To solve the digital manufacturing disconnect, Dukal has launched an EDI-driven supply chain solution that provides unprecedented order transparency, tracking, and customer collaboration.
Sponsored: Dukal -July 2024 – The Journal of Healthcare Contracting
As the healthcare industry continues to grapple with increasing challenges across the manufacturing and supply chain landscape, port congestion and freight transportation issues have continued to emerge as significant disruptors. The need to adjust supply chains in a matter of hours or days rather than weeks has become the new norm.
Recognizing the need for transformative industry change, Dukal launched a cross-functional effort to achieve combined business, IT, and planning benefits. This effort involved cross-functional and cross-geographical teams focused on agility, customer centricity, data interchanges, speed, and customer satisfaction.
The Dukal team implemented Dukal InSightTM, built on Microsoft’s Dynamics 365 Business Central and in partnership with Mallory Alexander International Logistics’ order management process, to quickly deploy real-time visibility of customers’ orders from purchase to delivery. The project took around 36 months to complete, and identified opportunities to provide customers:
- Real-time visibility with on-time and accurate delivery
- Inventory assignment at the factory level, eliminating the industry practice of arbitrary allocation
- Timely and collaborative communication to overcome disruptions before they impact business or patient health
The Challenge:
With only 25% of companies digitally networked, enterprises must move from linear to connected ecosystems of partners and suppliers – to create supply chains that are resilient and sustainable.1
The Solution:
Dukal has built connectivity and agility into its supply chain operations to deliver adaptability and industry-leading transparency and communication with integrated business planning, transport and warehouse logistics, product innovation, and customer collaboration at the center of the solution.
EDI: Empowering Transformation
Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) is a cornerstone of Dukal’s transformative strategy, facilitating seamless communication and collaboration throughout the supply chain. By leveraging EDI technology, Dukal empowers distributors and self-distributing health systems with real-time visibility, enabling proactive decision-making and mitigating disruptions before they impact patient care or business health.
Advanced Product Assignment and Collaborative Communication
Through streamlined processes and customer collaboration, product is assigned from the start of production to their dock – ensuring health systems have what they need when they need it.
Overcoming Disruptions with Proactive Solutions
Dukal’s proactive approach to supply chain management allows for the identification of potential disruptions to maximize customer efficiency and avoid costly delays and out of stock situations.
Dukal InSightTM is delivering impact in every process across the supply chain. In the first six months, 40% have experienced a 5x or greater improvement in:
| End-to-end supply chain visibility | Lead time estimation | Accessibility to order status on all open orders | Certainty of product availability, of delivery estimates, of actual delivery | Ability to anticipate and correct disruptions |
Conclusion:
Dukal’s innovative use of EDI exemplifies the transformative potential of technology in healthcare supply chain management. By prioritizing transparency, collaboration, and proactive solutions, Dukal is redefining what it means to be a trusted partner in healthcare.