INTHEBLACK July/August 2023 - Magazine - Page 38
F E AT U R E
“If you can find a way to consolidate some of the key elements of your
supply chain, it can very quickly give you a competitive advantage.”
ANTHONY MASON ASA, CORA GROUP
“We have a suite of carriers, and each one
of those businesses generally specialises in a
particular type of freight and delivery type.
“We use tech to consolidate our customers’
needs, putting forward a multi-carrier solution
for customers with complex supply chain
requirements. That leads to increased visibility,
cost savings and efficiency gains,” Mason says.
The most valuable offering that comes from
technology is not always a total game changer
along the lines of the ability to see previously
invisible trends, Mason says. Sometimes
game changers happen, but often technology
simply helps a business to do something more
efficiently. In doing so, it saves time, money
and resources.
“It is often the multiplication of each layer
of business operations that makes change
and digitisation so daunting and difficult,”
Mason says.
“There are a number of major brands that,
after significant investment, have digitised
and optimised their end-to-end supply chain.
38 INTHEBLACK July/August 2023
“For most businesses, this is not immediately
achievable and they have to piece it together
themselves. If you can find a way to
consolidate some of the key elements of
your supply chain, it can very quickly give
you a competitive advantage.”
Where does a business start? Mason
recommends looking at the major challenges
or strategic objectives. Perhaps consider
a challenge in terms of customer experience,
business efficiency, cost minimisation
or environmental impact.
Each of these would offer a different
starting point and lens for a technological
solution. Engaging the people within your
business is often the best place to start,
Mason says.
“Technology can make businesses go from
good to better to best,” Hilder adds. “What
we should be striving for as a business
community is to always be our best. Good
is good. But to be the best at something –
that is where we should be aiming.”
