How To Deal With Supply Chain Issues

In my area of business, I have seen a lot of companies fall short of their shipping and supplying goals and needs on a regular basis. This is something that is extremely important to me as the manager of a manufacturing plant. I have been in this industry for a long time and have just about seen it all. I hope to provide you with a few tips that can help your supply chain issues that you or your company are dealing with. Remember, it may take a bit of trial and error to figure out what kinds of things work for your business and what does not, but it’s important to remember that things will get better with time. I remember back to when I was first starting one of my business ventures at a very young age. I was fresh out of college and found myself responsible for a lot of people and a lot of moving parts. It was hard to keep track of so many different business components, but I now know what it takes to have a successful supply chain and shipping management in all my businesses.

As you have probably heard many people before you say, the best offense is a really good defense. What I mean by this is that there are a multitude of ways in which you can prepare for different types of supply shocks or external factors that can affect your business. Some examples of these might be illustrated best with the recent COVID19 pandemic; many businesses were hit square in the face with supply issues and not having enough raw materials, labor shortages, and just general problems that arise from normal routine business operations being upended at every level. There were also transportation issues related to COVID19 due to so many different countries shutting down and committing to several months of hard lockdown. This made it hard for businesses to ship their products in a timely and consistent manner. 

One way in which you can prepare for supply chain disruptions is to create a supply chain emergency plan. This can be done in a lot of different ways that might include stocking up on supplies, creating an emergency supply chain budget, or even doing an audit of your business’ supply chain to identify its most vulnerable components. I know that, for many businesses over the course of the pandemic, raw materials and shipping materials were very hard to come by. Cardboard boxes were in great demand by many companies who were needing to ship much more product than they normally would. Stocking up on things like cardboard boxes and other packing supplies is also a great idea; you never know when disaster will strike or when your routine manufacturing and shipping procedures will be thrown out of whack. 

Another tip is to identify alternative suppliers for when things go wrong. Even in normal economic times, it is always good to have a backup plan. This translates to supply chain management as well. If you rely strictly on one or two suppliers to get youtube stuff you need for your business, you are at risk of supply chain disruptions and a shortage of materials you need. Diversification of your suppliers is also important to make sure that you have other places to get your goods in the case of emergencies.