Supply chain disruptions are common but with the right strategies and knowledge, your business can avoid these problems and combat your weaknesses once and for all. Taking the time to identify the potential risks and weaknesses of your supply chain can be a daunting task but will ultimately benefit your business in the long run and help strengthen your supply chain and increase your bottom line.
Identify Risks
If your company relies heavily on supply chain, understanding the vulnerabilities within it will help you learn ways to take action and mitigate these risks. Having different tiers of suppliers can be beneficial to your business but stopping at your primary supplier leaves your company vulnerable to missing potential risks and ultimately causing major issues in the future. Once you begin assessing your supply chain exposure, you will be able to identify new partners to build up your supply chain diversity and resilience.
Simplify Product Lines
In most cases, having a diverse supply chain has proven to be a strength. However, when your business supports a broad range of product your company is at risk as this diversity can easily turn into a weakness. When your business houses a plethora of product, the risk for disruption increases significantly as there are more chances for component shortages and supplier logistical issues.
Be Proactive
Though your supply chain is getting back on track and your business has overcome any disruptions, it is always beneficial to stay one step ahead. Being proactive within your supply chain will benefit your business in the long run, as not having a plan for future disruptions can negatively impact your company. Some ways your business can stay proactive is by developing systems to handle different functionalities, building redundancies to help systems respond, and by implementing IT systems that best utilize available data.
Take Accountability
Often, businesses have difficulty pinpointing one person to hold accountable for supply chain disruptions, making it difficult to address problems in a timely manner. Appointing a leader to be held accountable for these disruptions will help your business gain control so that you can find the root of the disruption. Holding employees accountable for various parts of your supply chain will help your company mitigate these disruptions and in the long run will allow you to keep your supply chain flowing and as a business owner will allow you to periodically check in with your staff and avoid disruptions.
Optimize Your Workforce
Your employees play a significant role in the success of your business; therefore, it is important to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of your workforce to help you better optimize your supply chain. Once you have a better understanding of how your employees add value to both your business and your supply chain you will then be able to act accordingly, redeploying your team as necessary to ensure that each person is contributing to their maximum value.
Having a weak supply chain is stressful and you’re not sure where to start. As a company with over 30 years in comprehensive supply chain management, our experts at NewStream understand just how important it is to keep your supply chain our track. Our team is equipped with the knowledge and expertise to help you combat these weaknesses once and for all so that you can focus on loving your supply chain!
Ready to combat these weaknesses once and for all? Reach out today, our experts are here to help!