Navigating supply chain disruptions under COVID-19

Third, shifts in e-commerce fulfillment. Companies with an established online sales presence are not spared from the coronavirus onslaught either. Lockdowns and restrictions on non-essential businesses may have slowed manufacturing lines or stopping them altogether, or ready manufactured products may be sitting in distribution centers waiting to be shipped. It may also be that suppliers are located in affected areas where a shortage of materials and products make maintaining a certain level of inventory more costly. Shippers need to look at solutions that streamline processes or provide costeffective alternatives in order to maintain a sense of normalcy as far as commercial transactions are concerned at this time.

Lastly, the possibility of moving production offshore as a key component of business contingency planning. One quick fix for many businesses facing supply chain challenges has been to move available inventory away from affected areas, so that these products can be easily accessed for shipping. Moreover, businesses should also look into Tier-2 and Tier-3 suppliers, securing supplies and available assembly capacity as back-up in the event that their main production areas are affected by quarantines and lockdowns. Measures such as supply chain mapping enable businesses to identify these important plan B and C alternatives that they could take now and in the longer term.

Hindsight will (aptly) be 2020, but nevertheless, more than ever, businesses will need to focus on supply chain resilience in the post-coronavirus world, starting with improving supply chain visibility and identifying new risks and costs. Supply chains will still factor in traditional metrics such as cost, quality, and timeliness, but the lessons we learn today tell us that responsiveness and reconfigurability deserve more attention. This means conducting supply chain risk assessments, identifying where disruptions may likely occur, anticipating how governments would react, and prioritizing critical focus areas.

A diversified supplier network must also be established, with businesses identifying alternative suppliers to be activated at the drop of a hat should disruptions occur.

Automated and digital processes should also be put in place, enabling greater visibility, collaboration, and optimization.

Preparing for the next big event with such extreme consequences requires businesses to take the contrarian view and see beyond business-as-usual scenarios. The true visionaries will be the ones prepared to adjust to disruptive events with speed and agility, collaborating with trusted partners that will provide them with the network, capacity, and solutions in times of uncertainty and volatility.

Businesses that try their best to be as flexible and resilient as current circumstances allow will for sure reap the rewards of their actions in the post-coronavirus world. Perhaps then, their “whew” of relief will be one of having handled a crisis effectively.