DHL is expanding its supply chain management and analytics portfolio by launching the DHL Resilience360 Transparency Portal. The online collaboration service enables international companies to visualize a complete picture of their supply networks, including tier-one sub-suppliers, their suppliers, and so on. As supply chains expand and become increasingly complex due to globalization, many companies lose visibility into their full supply network and are unable to properly assess risk levels. By collecting data through the Transparency Portal, they are able to identify key points in their network and thus ultimately improve business continuity.
The service operates independently, but can be combined with risk assessment and event monitoring solutions by DHL Resilience360, and all suppliers participating in the network gain immediate access to these capabilities.
– Lack of transparency is a key weakness of many modern supply chains. Understanding the entire supply network in one’s operations will ensure that enterprises remain compliant even at a local level and will reduce the possibility of reputational loss, thanks to faster recovery times in the event of disruptive incidents. Additionally, it reduces insurance costs through greater knowledge of supply chain risks and individual points of failure. Our new portal enables quick and easy insight into such situations – explains Jan Speich, Senior Manager of Product Management at DHL Resilience360, DHL Customer Solutions & Innovation.
Enterprises are not keeping pace with the development of today’s supply chains. Due to globalization and rapidly changing regulatory frameworks, they are often powerless against emerging risks. According to the Business Continuity Institute, half of all supply disruptions are caused by second-tier and further sub-suppliers. Despite this, four out of five companies do not have complete visibility into the supply chain beyond their direct suppliers. This includes the exact locations of lower-tier sub-suppliers on which these companies rely and how they conduct their business.
The new DHL Transparency Portal allows customers to collect relevant information to better access their vulnerability to natural disasters, regulatory issues, concentration risks, or political situations. The fully customizable platform offers pre-defined survey templates for individual design of requirements, for example in the area of business continuity management, as well as obtained certificates, including the Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) license.
An enterprise can start collecting data from its tier-one sub-suppliers via a secure online tool, while the system automatically manages further iterations from subsequent tiers of suppliers. Ultimately, the system also generates summary reports and allows users to seamlessly browse data to identify risk hotspots.
– Digital footprints, recorded when a customer uses a DHL delivery, can be used to detect multi-tier supply chains – explains Tobias Larsson, Director of Resilience360, DHL Customer Solutions & Innovation. – The DHL Resilience360 Transparency Portal provides companies with an easier, faster, and more efficient way to collect the information needed to manage risk, ensure regulatory compliance, and maintain secure and resilient supply chains.