Towards better supply chain visibility — The design and implementation of a supply chain system S-ConTrol to support an operational HQ in Singapore

Visibility into supply chain can give company a competitive advantage in today´s growing global operations. As Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) grow beyond Singapore, there is a need to help them to setup operational headquarters (OHQs), with Control Tower capabilities to better manage their supply chains, for better productivity and customers´ satisfaction. This paper discusses the challenges in designing, developing and implementing a supply chain system, SMEs Control Towers (S-ConTrol), to support such a Control Tower. A two-phase systematic approach for the system design and implementation was proposed. In the first phase, a top-down business analysis combined with target driven bottom-up data analysis process was executed to address the business needs and identify the challenges. The second phase was the implementation of the solution to fulfill the business needs. The system has been successfully deployed in a local company and its regional customer centres (RCCs) with tangible productivity gains achieved.