Supply chain is an organisation’s strength, but it can also be their Achilles heel if it is not managed efficiently, says James Mason, group IT executive at Italtile Limited.

In a compelling presentation at the 2024 SAPICS Conference, Africa’s leading event for the supply chain profession, Mason shared Italtile’s supply chain journey and the remarkable results of a supply chain integration and transport optimisation initiative undertaken in partnership with supply chain specialist Inhance Supply Chain Solutions. Mason, who co-presented with Inhance director Chad Kilian, revealed that replacing Italtile’s traditional, silo-based transport planning with Inhance’s integrated network planning solution had delivered a turnover increase of more than 80% and transport cost savings of more than 20%.

“Historically, order planning, load building and transport planning have been treated as separate, independent processes, often approached with a 'one-size-fits-all' strategy. However, traditional supply chain models often fall short in addressing the unique complexities of different organisations,” Kilian states. Integrated network distribution planning focuses on dismantling the silos between order planning, replenishment, load building, and primary and secondary planning. It encompasses the implementation of smart, integrated solutions in multi-drop, less than truckload linehaul operations, leading to more efficient and responsive supply chain networks, he explains.

Italtile manufactures one out of every two tiles, baths and toilets purchased in South Africa. The organisation operates in an extremely complex and competitive environment, with seven factories shipping over 2 900 tons per day across South Africa using external transport providers. An integrated supply chain solution was needed for better visibility across all of the group’s operations.

This solution, implemented in partnership with Inhance, provides business-wide visibility of Italtile’s operations through a logistics control tower that intelligently manages orders from the point of placement through to delivery at the customer. It can dynamically build, plan and allocate least-cost transport routes against service level agreements (SLAs) and manage the order through to delivery. The real-time yard management solution manages the order from the transporter’s arrival through to dispatch, ensuring constant visibility of an order against plan.

“In an environment where we are servicing an ever-increasing and splintered customer network, this solution has empowered our staff with the tools that they need, enabling the business to further increase throughput to the end customer while reducing our cost to serve,” Mason says.

In addition to revenue growth, customer service, experience and satisfaction has been enhanced by logistics efficiency. The group’s turnaround time for trucks has been reduced by 53%, improving delivery lead times. Average weight utilisation has been cut by 97.3%. Improvements on the production and inventory front include a stock turn boost and improved stock demand forecasting and planning with Italtile’s retail stores. There is a reduction in stock-holding and improved stock turns on raw materials, he reveals.

Environmental, social and governance (ESG) improvements have also been achieved as a result of the supply chain integration. Italtile has seen its transporter pool grow by 56%, including black-owned small and medium enterprises. Transporter satisfaction, security and sustainability has been enhanced. With the new systems, staff have been upskilled and empowered. “As an organisation committed to minimising our impact on the environment, we are pleased to have reduced carbon emissions as a result of trip optimisation,” Mason says. He notes that manual processes and the paper associated with them have also been reduced.

Continuous improvement is a critical aspect of Italtile’s supply chain journey. Working with Inhance, the group plans to add auto allocation, electronic proofs of delivery and automated invoicing for a truly autonomous supply chain that will benefit Italtile, its customers, transporters and all stakeholders in its supply chain. Mason urged SAPICS Conference attendees to consider where their organisations are on the journey to making their supply chain their competitive advantage.

More than 750 supply chain managers from 30 countries across Africa and around the world attended the 2024 SAPICS Conference, to explore this increasingly important profession’s current challenges and opportunities, to learn and share knowledge. This year’s 46th SAPICS Conference was hosted by The Professional Body for Supply Chain Management (SAPICS) in association with Southern African Association of Freight Forwarders (SAAFF).