Maximize Your Specification Management Investment With Chainalytics and Specright

Recent trends like the rise of e-commerce demand and the shift in sources of supply can leave your supply chain vulnerable if left unchecked. New and existing channels, suppliers, and customers need to be accounted for – and communicated about clearly – as part of your specification management process.

In any improvement journey, quickly delivering value requires an in-depth knowledge of the subject, both technical and practical, and under a variety of circumstances. Over the last 20 years, the packaging optimization team at Chainalytics has developed this level of expertise. 

One of the biggest opportunities we see facing supply chains of every kind – especially after the ups and downs of 2020 – is specification management. Based on our experience, we know that a trustworthy specification repository starts with designing and documenting the correct specifications, standards, and procedures. And they need to be accessible by all stakeholders at any time and wherever they’re needed – precisely why we partnered with Specright.

However, adopting best-in-class technology like what Specright offers to its customers is just a starting point. You also need to ensure that you’re following today’s implementation best practices, such as:

1. Complete and Relevant Documentation: Ensure that specification content includes all relevant information for audiences served across the value chain. If the creation of a particular specification is well-executed, the data in that specification will be valuable to many users. Among the stakeholders that depend on specification data are procurement, engineering, manufacturing, supply chain operations, quality assurance, logistics, material and product suppliers, and others.
2. Component Details: Your compiled specifications need to describe single and tangible items that support the packaging system. Each packaging system should be documented and tied to the specific products that they protect and promote. This component list is known as a Bill of Materials (BOM) and should also serve the entirety of your value chain.
3. Business Context: General specifications are also valuable. They document all pertinent details referenced within specific component specifications while keeping those individual specifications concise and complete. 
4. Package Testing: The dynamics of the distribution environment are an ongoing issue for the integrity of packaging and the products they contain. Package tests are critical to design efforts before a product launch and, as part of a continuous improvement program, essential to predicting and mitigating risk. Data-driven packaging design begins and ends with package testing. Documentation of these packaging tests, with detailed descriptions of tests and established protocols, may also be included in your specification database.
5. KPIs and Reporting: Specright includes game-changing data dashboards and reporting capabilities. These provide the ability to report and track priority data automatically and will help you drive specific strategies for your business, delivering cost savings and quality improvements.

If your specification management solution implementation plan incorporates most or all of these elements, you’re probably well on your way to having an effective spec management solution. If these best practices seem out of reach or if you’re unable to deliver this kind of value quickly, consider working with an implementation partner like Chainalytics to be sure you’re maximizing your investment.

Nancy Matchey is the Vice President of Chainalytics’ Packaging Optimization practice, which delivers consulting services that solve today’s most complex packaging challenges across the supply chain.