Best Practice Guide: Five Keys to Creating a Resilient Retail Supply Chain
With extreme disruptions to supply chains–from sourcing, to demand, to logistics, and a shifting retail workforce–retailers are being forced to reimagine their business models in order to survive. As the world begins adjusting to a post-pandemic environment, those who are slow to react and adapt, or are unable or unwilling to change, will be left behind.
Supply chains are a complex network of suppliers, forwarders and logistics service providers, production plants, and warehouses, shipping lanes, geo-political regions and layered tiers from raw materials to finished goods.
Many companies still rely on spreadsheets, phone calls, and email to communicate with suppliers and manage inventory movement. These highly manual processes also increase risk in times of disruption and volatility, as the data these companies rely on is usually outdated by the time it is used to support operational decision-making. In such environments, staff are often overwhelmed with requests for more frequent status updates.
With more people working remotely, or staffing reduced in a challenging labor market, retailers are lacking a clear picture of the relative magnitude of daily supply chain problems. With so many problems now occurring at the same time, businesses can find themselves paralyzed to make the right operational and strategic decisions. Without more digitalized processes and a global platform for sharing critical supply chain data, relying on manual methods to manage inbound supply chains and inventory positions now proves woefully insufficient.
Take the necessary steps to achieve more accurate demand forecasts; meet inventory targets through improved supply chain visibility; optimize new fulfillment processes that meet the needs of consumers; reduce friction in critical product flows and activities with international suppliers; and build the talented workforce needed to run the business smoothly, retailers can focus on what they do best—meeting the daily needs of their customers.
