Here are some thoughts for manufacturers, retailers, and MNCs on supply chain resilience. This is a work in progress. I will add more, so check back from time to time.:
Here is a presentation I did on Supply Chain Management Resilience at Supply Chain Management Resilience (slideshare.net)
A lesson from the pandemic over time is that supply chain resilience and agility are moving targets. And there are two parts to them--inside the four walls and outside.
The story about the pandemic, supply chains, and resilience continues to be outside the 4 walls. At the origin--lockdowns at factories, shutdowns at ports and airports, logjams at ports, backups of moving containers at ports, inabilities to move containers at IPI/ramps, and more. It is supply chain whack-a-mole.
Is technology a second need for resilience, while logistics and logistics infrastructure are the first need? What changes will be made as a lesson from the pandemic? We need an end-to-end assessment. Fixing this and that still leaves weak spots in supply chains--weaknesses that are waiting for the next global issue, such as climate change.
Typhoon brings more supply chain in China, closing air, port, and rail hubs. External resilience is a bigger challenge than internal, including technology.
Becoming supply chain resilient is more than inside the 4 walls and technology. This bridge shutdown is an example. I-40 bridge across the Mississippi has jammed traffic for over a month and is costing truckers and businesses millions.
Building supply chain resilience is not optional.
Over the past 14 months, think of all the stories about supply chains. The E2E supply chain. Its innate resilience. Being tested daily. When material, manufacturing, and logistics / transport demand exceed their design capabilities. Then add continuing CoViD impact as ports. maritime
Increased supply chain resilience means reduced supply chain risk.
The timeline for the pandemic has given a new meaning to supply chain resilience. 14 months and counting.
Look at the big picture. Your end-to-end supply chain. AND, you may be part of your customers' E2E supply chains.
Supply chain management is the largest part of every company--external and internal. And it touches about every department inside.
There are two parts to your supply chain resilience--inside your 4 walls and outside. Inside the company gets much attention. Outside, despite its size and complexity, does not--and that can be a shortcoming in your effort.
Start with your supply chain structure--the organization, process and technology.
Much of the stories on SCM resilience talk about technology. That can be a singularity of focus and miss much as to supply chains. Let's go beyond things like robotics, drones, and 3D printing.
- Data analytics. Think of all the data across your end-to-end supply chain. And what it can mean to operations and performance.
- Digitization. This also provides more data for analytics. All the documents and all the participants in your E2E supply chain.
- Visibility. Again, E2E. This is more than the track and trace transportation providers give you. Go deeper. Granularity. The real needs is with your inventory, purchase orders, and customer orders. Take a purchase order and track all that happens, including parties that you may not normally see. They are there. This is very important too if chain of custody is an issue--pharmaceuticals, food, agriculture/seafood, and more.
- Blockchain. Getting all the transaction participants. Again, including those you may not see. Build the blocks for your chain. Gives visibility. And data.
Assess your process. Removing gaps improves your speed and responsiveness. Gaps are potential points where there is no resilience. Follow your inventory/products/finished goods/raw materials, and more. Take your purchase orders and customer orders. See each step of the process. Look for gaps and redundancies, made to compensate for gaps.
External--look at the two segments of your supply chain--upstream/inbound and downstream/outbound.
Upstream is large and complex. It is where the supply of supply chains begin. There are supply chains within supply chains.
Map your end-to-end supply chain. That is important so you can see everything. That includes parties you may not see; ones that your suppliers or logistics providers may use.
Work with your suppliers on resilience. That includes having them work with their suppliers' resilience. Now you see the size and complexity.
Logistics providers that are outside of your organization and control: who do you use and why? What is each of them doing to build resilience?
For outside your 4 walls, is logistics, transport, or maritime potential use of Force Majeure an anti-resilience issue? What do you do about it? How do you recognize it and become resilient with that legal situation?
