Smart Supply Chains:
Many retailers found innovative solutions to maintain their revenue flow and to keep their customers satisfied while having to deal with so many natural phenomena and external variables. Smart Supply Chains switched to backorder sales, while others decided to work with domestic vendors rather than overseas ones.
Challenges:
Being a major barrier, the COVID-19 pandemic and its challenges have reduced the productivity and profitability in this field, but despite this, Smart Supply Chains a few of the biggest supply chain challenges are listed below:
Scarce Material
Due to a sudden increase in consumer demand unlike anything before, there has been concern about insufficient inputs ever since the pandemic started. Even now, with the supply of many parts and materials being limited, merchants and suppliers are having difficulty meeting this demand.
Hike in freight prices
Unlike the earlier predictions, container shipping has become significantly more necessary throughout the pandemic. Global lockdown measures have led to a spike in online purchases, which has increased demand for imported raw materials and finished consumer items.
Demand Forecasting has gotten tougher
In the midst of a worldwide pandemic, demand forecasting has raised the bar for supply chain management at many businesses. For a large number of retailers and suppliers of consumer goods/services, the start of COVID-19 virtually destroyed the projections, leaving them stranded.
Changes in consumer behavior
The pandemic has significantly altered consumer attitudes and habits, lowering the bar for delivery times and boosting the standards for a satisfying customer experience.
Technological Transformations
Digital transformation and IoT may be a mixed message for supply chain operations. New technology like AI, drones, electric cars, and on-demand delivery, have the potential to improve how we approach the conventional supply chain.
How to change these Challenges to ‘Opportunities’ ?
The pandemic has definitely created certain supply chain difficulties that online businesses are still working to overcome. On a positive note, there are several approaches to help solve these problems. Although there is no one perfect solution, integrating a few different approaches can provide a good result.
Broaden your supply horizon
Increase the avenues of your sources, potentially even geographically, to benefit your supply chain. Building different supplier partnerships make it simpler to be more diverse and take advantage of a market that is continuously changing.
Freight Forwards are the way to go
Managing and tracking your products can be done easily by collaborating with one or more freight. While freight forwarding businesses are in charge of the transportation of goods, they may also organize the whole process by bargaining for the best deal and quickest routes for your products.
Change your method of demand forecasting
Using automation to compute data is always the greatest method to enhance forecasting.
Get in touch with us at Ficus Pax for more information about the packaging solutions we offer.
