• Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Supplier Directory
  • SCB YouTube
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Logout
  • My Profile
  • LOGISTICS
    • Air Cargo
    • All Logistics
    • Express/Small Shipments
    • Facility Location Planning
    • Freight Forwarding/Customs Brokerage
    • Global Gateways
    • Global Logistics
    • Last Mile Delivery
    • Logistics Outsourcing
    • LTL/Truckload Services
    • Ocean Transportation
    • Rail & Intermodal
    • Reverse Logistics
    • Service Parts Management
    • Transportation & Distribution
  • TECHNOLOGY
    • All Technology
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cloud & On-Demand Systems
    • Data Management (Big Data/IoT/Blockchain)
    • ERP & Enterprise Systems
    • Forecasting & Demand Planning
    • Global Trade Management
    • Inventory Planning/ Optimization
    • Product Lifecycle Management
    • Sales & Operations Planning
    • SC Finance & Revenue Management
    • SC Planning & Optimization
    • Sourcing/Procurement/SRM
    • Supply Chain Visibility
    • Transportation Management
  • GENERAL SCM
    • Business Strategy Alignment
    • Education & Professional Development
    • Global Supply Chain Management
    • Global Trade & Economics
    • HR & Labor Management
    • Quality & Metrics
    • Regulation & Compliance
    • SC Security & Risk Mgmt
    • Supply Chains in Crisis
    • Sustainability & Corporate Social Responsibility
  • WAREHOUSING
    • All Warehouse Services
    • Conveyors & Sortation
    • Lift Trucks & AGVs
    • Order Fulfillment
    • Packaging
    • RFID, Barcode, Mobility & Voice
    • Robotics
    • Warehouse Management Systems
  • INDUSTRIES
    • Aerospace & Defense
    • Apparel
    • Automotive
    • Chemicals & Energy
    • Consumer Packaged Goods
    • E-Commerce/Omni-Channel
    • Food & Beverage
    • Healthcare
    • High-Tech/Electronics
    • Industrial Manufacturing
    • Pharmaceutical/Biotech
    • Retail
  • THINK TANK
  • WEBINARS
    • On-Demand Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
  • PODCASTS
  • VIDEOS
  • WHITEPAPERS
Home » Blogs » Think Tank » Here's What a Post-Covid Supply Chain Review Looks Like

Think Tank
Think Tank RSS FeedRSS

Here's What a Post-Covid Supply Chain Review Looks Like

Supply chain worker
Photo: Bloomberg
July 28, 2021
Dan Weinberger, SCB Contributor

Organizations have faced a slew of challenges in the past year, from material shortages to logistics bottlenecks and volatile swings in demand. More than 90% of Fortune 1000 companies say they’ve suffered supply chain disruptions, according to a report by accounting firm KPMG LLP. 

Now, many businesses are reexamining their supply chains and looking for ways to increase efficiency, productivity and resilience. 

Total Reboot

Organizations have started to recover from the major disruptions due to the pandemic, but supply chain leaders have no intention of resorting back to their old ways with their supply chains lacking visibility and resilience.

In the second half of 2020, McKinsey & Co. surveyed 60 senior supply chain leaders from a variety of industries around the world. The survey asked how the pandemic impacted their operations and future strategies to make their supply chains more flexible and agile. Here are the responses:

McKinsey & Co. survey

Despite the negative impacts and disruptions, the pandemic has given enterprises an opportunity to revamp and vastly improve their supply chain. This is a direct result from the pandemic greatly magnifying the problems with many organizations’ supply chains resulting as a catalyst to implement the necessary changes. 

It's important now to focus on the customer-centric, data-powered, digital technologies that many companies have been slow to adopt due to legacy system compatibility issues and fragmented efforts.

The future success of supply chains will depend on a strong, purpose-built strategy that encompasses several key areas:

  • Human resources (HR). It’s necessary to keep updating the skills of workers to keep up with the changing dynamics of the digitized supply chain, improving resilience.
  • Regulations. Staying up to date on industry regulations helps to address risks in the supply chain. 
  • Service delivery model. Optimize service delivery by aligning processes with industry centers of excellence.
  • Technologies. Advanced technology solutions can provide complete visibility into the supply chain and end-to-end automation. Examples include automation, smart tracking, predictive analytics, blockchain, the internet of things and machine learning.. 
  • Performance indicators and real-time data. Tracking KPIs with real-time data quickly identifies any weak areas.

McKinsey & Co. survey

It’s helpful to break down a supply chain’s external and internal components into focused improvement areas. To get started, here’s a comprehensive list. 

Demand

  • Revamping operations planning, sales and integrated business planning as customers resume their orders. 
  • Prioritizing according to product demand and profitability — consider customer preference.
  • Building a model around the demand plan, risks, actions, issues and dependencies. 

Suppliers and Sourcing

  • Anticipating shortages of necessary materials or supplies.
  • Updating supplier agreements, SLAs and schedules.
  • Creating opportunities for strategic collaboration with major suppliers.

Inventory

  • Inventory planning and replenishment strategy according to real-time demand.
  • Building a multi-layer inventory model to purchase raw materials based on inventory planning. 
  • Setting up a system to monitor and manage inventory.

Workforce

  • Collaborating with the HR department to identify hiring needs and roll out safety guidelines.
  • Building responsive processes and staffing models to take on another potential wave of COVID-19. 
  • Implementing relevant technologies to track workers’ proximity, such as distance bracelets and contract tracing.

Production Assets

  • Increasing efficiency of production/distribution centers and operational workflows. 
  • Tracking daily demand and supply needs to align production targets. 
  • Doing health checks for major production assets – accounting for current restrictions that affect travel, repair or maintenance.

Distribution and Logistics

  • Pre-arranging secure transportation. 
  • Reviewing contracts for third-party providers — do they offer recovery support options and adjusted SLAs as needed? 
  • Reviewing logistics networks and trade routes for any backlog at ports.

Dan Weinberger is chief executive officer of Morpheus Network.

Business Strategy Alignment Global Supply Chain Management Supply Chain Security & Risk Mgmt

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED VIDEOS

Wake up to live
“Supply Chains in Crisis”
updates and the latest Supply Chain News!

Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter

Timely, incisive articles delivered directly to your inbox.

Popular Stories

  • INTERIOR OF A CHICKEN FARM, WITH WHITE CHICKENS AS FAR AS THE EYE CAN SEE

    Worst Avian Flu in U.S. History Is Hitting Poultry

    Food & Beverage
  • TWO FINGERS MANIPULATE WOODEN LETTER BLOCKS TO TURN FROM SHOWING THE WORD RECOVERY TO RESILIENCE

    Five Challenges to Supply Chain Resilience in 2023

    Supply Chain Visibility
  • A PERSON HOLDS UP A TABLET COMPUTER IN A WAREHOUSE, SUPER-IMPOSED BY A GRAPHIC SHOWING A COMPLEX WEB OF SUPPLY CHAIN ELEMENTS

    Three Post-Pandemic Actions for Repairing Global Supply Chains

    Data Management (Big Data/IoT/Blockchain)
  • A MAN IN A SUIT SHAKES HANDS WITH A WOMAN IN A HARD HAT, NEXT TO A STACK OF CONTAINERS

    Three Procurement Technology Evolutions for 2023

    Sourcing/Procurement/SRM
  • The blank stare of a child's eye who is standing behind what appears to be a wooden frame

    The Alarming Continued Rise of Modern Slavery in Supply Chains: How Procurement Can Help Reverse the Trend

    Sourcing/Procurement/SRM

Digital Edition

Scb nov 2022 sm

2022 Supply Chain Innovator of the Year

VIEW THE LATEST ISSUE

Case Studies

  • New Revenue for Cloud-Based TMS that Embeds Orderful’s Modern EDI Platform

  • Convenience Store Client Maximizes Profit and Improves Customer Service

  • A Digitally Native Footwear Brand Finds Rapid Fulfillment

  • Expanding Apparel Brand Scales Seamlessly with E-Commerce Technology

  • How a Global LSP Scaled its Security Program and Won More Business

Visit Our Sponsors

Orderful Yang Ming Alithya
Barcoding Blue Yonder BNSF Logistics
CoEnterprise Data Capture Deposco
E2open GAINSystems Generix
Geodis GEP GreyOrange
Here Honeywell Intelligrated IFM
Infor Inmar Keelvar
Kinaxis Korber Lean Solutions Group 2H
Liberty SBF Locus Robotics Logility
LogistiVIEW Lucas Systems MCA Connect
MPO Nvidia Old Dominion
OpenText ORTEC Overhaul
Parsyl PMMI QIMA
Redwood Logistics Ryder E-commerce by Whiplash Saddle Creek Logistics
Schneider Dedicated Setlog Holding AG Ship4WD
Shipwell Tecsys TGW Systems
Thomson Reuters Tive Trailer Bridge
Vecna Robotics Verity
Verusen
  • More From SCB
    • Featured Content
    • Video Library
    • Think Tank Blog
    • SupplyChainBrain Podcast
    • Whitepapers
    • On-Demand Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
  • Digital Offerings
    • Digital Issue
    • Subscribe
    • Manage Your Subscription
    • Newsletters
  • Resources
    • Events Calendar
    • SCB's Great Supply Chain Partners
    • Supplier Directory
    • Case Study Showcase
    • Supply Chain Innovation Awards
    • 100 Great Partners Form
  • SCB Corporate
    • Advertise on SCB.COM
    • About Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact Us
    • Data Sharing Opt-Out

All content copyright ©2023 Keller International Publishing Corp All rights reserved. No reproduction, transmission or display is permitted without the written permissions of Keller International Publishing Corp

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing