When the Covid-19 Pandemic came, it completely changed how people do business. Most of the ones who survived the Pandemic without much loss had a strong supply chain. Here is how you can strengthen it so that you can deal with any future crises easily.
Develop Contingency Plans
The first thing you need to do is create backups. If you wish to be prepared for a crisis like the Covid-19 Pandemic, you need to plan accordingly. Think of various scenarios where things go wrong and adjust your operations so that they remain unaffected if those scenarios become true. Your contingency plans are one of the most important things when it comes to developing supply chain resilience for any future crisis.
Avoid Reliance of Single Supplier
You must never rely on just one supplier. Your supply chain network should include multiple suppliers so that if one fails, the others can take its place. Your operations will go on without any disruptions if you have multiple suppliers. The pandemic not only sent numerous people to the hospital but also killed many of them.
Such a huge crisis doesn’t occur often but it sure does give a good lesson about not relying on a single supplier. Keeping your options open and sourcing from multiple places will allow you to have backups if it comes to it.
Analyse the Risks to the Economy
Crisis like a pandemic can greatly impact not only the economy of a single nation but the entire world itself. Therefore, it is prudent to analyse the risks beforehand and adjust your business operations so that the disruptions caused by fluctuations of the economy don’t reach you. Analysis of the risks allows you to formulate a plan and get started with risk management.
Invest in Real-Time Tracking
Real-Time tracking is extremely beneficial in a crisis because it allows you to keep your eyes on the progress of the shipment. This means that you will be able to ensure timely delivery. Even if your shipment somehow encounters any delivery issues, you will know exactly where it happened and who or what is at fault.
Predicting Demand
Demand predictions can save a lot of your money in case of a crisis. Once you know how the demand of your product will be, you can take action accordingly. During issues of such a big scale as the pandemic, demand is bound to fluctuate. It might fall drastically or rise rapidly depending upon the situation.
For example, during the pandemic, the demand for masks and sanitizers was rising. However, the demand for things like clothes, especially of the evening wear kind showed a decline because people were locked inside their homes. The needs of the consumers change depending on the situation and it is necessary that you anticipate those needs so that you can prepare yourself for it.
The Bottom Line
These are just a few of the many lessons that the pandemic has taught when it comes to building supply chain resilience. You can use these lessons to your benefit and be prepared for any crisis in the future.