How to strengthen your supply chain against a new wave of disruptions

Is your supply chain strong enough?

When the pandemic hit last March, it exposed a lot of vulnerabilities in the supply chain — delivery delays, quarantined cargo, difficulty acquiring supplies and supply shortages. In fact, the RIS Supply Chain Technology Study revealed pandemics are more of a threat to the retail supply chain than government regulations and taxes, extreme weather, and trade or tariff wars.

However, as lockdowns lifted and social distancing guidelines relaxed, challenges in the supply chain began to fade as we all adjusted to the “new normal”.

Luckily, we learned valuable lessons during the first wave; for example, the study identified the top two obstacles experienced in supply were the inability to adjust or respond to fluctuations in demand (73%) and lack of real-time inventory visibility (71%).

Knowing these obstacles now, you can make the necessary changes before the next challenge hits. In doing so, it is critical to re-think your inventory management to ensure you’re able to meet critical demands for any supply outages to come.

The study recommends dedicating about a third of your IT budget (29%) to support the development of supply capabilities if you want to match or surpass competitors in the marketplace.  This means building or buying the tools you need to gain greater visibility into your inventory utilization, so you can be better prepared.

Service software like Miracle Service which has inventory control and tracking features, will strengthen your supply chain, so you can support your customers through these challenging times.  This software has the power to track your stock in multiple warehouses, in use, on hand and in a technician’s vehicle. That way you can identify what’s in high demand and ensure your suppliers have it in stock well in advance. If your supplier is set back from pandemic related issues or from other circumstances, the software can also help locate other suppliers with the parts you’re looking for. With this software, you can also change your minimum and maximum holdings (safety stock levels). Increasing your minimum holdings will give you an earlier warning for restocking, while having a slightly high holding will ensure your team will have access to high demand parts when needed.

Now is the time to streamline your inventory management, so your supply chain isn’t vulnerable.

Contact us today to strengthen your supply chain with Miracle Service:

Toll Free: 1-866-463-9368 (North America)

Direct: 905-206-1828

Email: info@nexent.com

Learn more about Miracle Service

Learn more about the RIS Supply Chain Technology Study