Unlocking Supply Chain Resilience with Digital Collaboration

According to a study by Supply Chain Management Review, supply chain planning ranks as the top priority for 90% of organizations in 2024. From unforeseen disruptions to rapidly changing customer demand, companies are looking for ways to make their supply chains more agile, efficient and resilient.

Companies of all shapes and sizes are digitizing their supply chains, transforming them into real-time, sharable data models that enable real-time communication and information sharing on both sides of the supply chain.  These ambitious initiatives in information infrastructure and supplier collaboration aim to eradicate the many manual processes supported by emails, spreadsheets and phone calls that make supply chain data fragmented and opaque and affect both timelines and customer satisfaction downstream.

As a global leader in electronics and interconnect systems, Molex orchestrates a vast supply chain network that connects thousands of suppliers, with Molex, across the world. Recently the company sought out a digital transformation on both ends of its supply chain. Molex collaborated with supply chain experts at SAP to build a powerful custom platform to add transparency and real-time coordination to its supply chain operations.

By connecting enterprise systems to external trading partners, digital supply chains allow organizations to collaborate seamlessly with suppliers, contract manufacturers and logistics providers. Technologies like the SAP Business Network not only simplify transactions but also bring intelligence into the process, making it easier to anticipate disruptions, optimize operations and meet customer commitments with greater accuracy.

With over 70,000 parts sourced annually from more than 900 suppliers worldwide, manual systems were multiplying inefficiencies and delays at many levels. The initial supplier portal Molex operated could no longer meet the demands of growing operations. The successor enterprise system, SAP Business Network Supply Chain Collaboration, was designed to automate many of the processes in collaboration with Molex supply partners.

The implementation allowed Molex to move beyond mere transactional exchanges with suppliers to intelligent collaboration, with real-time visibility into order confirmations, inventory levels and delivery schedules. These ‘dashboard’ capabilities allowed managers to respond faster to disruptions and ensure continuity in production.

Before deploying the SAP Business Network, only 30% of Molex purchase orders were confirmed by suppliers, which left staff guessing about delivery dates and created uncertainty across the entire production process. Since adopting SAP’s platform, Molex achieved a confirmation rate of over 90%. What used to take weeks to confirm now happens in just days, reducing the order confirmation time by a third.

This improvement directly contributes to the overarching goal: assurance of supply. With real-time insights into order statuses, Molex planners and managers no longer have to wait for manual updates or chase down confirmations. Instead, they know exactly when parts will arrive, allowing them to maintain production schedules and meet customer commitments on time. These gains in efficiency and reliability translate to better service for Molex customers and more predictable outcomes for business planning.

One of the key benefits of SAP Business Network is its ability to eliminate manual tasks and boost productivity across the board. Molex buyers previously spent hours every week manually inputting and confirming purchase orders on behalf of suppliers. Today, those tasks are now automated. Suppliers enter their own confirmations directly into the network, reducing the workload for the Molex team and allowing them to focus on more strategic activities. The efficiency gains have been significant, with some buyers reporting a reduction in time spent on administrative tasks from several hours per week to virtually zero.

Additionally, with business-to-business integration such as Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) with high-volume suppliers, Molex achieved even greater levels of automation. Information now flows seamlessly between its enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems and those of suppliers, eliminating the need for manual data entry and ensuring that supply chains remain synchronized at all times.

Success with SAP Business Network didn’t happen overnight — it required careful planning and execution. One of the most innovative aspects of the Molex approach was its supplier onboarding strategy. Recognizing that supplier engagement is integral to the success of any digital initiative, Molex planners developed a series of microlearning tools, including short, YouTube-style training videos in multiple languages. This approach ensured that all 900 of its suppliers were onboarded quickly and effectively, without the need for traditional training sessions.

Within 18 months, Molex had onboarded the company’s entire supplier base and processed over $1 billion in transactions through the network. This fast adoption speaks to the power of digital tools in simplifying complex supply chain processes and making it easier for suppliers to engage in real-time collaboration.

The Molex journey with SAP Business Network is ongoing. As they continue to explore new features like multi-tier collaboration on purchase orders, scheduling agreements and supply forecasting capabilities, operations managers are excited about the potential of truly digital supply chains. These enhancements will allow further streamlining of operations, reduction of lead times — and even greater value to Molex customers.

Read the Full Case Study

The benefits Molex has achieved with SAP Business Network are clear and continually evolving. For a deeper dive into Molex’s supply chain transformation strategy and the benefits realized, download the full case study here.