COVID-19, Cold chain management
As we have witnessed, the COVID-19 outbreak sent shock waves throughout the world and disrupted global supply chains. While the full impact of the pandemic is still unknown, businesses are considering how they can better protect themselves—and their supply chains—in the months and years ahead.
The COVID-19 pandemic isn’t an isolated incident, considering that disruptions are increasing in frequency and magnitude, including geopolitical events, climate-related disasters, and public health crises.
Flexible supply networks will enable companies to minimize the risk of disruption in times of stress. They will also help production teams pivot nimbly to meet changing market demand, which provides a significant competitive edge. Importantly, flexible supply chains cut costs and improve cash flow, through an increase in inventory returns.
Investments in supply chain resilience can deliver improvements in delivery and increase customer satisfaction while improving supply chain efficiency. Contingency planning is a central component of building your supply chain resiliency. Deploying Controlant’s cloud-based software platform provides real-time information on products moving throughout the supply chain and offers control-tower visibility to help minimize disruptions.
Insights generated by advanced analytics help businesses make the right decisions quickly, avoiding downstream stock shortages, which may negatively impact consumers and patients. This visibility enables companies to prepare alternative sourcing plans and relocate inventory.
Working with partners, including suppliers and logistics providers, companies can visually connect their end-to-end supply chain networks for each segment. If disaster strikes, businesses can identify products or components that are at risk by leveraging these advanced analytics into their supply chains and industry data. Alternative suppliers can be identified, thereby decreasing overall risk.
The frequency and intensity of shocks to the global economy are increasing. The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed how vulnerable supply chains have become due to silos, a lack of visibility, and insufficient contingency planning amongst all of the uncertainty and constant changes. What has long been considered adequate flexibility no longer suffices. Businesses that invest today in greater flexibility and contingency planning will be best positioned to weather future disruptions.
Controlant is dedicated to lessening supply chain disruptions while providing visibility during this unprecedented time. Contact us to learn more.