, using a tablet for sourcing in manufacturing
Image-Strategic Sourcing, using a tablet for sourcing in manufacturing

Simplify Reshoring and Strategic Sourcing

Many manufacturers are diversifying production locations and moving their operations closer to home to mitigate supply chain risks. This shift aims to reduce costs, enhance quality, and improve supply chain efficiency. Additionally, companies are focused on strengthening supplier relationships through supplier evaluation, qualification, consolidation, and negotiation.

Cloud PLM supports reshoring and strategic sourcing initiatives by enabling manufacturers to maintain control of the entire product record, regardless of their geographic distribution. With secure, online access, product teams and supply chain partners can review the latest designs and track parts availability from any location. This ensures high-quality, compliant parts are always sourced at the best price and delivered on schedule.

Watch this on-demand webinar to see how Digi International, a leader in IoT, leverages an integration between Arena PLM and Part Analytics to enhance sourcing and supply chain relationships.

Collaboration in the Cloud Drives Success

Discover how global product companies leverage cloud technology to enhance supply chain collaboration and gain a competitive advantage.

“In electronics manufacturing, agility and collaboration aren’t just buzzwords; they’re essential components of success. The fragmented nature of our previous systems posed big barriers to achieving this. By integrating Arena and Part Analytics, we’ve effectively broken down those barriers, enabling seamless collaboration both internally and with our partners.”

—Terry Schneider, Vice President of Supply Chain Management, Digi International

“Since implementing Arena, we no longer work in silos. Everyone now has complete visibility into issues or open items that impact production. Nothing slips through the cracks.”

—Dave Fromm, Chief Operating Officer, Promex Industries

“Having better communication helps us understand what things should be released and ensures our CM has the most accurate information. And, if we’ve made a mistake, we know that too, and hopefully prevent it from happening in the first place.”

—Jon Bond, Director of Mechanical Design, Markforged

“Our supply chain partners are very impressed with the convenience offered by Arena. The ability to easily retrieve our product BOM from a secure PLM system and integrate it into their own system saves them considerable time and helps speed the production process.”

—Joerg Grudzinski, Director of Global Operations, congatec

“Arena PLM has changed the way to design and get products to market. It is the well-oiled machine that complex, global product companies need to run their business. We have a much faster and transparent process that allows for better visibility to identify where obstacles lie and helps us become even more efficient.”

—Ratana Lee, Senior Manager, NPI Master Archivist

“We get terrific feedback from the give and take of the review process. Partners have provided feedback that helped us avoid making unnecessary, confusing, or costly changes.”

—COO, Nutanix

“Arena has made our lives much easier. Having all our product information in one secure place keeps our product teams and supply chain partners aligned on delivering high-quality products to customers.”

—Liran Vaintrov, PLM Business Analyst, Kornit Digital

Collaborate to Compete
Strengthen Supply Chain Resilience With Arena PLM

Arena is the proven cloud-native PLM leader, purpose-built for supply chain collaboration. Using Arena’s robust access controls, you can invite partners to participate in design reviews and other critical activities without compromising your IP. Automated workflows and real-time collaboration enable your product teams and partners to respond quickly to unforeseen events and deliver products faster.

Additional Resources

Check out these resources to learn how you can create more efficient, collaborative, and agile supply chain management processes.