Managing Your Supply Chain - Being Proactive

No matter how small or large your supply chain is, it is crucial that it is well-managed,
effective, and efficient. To ensure effectiveness and efficiency, you must be as proactive as
possible. If you are not proactive, you will find a supply chain will cost more than you want it
to. You may also find that it impacts the customer and client relationships you keep -
especially if supply chains are lengthier and more time-consuming than initially expected.

Understanding Your Current Chain

What does your current supply chain look like, and how
many processes or operations are you running through?
Is your supply chain effective, or is it losing money and
slowing down other operations? Understanding the
elements that make up your supply chain will help you
understand what is necessary to have moving forwards.
You may find that your supply chain is outdated or
longer than it needs to be. You may even find that it
contains elements that are expensive to maintain in-
house. Looking at your supply chain with a fresh pair of
eyes and seeing it from a new perspective will give you
the direction you need to make changes.

Outsourcing Where Possible

Trying to oversee all areas of your supply chain can end up brewing counterproductive. You
can end up investing your time and resources into areas and processes that you have no
expertise in. To avoid this, you must look at outsourcing where possible. Knowing when to
outsource and knowing what support you need is imperative. For instance, you may find that
logistics in your supply chain are letting you down. If this is the case, you may want to look at
integrating 3PL into your supply chain. The introduction of other providers who are specialists
and experts will allow you to move away from micromanaging the supply chain.

Monitoring Your Efforts

Looking at your supply chain on an ad-hoc basis is not going to be enough. You are going to
need to continually monitor your efforts to ensure a supply chain is cost-effective and well-
managed at all times. This may mean that you monitor the supply chain on a monthly rolling
basis. Or it may mean that you hire somebody external to monitor the effectiveness and
purpose of the supply chain you follow. If efforts are not constantly monitored, you are going
to find that you will be reactive with your supply chain instead of proactive.

Future Planning and Having a Contingency

Supply chains must evolve as your business demands and needs change. To ensure this
happens, you need to focus on future planning. Plan for what future supply chains will look
like (and what they will feature). Plan for how much you will invest in keeping your supply
chain competitive and effective. In addition to future planning, you must also have a
contingency in place. A contingency plan (with contingency funds, too) will allow you to
manage your supply chain with ease. If finances are too tight within a supply chain (and a
contingency is not present), it will impact end figures and conversion rates.