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Strong bonds in chemical logistics: success by supply chain

By Martina Haas

The interface of digital technology and logistics opens up a wide range of opportunities for the chemical industry

Price hikes in procurement, bottlenecks in logistics, production downtime due to scarce raw materials: In the chemical industry, such risks can quickly become business-critical—with ripple effects that are felt far beyond.

Chemical products are the raw materials of many industries whose products we experience in our day-to-day lives. The companies that make cars, industrial machinery, and even the food we eat are major buyers of chemicals who depend on a smooth supply chain.

That’s where the critical role of digital technology comes in. Smart software solutions make chemical supply chains more resilient and offer insurance against existential threats—that much is obvious. But which elements need to bond to create a successful chemical supply chain?

Female scientist analyzing chemicals in petri dish

Elements of greater transparency and efficiency

The more we illuminate procurement processes and bring visibility to supply chain interrelationships and dependencies, the faster chemical companies can secure their markets and streamline production.

Digital models and tools have an essential role to play in successful supply chain management. They provide the datastream that keeps processes running smoothly, boosting supply chain resiliency both inbound and outbound. In a nutshell: They deliver greater efficiency.
Digital, cloud-based control towers provide the chemical industry with a winning formula for managing and controlling their supply chains. They are the linchpin for communication with various carriers and transport service providers. They also perform a wide range of monitoring and control tasks, delivering end-to-end visibility in complex chemical logistics networks.

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Solutions for successful production and logistics

Crude oil tanker under cargo operations on typical shore station with clearly visible mechanical loading arms and pipeline infrastructure. Thailand harbor.

Is the allocation of suppliers to plants ideal? How can you optimize site-to-site chemical transports? What is the perfect delivery interval? Today’s sophisticated planning and simulation tools help chemical companies get quick answers to questions like these.
But modern software solutions offer more than just efficient supply chain planning. The digital twin is a virtual clone of your logistics network that can accurately analyze and evaluate every conceivable scenario for its impact on the overall process.

How can you optimize shipments of raw materials and intermediate products to the various production plants? How can you manage bulk packaging, tankers, and drums for maximum efficiency? How can you avoid supply chain risks—or at least minimize their impact on production processes?

The digital twin helps you make the right decisions to ensure smooth transport processes and perfectly sync internal and external logistics. For chemical managers, this means making production and logistics more profitable.

There’s real chemistry here: The interface of digital technology and logistics opens up a wide range of opportunities for the chemical industry. Siemens Digital Logistics is the software partner with the industry savvy to deliver the right solution for your business.

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This article first appeared on the Siemens Digital Industries Software blog at https://blogs.sw.siemens.com/digital-logistics/2024/06/17/strong-bonds-in-chemical-logistics-success-by-supply-chain/