COVID-19 has brought trouble to the global supply chain. It exposed weaknesses that hindered the flow of business. Now, as the world takes steps to define a new post-epidemic normalized business model, manufacturers are rethinking their supply chains.
Therefore, European and American companies have new requirements for overseas suppliers, that is, they need to create a stronger and more sustainable supply chain. One has the flexibility to meet changing production requirements and has greater reliability.
Now, manufacturers must begin to build a more resilient supply chain that can withstand surprises and continue to prosper in uncertain times.
To establish such a supply chain, the manufacturer’s plan should include three basic components:
Improve visibility of the supply chain
Cooperate with suppliers who can quickly scale production
Prepare an action plan to transform into a more digital ecosystem
?How to get real-time supply chain visibility
Real-time visibility is one of the most popular ideals for optimizing the flow of goods and services. First, it enables supply chain managers to track products from the source of raw materials to the final destination. In addition, it enables companies to seamlessly adapt to outages and serve customers with greater confidence.? The study found that 49% of supply chain leaders can capture real-time data insights and take immediate action. 51% of people use artificial intelligence and predictive analytics to capture insights. This enables supply chain leaders to react in real time to changing conditions. From large-scale outages to individual customer complaints Of course, achieving this level of end-to-end visibility has always been a challenge ? well before COVID-19. Now, in the face of the reality of severe vulnerability exposed by the pandemic, learning how to restructure relationships with suppliers will help companies better understand the impact of the disruption and respond accordingly.
Building a transparent supply network: three strategies If you rely heavily on overseas suppliers, contact them and use them as a supply network, which will help increase visibility. The network will help build collaborative and transparent relationships to promote positive decision-making. Therefore, in order to increase the visibility of your supplier, consider the following three strategies: Understand the pain points of customers, internal teams and suppliers. Prepare a process to collect pain points that affect customers, internal teams, and suppliers. For example, set a rhythm for publishing quarterly surveys to establish an open communication channel. By understanding specific pain points, you can respond faster and more effectively to reduce supply chain risks. Invest in technology and systems, optimize communications, and provide convenient access to key assets. COVID-19 has prompted many companies to rethink their supply chains and relationships with suppliers. For example, optimize the method of communicating key assets and Intel between suppliers, internal teams, and key stakeholders. Invest in technology and systems to increase transparency and make the exchange of necessary information easier.
Set key performance indicators for success. Define the terms and conditions of a successful supplier relationship. First, identify key suppliers. Then, set up clear KPIs to enable real-time tracking of inventory, service, and production capacity. Measure them regularly. This will provide a more transparent view of the flexibility of suppliers to scale production when necessary.
Cooperate with suppliers who can quickly scale production
As early as February, the world media reported that the coronavirus caused crisis-level damage to the electronics manufacturing centers of many manufacturing countries. The industry leader explained that many consumer goods manufacturers may miss deadlines. Because factories in many countries are closed, they are unable to produce products, complete tests, or go into full production. Therefore, the pandemic has caused a lot of market uncertainty, and individuals and industries are still trying to control it.
For example, many consumers have experienced a reduction in disposable income. This makes it difficult for manufacturers of consumer goods and electronic products to confidently predict the output required to meet the upcoming holiday season.
Due to the timely control of the epidemic by the Chinese government, China?s manufacturing industry has recovered relatively quickly. If you have any needs, please contact First-rate Mold Solution Company, we can definitely meet your requirements
Use flexible production models to minimize costs
Choose suppliers who can help minimize initial costs in an economical and flexible production model. This can help you resume normal work during the holidays while minimizing the risk of uncertain demand. Look for suppliers who have the ability to quickly increase production when demand surges, and those who support the decline in production at a price point that will not hurt profits if demand does not return to normal.
For example, take First-rate Mold Solution Company as an example, it is a company with rich experience in manufacturing. We can use our powerful resources to provide you with the parts and products you urgently need in a short period of time, and can quickly expand the scale. We can also control manufacturing costs within a very reasonable range. Moreover, compared with manufacturing in Europe and the United States, China?s manufacturing costs are relatively low, but the quality is absolutely good.
Digitize your supply network
Digitizing the supply chain from a traditional, enterprise-centric operating model to a digital ecosystem is a major move. This will require a lot of investment and organizational structure adjustment. We include it because the potential benefits of sharing this information to the supply chain are worthwhile.
Managing a multi-level supply chain will always be a challenge. Nevertheless, in a world that relies on technology to operate, preparing an action plan for creating a digital ecosystem and digitizing your supply network can help build a more robust supply chain.
The traditional business operating system runs at the enterprise level. It is a hard-wired business model of processes and communication methods. In addition, the network BOS is completely digital. Agile and flexible, it provides an optimized and fully accessible digital ecosystem.
What is a digital ecosystem?
The digital ecosystem uses technology to connect your supply chain. Suppliers, customers, stakeholders, internal teams, applications, third-party data providers and digital assets. All connections go through a web-based system to ensure that your supply chain functions in any global climate.
Digitizing your supply network can help create a more resilient supply chain:
Optimize all members of the ecosystem with real-time visibility and flexibility to connect all suppliers on the network
Provide a single point of contact and version of the truth; everyone connected to the Internet has access to the same information
COVID-19 has revealed the shocking fragility of the global economy. At the same time, it has prompted many companies to rethink their supply chains. This unexpected destruction has affected companies of all sizes in almost every industry and country. In fact, the pandemic also shows us how fast we can adapt to the virtual environment.
Go beyond COVID-19 and build a more resilient supply chain. A company that can withstand unexpected interruptions and thrive in uncertainty. Consider implementing the following strategies:
Increase real-time visibility of the supply chain. Take time to understand the pain points of customers, internal teams, and suppliers
Set kpi that can be measured periodically
Invest in technology to optimize communications and provide convenient access to key assets
Cooperate with suppliers who can quickly scale production. A flexible and agile supply chain will respond quickly to fluctuations in market demand
Digitize your supplier network. Create a digital ecosystem that connects customers, suppliers and key stakeholders
Facing significant disruptions in the supply of direct and indirect materials, companies will need to embrace new digital approaches to illuminate the supplier network to gain visibility of critical material and component supply as quickly as possible.
COVID-19-related disruptions to global supply chains have also focused attention on the preference of consumers and businesses to know where their products come from. A recent article in The Economist identified the need to make global food systems more transparent, traceable and accountable so that diseases are less likely to jump undetected from animal to human. The article pointed to certification and quality standards as important tools for achieving this.
Certification systems are now developing a wider and more innovative set of tools that allow producers, consumers, and companies to track agricultural products from farm to fork. Traceability systems are being strengthened to show where products originate and how they move through the supply chain so that sustainability risks can be continuously identified and investments made to address them. Satellite imagery is increasingly being used to monitor deforestation and other environmental risks such as water use and erosion, which threaten farmer productivity and incomes and which put the long-term viability of entire agricultural supply chains at risk. These kinds of data-driven risk assessment and improvement approaches will be key to building up more resilient and sustainable supply chains.