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SCM Insights

How to best manage geo-related risks in your supply chain

2021 is the year of supply chain disruptions. It’s not just the transport routes, but also the production of goods itself that is severely impacted: New local or regional Covid lockdowns keep slowing down manufacturing, especially in Asia. The ongoing chip shortage hits more and more industries. The power outage in Texas first knocked out the local petrochemical plants in February — then, its effects swept across the entire plastics supply chain worldwide. ... The list could go on and on. (more…)
Tim Schumacher · December 7, 2021 - reading time < 7 Min.
How to best manage geo-related risks in your supply chain
SCM Insights

Transport ahoy! Securing supply despite high volatility

For more than a year now, logistics and supply chain managers around the world have been struggling with unprecedented challenges. The impact from the first coronavirus-induced shutdowns, when supply chains and transportation networks around the world collapsed, continues to ripple through the industry. High volatility in demand, natural disasters and vessel incidents such as the recent one blocking the Suez Canal have further aggravated the situation.Problem is, transportation capacity is extremely scarce and in hot demand. Numerous aircraft are still grounded. Container shortages continue to persist for quite a while. All of this is not only hampering sea and air cargo, but also road transports.As a result, freight rates skyrocketed, as did uncertainty for manufacturers that rely on smoothly functioning logistics chains. In many cases, it's unclear or at least hardly possible to plan when exactly their materials are going to be transported. So, the ever more pressing question is: How can companies best secure their shipments and thus ensure the flow of supplies to their plants and customers? (more…)
Daniel Adelhardt · April 7, 2021 - reading time < 4 Min.
Transport ahoy! Securing supply despite high volatility
SCM Insights

No more out of supply: how capacity management builds resiliency into supply chains

"High demand, low supply": what a nightmare for supply chain managers. And this doesn't just happen in boom times. In economically uncertain phases, too, supply bottlenecks are more than painful for businesses. This can currently be witnessed for the microchip shortage the automotive industry (among others) is battling with.Thus, it is all the more important to safeguard production by having a sophisticated capacity management system for critical components in place. But what does this mean in practice? What is the difference to conventional demand collaboration with suppliers? And which aspects do manufacturers need to consider? (more…)
Michael Hübner · February 11, 2021 - reading time < 6 Min.
No more out of supply: how capacity management builds resiliency into supply chains
SCM Insights

How to ensure a supply chain’s mid- and long-term resilience—including practical examples

In the last two posts of my blog series, I focused on taking the first steps in dealing with an acute crisis. So far, I have emphasized the importance of integrating supply chain management and risk management, as well as taking ad-hoc measures to counter the impacts of Covid-19. Now, the next step is to take medium and long-term measures to make supply chains resilient in the long run. (more…)
Korbinian Reng · October 29, 2020 - reading time < 5 Min.
How to ensure a supply chain’s mid- and long-term resilience—including practical examples
SCM Insights

How to successfully steer your supply chain through a crisis: Quick response measures

Recently, in the first part of my blog article series "Supply Chain Risk Management - far more than just a way out of the current crisis", I highlighted the importance of linking the two disciplines of Risk Management and Supply Chain Management when managing crises. There is another important aspect to not just surviving times of crisis, but to come out of these strengthened. And that is the time factor.For this reason, the second part of this blog article series is dedicated to the following questions: Where do I start? What ad-hoc measures can I implement to mitigate impact? What can I quickly do to protect my supply chain? (more…)
Korbinian Reng · August 18, 2020 - reading time < 4 Min.
How to successfully steer your supply chain through a crisis: Quick response measures
SCM Insights

How to better cope with demand volatility

The coronavirus crisis has revealed a long-standing challenge for suppliers even more clearly: How reliable are the demand forecasts they receive from their customers? High volatility and uncertainties in demand forecasting are not limited to pandemic times. Even in the "normal state", the originally reported requirements can differ considerably from the materials actually called off. The decisive question is therefore: How can you improve forecasting and thus also achieve a higher level of planning accuracy? (more…)
Daniel Adelhardt · August 3, 2020 - reading time < 5 Min.
How to better cope with demand volatility
SCM Insights

Supply Chain Risk Management – far more than just getting out of the current crisis

The current coronavirus crisis clearly shows how vulnerable and susceptible to disruption supply chains are today. It also shows how important it is to anticipate disruptions of any kind in order to minimize their impact. In this context, supply chain risk management plays a major role. Essentially, it is a matter of finding answers to the following questions:What risks is my supply chain exposed to?How can I identify problems in my supply chain as quickly as possible, catchword early warning system?What do I need to do to minimize loss and to be even stronger in the end?As well as the lessons learnt: Which measures should I implement to ensure that I can effectively respond to any future risks? (more…)
Korbinian Reng · July 14, 2020 - reading time < 5 Min.
Supply Chain Risk Management – far more than just getting out of the current crisis