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The supply chain is one of the most critical parts of your business. It allows you to produce and distribute products while providing excellent service and upholding your reputation.
Knowing how crucial your supply chain is, it makes sense that you should protect it at all costs. If you don’t believe you have the most appropriate protection measures in place, some of this helpful advice may provide the groundwork you need.
Choose Reliable Suppliers
Laying the foundation for a reliable supply chain involves choosing suppliers you can trust in the first place. Otherwise, you may find that your business is the constant victim of an ineffective supply chain that disrupts the experience for the end-user.
Fortunately, choosing a reputable and reliable supplier can be a lot easier than you might think. For example, if you’re in the medical industry, you can research and compare companies offering wholesale medical supplies and make your decision based on other people’s experiences and the quality of their products and services.
Trialing a company and not jumping immediately into a contract may also help you learn about its reliability first-hand to make an informed decision.
Create a Risk Management Plan
Risk management plans are standard in all industries, including the government. They allow you to identify potential problems or risks, assess their likelihood, and provide solutions for them should they happen.
Having contingency measures in place for a supply chain shortcoming may limit the devastation it has on your business. An example of risk management might be identifying stock delays as a risk and minimizing the potential fallout by building relationships with more than one supplier of a single product.
Establish Complete Supply Chain Visibility
One of the most common reasons supply chains become weak and unreliable is due to a lack of complete supply chain visibility. If you’re unable to track your supply chain from one end to the other, this is a weakness.
Each link in the chain is a different operational stage with its own people and processes. They all have unique risks, and various problems can arise within each of these links. These problems can range from ethical issues to third-party cyber attacks.
You may not be able to prevent problems from happening in a part of the chain that isn’t yours to control, but you can be aware of it and be proactive with a solution. You may also be able to see where problems are continually happening to determine if you can make changes to mitigate the risk.
Review Supply Chain Risks Often
Best business practices are changing all the time, and risks that used to be relevant in your supply chain may no longer be. There may also be new risk factors, especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic leading to stock shortages and lengthy shipping timeframes worldwide.
As a result, reviewing supply chain risks is paramount. You can then come up with solutions to potential problems before they have a chance to impact your workplace and customers.
Prioritize Communication
The digital age in which we live has allowed for easier communication than ever before. We have multiple platforms at our disposal, including email and social media.
There is no longer any excuse for miscommunication to be a constant problem. Work with your suppliers and partners to prioritize communication and ensure everyone knows what’s happening at all stages of the process.
While we all hope our supply chains are kink-free and operating soundly, that’s not always the case. Thankfully, the steps above can help you feel confident that you’re doing everything in your power to keep your supply chain as healthy as possible.
