How Companies Are Overhauling Supply Chain to Ease Bottlenecks.

Many companies are their overhauling supply chain due to the freight backlog the pandemic has caused. Costs have been driven up considerably across the world and companies need to be ready for the next supply chain crisis.

Companies are revamping the supply chain in a number of ways, including:

Investing in technology: Companies are using technology to improve visibility, efficiency, and resilience across their supply chains. This includes technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and blockchain.
Diversifying their supplier base: Companies are reducing their reliance on single suppliers and sourcing materials and components from a wider range of partners. This helps to reduce risk and improve resilience in the face of disruptions.
Reshoring and nearshoring: Companies are moving some of their manufacturing and warehousing operations back to their home countries or closer to their customer markets. This can help to reduce lead times and improve responsiveness.
Focusing on sustainability: Companies are increasingly incorporating sustainability into their supply chain strategies. This includes sourcing sustainable materials, reducing waste, and optimizing transportation and logistics.

Here are some specific examples of how companies are revamping their supply chains:

Nike: Nike is using artificial intelligence to improve its forecasting and inventory management. This has helped the company to reduce stockouts and improve on-time delivery rates.
Walmart: Walmart is using blockchain technology to track the movement of goods through its supply chain. This has helped the company to improve visibility and reduce fraud.
Tesla: Tesla is building its own battery factories in order to reduce its reliance on suppliers. This has helped the company to secure a critical supply of batteries and reduce its costs.
Apple: Apple is working with its suppliers to reduce waste and improve sustainability. For example, the company has helped its suppliers to switch to renewable energy and reduce their water consumption.

Supply Chain Quotes

“I think frugality drives innovation, just like other constraints do. One of the only ways to get out of a tight box is to invent your way out.” ~ Jeff Bezos
“Products can be easily copied. But a supply chain can provide a true competitive advantage.” ~Yossi Sheffi
“However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results.” ~Winston Churchill
“This also applies to the industry of container shipping, ports, and logistics, which largely has been driven by the traditional business models focused on optimizing how you move goods.” ~Soren Skou
“Sooner or later, the U.S. will face mounting job losses due to advances in automation, artificial intelligence, and robotics.” ~Oren Etzioni.
“Supply Chain is like nature, it is all around us.” ~Dave Waters
“No one would have crossed the ocean if he could have gotten off the ship in the storm.” ~Charles Kettering
“Good tactics can save even the worst strategy. Bad tactics will destroy even the best strategy.” ~General George S. Patton Jr.
“Continuous improvement is not about the things you do well — that’s work. Continuous improvement is about removing the things that get in the way of your work. The headaches, the things that slow you down, that’s what continuous improvement is all about.” ~ Bruce Hamilton