The world witnessed the ugly side of a pandemic. COVID-19 is yet to get away, still, scenarios are a bit better than what it was during 2020 and most of 2021. The virus outbreak resulted in causing severe disruptions all over. It affected businesses, industries, and also human behavior. The supply chain industry was badly affected. Consumers are difficult to find. Even if consumers are coming, they are exercising caution on whether to buy or not. The three areas where consumers are showing disputes are how, where, and what. But said that, the demand for essential products surges, so does the pricing. Supplier auditors are trying to streamline the supply chains to ensure operations without delay. The requirement for semi-essential products also seems to be taking precedence.
How Do Consumer-driven Businesses Play Their Parts?
If Looked At From A Supply Chain Perspective, There Are Certain Areas Where The Emphasis Is Given. Have A Look:
Focusing On The Sourcing Ways
Retailers must assess the availability of critical raw materials. Accordingly, they need to map it to the revenue streams and high-value products. The focus must be given to price/quantity volatility and identifying the supply-side capacity constraints. Then again, supplier auditors play a crucial role in evaluating all those contingency plans existing. Accordingly, they will review the contract agreements that will allow the different variation clauses, highlighting all the possible risk factors for addressing. It will also help in identifying the possible headroom. Naturally, such an approach will help in better management of the cash-flows and then renegotiating the contracts for better deals and offerings. That said, there is another area to focus on. Organizations must focus on adopting the alternative sources while carrying out the necessary feasibility studies that will help in comparing supply chain convenience against the cost.
Keeping A Detailed Eye On The Flow Of Goods And Inventory Management
Grocery retailers are facing some new challenges. Supply chain demands and supplies are becoming difficult to balance. Managing supplies as per the demands becomes a major point of worry post the pandemic. No, the socks are not overflowing. Rather, in-stock availability is scarce, resulting in critical outcomes for grocery businesses. As per the supplier auditors, the retailers need to take necessary approaches to gain visibility over the supplier production schedules from the supplier's end, quality verifications, shipment details, and delivery rates. This is necessary to have a better idea of the material flow process and figure out whether there seems to be any kind of disruption in the material flow process. A proper ERP system can help in streamlining the process but then again, money is a big factor. Still, there are small inventory management tools available that will cost a lot less compared to the expensive ERP suites. Proper inventory management will help streamline the process while ensuring better handling of the materials, and highlighting the availability of manpower.
Final Words
The world has changed; the way businesses used to conduct, the approach has shifted drastically due to the pandemic. Although situations are improving, a systemic approach is necessary to ensure better inventory and supply chain management.
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