Supply Chain Data Sharing: Why Integration Is Key to Success

• Supply chain data sharing is crucial for OEMs, dealers, technicians, and the customers they serve.  
• Without data visibility throughout the supply chain, OEMs struggle to perfect demand forecasting, miss out on service opportunities, and experience inventory hiccups.
• Tools like IoT, cloud-based platforms, and artificial intelligence make data sharing more accessible than ever.

Hyperconnected supply chains have transformed how Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) get machinery and spare parts into the hands of their customers. Although today’s supply chain connectedness has brought about productivity wins, quality improvements, and service-related benefits, the many touchpoints that now sit between OEMs and end users come with their own set of challenges. When a customer needs a replacement part, they could reach out to the OEM directly, the spare parts dealer they’ve worked with in the past, or even a service technician who has come out to replace other parts. No matter who the client gets in contact with, the web of professionals has to work together to figure out the part’s availability, get it shipped to the right location, and schedule a technician visit to repair the machinery. All of the moving parts require airtight management of the process from end to end:

• The dealer’s inventory forecasting has to be accurate so there are no delays in getting the spare parts.
• Service technicians should be assigned to the repair job either from the OEM or the dealer themselves; are they available to get to the client’s location quickly?
• OEMs, dealers, and technicians must be proactive – how can this issue be prevented in the future? How can the customer get the help they need before their machinery stops working?

Ultimately, there is more than one way to address an equipment issue or supply chain holdup. Because of the variability, every expert that will – or might – be involved, needs to be informed as to what’s going on at all times. How does that happen? Supply chain data sharing. With real-time data surrounding customer needs, current inventory on hand, and service coordination, OEMs, dealers, and technicians can work together to deliver a seamless customer experience every time.  

Foregoing Data Sharing? Your Supply Chain Feels It

Without cohesive visibility to data, insights, and action items, everyone suffers. The end users suffer because they aren’t getting the timely, accurate support they expect. Dealers suffer because they have to constantly play middle-man; if they don’t know what customers need, how can they have the right parts at the ready? And finally, OEMs suffer because customers associate their brand with the end-to-end supply chain. Once your brand image starts to slip, it becomes very difficult to recover.

Supply chain data sharing isn’t a theoretical idea; it’s a practical priority. Without data sharing, supply chains, and everyone who has a touchpoint in those supply chains, will face unnecessary challenges, such as:

• Limited Visibility: Although OEMs and their partner dealers generally have long-lasting relationships, they operate as separate entities from a business perspective. This operational separation can create visibility issues for OEMs. If an OEM doesn’t know what’s happening with their dealer’s inventory, sales pipeline, and customer feedback loop, it’s difficult to know how to plan production and stocking.
• Unpredictable Demand: For any business, the oldest challenge in the book is managing demand. If you sell shoes, you need to know what types of shoes people want, considering seasons, styles, and more. It’s not so different in the OEM space; OEMs need timely data from dealers to proactively forecast demand. Otherwise, they’ll be stuck in a cycle of overstocking, backordering, and customer frustration.
• Poor Inventory Management: Without proper inventory management, the cost of doing business will balloon. Excess inventory costs money to store, maintain, and even destroy if it goes unused. On the other hand, understocking products or spare parts can lead to pricey rush orders, customer attrition, and brand damage.  
• Lost Maintenance and Service Opportunities: One of the best revenue streams for OEMs and dealers today comes from service offerings. Without data sharing, technicians may not properly allocate time for seasonal demand or slower periods, making it hard to get the service side of the equation right.

Data sharing may feel like an impossible task; it requires system integration, dedicated collaboration, and continuous improvement. But it’s an investment that’s worth it in the long run. Without supply chain data sharing, OEMs and dealers will react to issues more slowly, provide subpar service, and leave a not-so-positive impression with customers.  

Improved Inventory, Forecasting, and More

The integration of data sharing capabilities takes time, effort, money, and collaboration, but once in place, data sharing opens up the supply chain landscape. Do you need to know how many customers will need a certain part in the next year? Look at the data. Are you trying to decide what technologies to invest in for a better customer experience? Ask customer data what’s needed most.  

The benefits brought about by this new approach to supply chains are endless. Breaking free from the silos, OEMs, dealers, and everyone in between will see the benefits start to materialize very quickly. Addressing all of the pain points we detailed above, supply chain data sharing is the foundation for progress in the industry. Here’s how:

• Enhanced Demand Forecasting: With the ability to bring together data from across the network of the supply chain, OEMs can anticipate customer demand levels with much more accuracy. That piece of equipment that client X is going to need? You’ll know about it well before they need it, giving you the chance to coordinate with dealers and ensure it’s ready to go.
• Optimized Inventory Management: Stop treating inventory management like a guessing game. Simply dive into the data that already exists in hyperconnected supply chains to determine stock levels. No more backordering or inventory that’ll collect dust; inventory-associated costs will noticeably fall thanks to data sharing.
• Dealer-OEM Collaboration: Dealers and OEMs have never had a better opportunity than right now to redefine how they work together. With a seamless data flow between both entities, there is an element of alignment that helps streamline the supply chain. This data-supported approach allows OEMs and dealers to make more informed decisions while ensuring both organizations are aligned on the end goal.  
• Heightened Customer Satisfaction: Customers don’t always see the delineation between OEMs, dealers, and technicians, so if something goes wrong with any key player in the delivery process, they’ll blame all parties involved. With faster response times, improved part availability, and trustworthy service technicians, customers won’t have to worry about where the process went wrong – it’ll all go right. And that’s how happy customers are born!

How to Tap into Data Sharing

Moving from the current state of operations – however OEMs and dealers do things today — takes a significant amount of effort, but it doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Sure, you may have to adjust some existing processes or change communication methods between different areas of the supply chain, but there are plenty of tools that will do a lot of the heavy lifting.  

To elevate supply chain data sharing, turn to the following tools:

Internet of Things and Enabled Devices

The Internet of Things (IoT) is an extremely sophisticated network of devices and sensors that communicate with one another, alerting OEMs of equipment issues and updating software automatically. IoT-enabled devices can track equipment health, alert service teams when maintenance is needed, and flag faulty parts before they cause downtime.  

Common Service Supply Chain Challenges Faced by OEMs

When investing in supply chain technology, prioritize cloud-based platforms that store data securely, enable automated system updates, and link between all your business systems. The system an OEM uses to track inventory and the system a dealer uses to monitor incoming customer requests can actually talk to each other, as long as they’re cloud-based.  

With the integration of ClearOps, OEMs can gain more visibility into the entire supply chain, allowing them to quickly adapt to customer needs and break down the silos that exist in the aftermarket.  

AI and Predictive Analytics  

Further benefits of centralized aftersales platforms are the built-in AI components and predictive analysis features. With heightened processing power, these technologies can pull insights from large data sets, allow you to play with scenario testing, and accurately predict demand details.  

Navigating the Roadblocks

As with any industry transformation, there are sure to be some growing pains. No matter how well OEMs go about adopting supply chain data sharing, they’ll face a number of challenges. Luckily, this transformation is less about avoiding roadblocks entirely and more about learning how to navigate them. Here are the top 3 challenges ahead and tips for addressing them:

Challenge #1: Transparency Resistance  

There’s no question that supply chain data sharing is a net positive for OEMs and the supply chain as a whole, but still, many organizations are hesitant to “lift the hood,” so to speak. If you feel nervous about the level of data transparency that exists in this dynamic, you’re not alone.  

• Solution: Assess that hesitancy with honesty. Are you nervous that your data won’t be as accurate as it should be? Do you have privacy concerns? Talk to the technology leaders about how to clean up your data and ensure security is still top of mind. No one wants to make the landscape less secure; the goal is to use transparency as a tool to make data more reliable and more actionable.  

Challenge #2: Complexities and Integration Costs

Revamping the technology landscape that exists within any supply chain is no easy feat. There are always a handful of systems at play, each serving a different purpose. It’s almost as if some leaders are afraid to touch these systems, for fear of upsetting the supply chain in some way. It’s also costly to make architectural changes to both processes and tools.

• Solution: Conduct a cost-benefit analysis of the investment. It might come with a hefty price tag upfront, but how much will it save you in productivity in 5 years? What about 10 years? If the hard savings aren’t enough to convince your organization to make the change, reach out to other OEMs that have done it successfully. They’ll offer valuable insight into what comes after the integration challenges and costs.

Challenge #3: Current Practices

Realistically, many OEMs and partner dealers are still relying on Excel worksheets and other manual methods for tracking data, analyzing KPIs, and forecasting. These are often outdated, hard to work with, or unreliable – and they hold your business back! It’s hard to collaborate with different touchpoints along the supply chain if you rely on a file that can only be opened on that one 1992 computer in the back of your office.  

• Solution: The only option here is to deconstruct what you’re doing and rebuild your processes with technology in mind. It’s not a smart business decision to deprive your employees or your customers of progress because it feels a bit inconvenient at the moment.  

Systems and Data are the Foundation

Supply chain data sharing won’t work if the systems used by dealers and OEMs aren’t in harmony. It’s easy to look at the benefits of a hyperconnected supply chain, but the reality of integrating different IT systems across multiple organizations is complex. The way data is stored, labeled, and used can vary from one business to another, and inconsistencies can create bottlenecks, errors, and costly undertakings.

To avoid a headache, focus on data standardization first. OEMs and dealers need to align on data naming conventions, even down to the punctuation used. Aligned data fields are the foundation for effective supply chain data sharing. They pave the way for automation, ridding clunky processes from manual inputs and human error.

If you really want to make sure that different systems can talk to each other no matter what platforms are in play, prioritize interoperability framework and open data standards. These two things can break down data silos, reduce data sharing costs, and enable better outcomes.  

Start Today: Incorporating Data Sharing in Service Supply Chains

Supply chain data sharing isn’t an elusive idea that exists somewhere in the future; it’s here now, ready for the industry. The question is: is the industry ready for it? To get to a place where OEMs, dealers, and service technicians move as one, we’ll need clear data sharing protocols and guidelines, integrated IT systems, and data privacy protections.  

It’s not an easy road ahead, but in times of volatility – which feels like the only constant that exists in supply chains – data sharing can change how OEMs think about the customer experience. We’ll finally have the tools to be able to take industry offerings to the next level – let’s do it.  

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