CARGOCONNECT-APRIL2026 - Flipbook - Page 82
Panel 3
Women Engineering Digital Supply Chains
“In today’s environment, supply assurance
and reliability have taken centre stage. As a
result, conventional forecasting and procurement approaches are becoming less e昀昀ective
in the face of rapidly changing demand
conditions. There is now a growing need
to rely on real-time demand signals and
more agile planning mechanisms to ensure
responsiveness and continuity of supply. In
hospital settings in particular, demand and
supply patterns have always been dynamic,
with sudden spikes caused by seasonal illnesses, emergency situations and
unexpected stock-out risks. However, the post-pandemic environment has
increased expectations for more structured procurement processes, stronger
planning mechanisms and reduced dependency on limited supplier bases
through better diversi昀椀cation and preparedness. Another critical area of
focus is master data management, especially in pharmacy and healthcare
procurement environments where teams often manage extremely large
SKU portfolios. Sustained e昀昀orts by procurement teams to strengthen data
governance have signi昀椀cantly improved procurement e昀케ciency, planning
accuracy and operational reliability across the supply chain."
“In industries such as tyre manufacturing,
demand is a昀昀ected not only by internal planning variables but also by government policies,
weather patterns, agricultural conditions,
automotive production levels and global
geopolitical developments. Even disruptions
in upstream inputs—such as shortages a昀昀ecting
automobile manufacturers—can directly in昀氀uence downstream demand patterns. Evaluating
the combined impact of these multiple external
signals manually is extremely challenging,
and this is where AI-enabled analytics and digital platforms provide strong
support by identifying patterns and generating predictive insights based on
historical and real-time data. At the same time, the role of people remains
critical in enabling successful digital transformation. Digital tools are only
as effective as the quality of the data they receive. Accurate master data
management is essential to ensure reliable outputs from planning systems.
Without consistent and standardised data inputs, even the most advanced
digital solutions cannot deliver meaningful results. Establishing a single,
reliable version of organisational data therefore becomes a foundational
requirement for e昀昀ective digital supply chain planning.”
“Earlier, processes such as closing contracts
required sending RFQs to multiple vendors,
collecting quotations manually and compiling
responses through spreadsheets, which often
took two to three weeks to complete. Today,
with the adoption of digital procurement
platforms, the same bidding processes can be
completed within a much shorter timeframe,
sometimes within a few hours. A major
advantage of digitalisation is enhanced
access to real-time data and performance
visibility. Procurement teams now have access to dashboards that enable
continuous monitoring of vendor performance, service levels and on-time
delivery metrics. This data-driven approach supports more informed
decision-making and strengthens supplier evaluation processes. In transport
procurement, decisions were earlier often in昀氀uenced primarily by cost
considerations due to limited availability of structured performance data.
With the introduction of digital monitoring systems, organisations can now
evaluate transport partners based on performance indicators in addition
to cost. This is particularly important in critical areas such as cold chain
logistics, where maintaining temperature integrity is essential."
“Transitioning from experience-driven operations to system-driven processes improves
consistency, planning accuracy and execution
e昀케ciency. However, implementing solutions
such as TMS requires extensive backend
preparation, including data standardisation
and route optimisation, before meaningful
bene昀椀ts can be realised. Further improvements can be achieved through automated
reporting systems that enhance operational
visibility and support data-driven decisionmaking. However, most important to technology adoption is the capability
of the workforce. Digital transformation in warehouses can succeed
only when teams are properly trained, processes are clearly de昀椀ned and
operational discipline is consistently maintained. Ultimately, digital
warehouses must evolve from being people-dependent to system-driven
environments supported by skilled personnel. It is equally important to
recognise that warehouse digitalisation is not merely an IT-led initiative.
Successful implementation depends on clearly de昀椀ned business requirements, strong data foundations and alignment between operational teams
and technology functions.”
KAVITA SHARMA, Lead– Pharmacy & Procurement, Akasi Healthcare
(MODERATOR)
BHAWNA BILLA, Category Lead– Freight & Logistics Procurement,
McCain Foods
82 | CARGOCONNECT APRIL 2026
AAKANCHA RAJ TEWARI, Head– Demand Planning, India,
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company
SHWETA ARORA, Manager– Digital Transformation – SCM,
Daikin Airconditioning India
