It becomes evident that most entities and consumers whose supply chains are heavily reliant on China experienced severe shocks to their supply chain that may require several quarters of readjustment .
There was a rebound in the global economy following a surge in global trade to clear out pent-up demand as a result of movement restrictions . The improvement in global trade was driven by increased confidence aided by a better understanding of Covid-19 and the discovery , production and distribution of effective vaccines to deal with it .
As businesses reopen to a new normal , corporate leaders must begin to identify deficiencies and develop robust strategies to better deal with future disruptions to their supply chain . Below , we share some thoughts that supply chain managers can consider as they review their business and take steps to reduce the vulnerability of their operations to future events :
Initiate Supply Chain Mapping
According to the American Production and Inventory Control Society ( APICS ), Supply Chain Mapping is essentially the act of “ drawing the procedures or relationships that form an organization ’ s business process ”. Supply Chain Mapping enables businesses better understand the linkages and dependencies within their operational processes ; it identifies which suppliers and suppliers ’ locations are potentially at risk and what options exist for securing scarce resources / inventory from alternate sites . Organizations with proper supply chain mapping have better visibility into the structure of their supply chain networks and put adequate information at the disposal of management for evaluating the impact of a potential disruption within a short time frame .
Organizations that invested in mapping their supply networks were noted to have handled the pandemic
better and emerged stronger than their counterparts that did not bother to make such investment . Though supply chain mapping can be resourceintensive , it is nonetheless a critical tool in planning for severe business disruptions . The Harvard Business Review highlights that “ companies will discover that the value of supply chain mapping is greater than the cost and time invested in developing it ".
Create Digital Supply Networks ( DSNs )
Considering disruptions to Supply Chains globally , it is very important to develop and adopt the Digital Supply Networks ( DSNs ) model . The traditional linear supply chain model needs to be transformed into a network , where functional silos are broken down and organizations become connected to their complete supply chain network to enable end-to-end visibility , collaboration , agility , and optimization .
DSNs leverages advanced technologies including the Internet of Things ( IoT ),
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