How Your Supply Chain Strategy Can Make or Break Your E-Commerce Business

E-commerce?is?a?great?business?choice?in?this?fast-paced,?modern?world.?But?if?you?want?to?take?your?business?far,?then?it’s?time?to?shift?from?working?hard?to?working?smart.?You?don’t?want?to?be?just?putting?out?fires?-?you?want?to?be?winning?the?game.

As?the?pandemic?rages?on,?companies?are?seeing?that?other?than?the?principal?facets?of?the?company?like?the?recruitment?process?and?what?have?you,?supply?chains?are?now?at?the?forefront?of?that?priority.?Supply?chains?can?essentially?make or break ?the?whole?business,?especially?for?product-driven?operations.

What needed to be done to take back what was lost during the lockdown and survive in the long haul is a complete strengthening and boosting of the supply chain.

This?will?ensure?business?for?both?the?company,?suppliers,?and?the?customers,?but?at?the?same?time,?it?will?help?rebound?economies?across?the?world.

Strengthening?the?Supply?Chain

The?supply?chain?survived?as?efficiently?as?it?could?in?this?pandemic,?although?not?unscathed.

One?thing?a?company?could?do?to?support?the?supply?chain?even?before?disruptive?events?take?place?is?strengthen?the?supply?chain?team?and?empower?the?managers?to?innovate?and?collaborate?with?the?company.?So,?what?makes?an?effective?supply chain ?

Let’s?look?into?this?more?closely:

The?Supply?Chain?Team

Procurement?and?Sourcing

Procurement?and?sourcing?fall?under?the?critical?role?of?customer?or?product?alignment.?They?are?the?workhorse?in?the?supply?chain,?eager?to?keep?the?procurement?cost?down?and?always?relentless?when?it?comes?to?dealing?with?the?suppliers.

Empower?the?procurement?team?by?hiring?and?onboarding?more?women?in?procurement?leadership?positions.?Oliver Wyman ?reported?that?women?comprise?only?14.7%?of?all?Chief?Procurement?Officers,?even?though?it?has?been?proven?that?added?creativity?and?innovation?could?give?the?company?significant?economic?gains?when?they?are?included.

Inventory?Planner

Inventory?planning?is?an?integral?part?of?the?supply?chain.?However,?the?pandemic?shed?light?on?how?important?it?is?when?essentially?everything?is?gone?because?of?a?lack?of?production?and?stock.?They?are?the?analyst?and?the?bookkeeper?of?the?company,?keeping?track?of?numbers,?whether?the?dollar?or?the?units.

A way to support the inventory planners is to invest in advanced Inventory Planning Technologies or IPTs . Such technologies have historical data available to forecast future inventory levels.

Logistics and Warehousing

The supply chain survived its problem the past two years with the help of the logistics and warehousing block of the supply chain. They are the pacifier or the mediator in charge of customer relations as well as the supply chain's internal production planning.

There are various ways to strengthen this block, but none more important than making everything automated, primarily when most jobs concerning this bloc are functioning from home.

The Supply Chain Manager

The?supply?chain?management?team's?role?is?all?of?the?previous?three?combined,?plus?other?troubleshooting?and?expanding?the?supply?chain's?reach?roles.?They?ensure?that?the?supply?chain?is?working?efficiently?and?that?everything?is?running?as?itshould.?To?keep?the?supply?chain?working?on?all?levels,?managers?could?utilize?data analytics ?in?its?day-to-day?workings.

Strategies for Effective Supply Chain

Supply?Chain?in?the?time?of?COVID-19

One?of?the?challenges?that?the?past?two?years?have?exposed?about?the?supply?chain?is?unpredictable?times?supply?chains?must?be?ready?for.?Although?faced?with?new?challenges,?they?are?still?a?lifeline?that?has?proven?ingenious?in?ensuring?that?everything?from?medical?supplies?to?other?necessities?is?provided?for?the?community.

To be sustainable and meet stakeholders' expectations, supply chains need resiliency, which could be taken by creating a response plan . This response plan draws out all interventions and other contingency management plans in time of another unexpected circumstance.

Supply Chain and the Company

Ensuring?that?the?supply?chain?comprehends?the?companies'?needs?is?also?important.?The?longevity?of?a?company?will?only?be?possible?if?it?is?profitable,?and?the?profitability?will?make?it?able?to?hold?all?the?workforce?it?employs.?This?option?is?also?a?two-way?road?for?the?company?to?see?that?all?the?efforts?of?the?supply?chain?workers?are?compensated,?especially?for?the?one?who?works?on-site.

The?supply?needs?to?make?sense?and?prioritize?newer?risks?and?their?possible?implications?in?the?supply?chain?ecosystem.?This?will?ensure?that?the?company's?goals?are?met?and?troubleshooting?measures?are?done?when?problems?arise.

Supply?Chain?and?the?Vendor’s?Situation

Another?thing?the?supply?chain?needs?to?be?mindful?of?is?the?current?situation?of?each?vendor?in?distributing?the?product.?This?will?call?for?the?supply?chain?to?evaluateevery?possible?scenario?to?ensure?that?the?symbiotic?relationship?is?thriving?—?from?protocols?in?sourcing?to?distribution?and?other?service?implications.

Supply?Chain?Plan?with?the?Team

Now that each stakeholder is taken care of, it is time for the supply team to create a plan and execute it. This plan would entail various configurations and could even overhaul the pre-pandemic measures. The supply chain team needs to ensure that products flow out of the company to accomplish the protocols.

A scoreboard can be utilized to record the efforts to keep track of their proposed actions.

Supply Chain and the Management

As?the?supply?chain?team?draws?each?plan,?the?company,?in?turn,?advises,?supports,?and?grants?approval?to?the?drawings.?This?will?call?for?effective?communication ?with?the?management,?and?their?workers?would?then?relay?problems?and?feedback?from?suppliers?and?customers.

Implementation

Techniques?such?as?keeping?the?workforce?healthy?by?providing?new?ways?of?working,?especially?for?data-driven?blocks?of?the?supply?chain?that?could?work?remotely;?this?would?ensure?that?the?people?directly?working?to?produce?the?products?runs?less?risk?of?catching?the?virus.?This?plan?could?also?avoid?costly?no-production?days?that?could?disrupt?the?process.

A?company?could?also?mobilize?the?sales?team?to?undertake?daily?challenges?brought?to?the?supply?chains.?This?team?needs?to?execute?multiple?interventions?andcoordinate?consumer?responses?to?the?company?effectively.?Logistics?is?also?vital?in?creating?real-time?visibility?in?all?facets?of?the?supply?chain?operations,?from?the?factory?down?to?customer?queries.

The?supply?chain?essentially?changed?more?than?it?did?in?the?past?since?its?introduction.?As?each?company?shifts?and?adjusts?to?the?demands?of?the?given?time,it?will?only?assure?them?of?their?endurance?and?resilience.

Ready to hire your next supply chain rockstar? Interested in creating your offshore supply chain team? We’ll help you find exceptional Filipino talent. Contact us today and follow our socials Facebook , Instagram , and Twitter .

This article is also published here .