Knowledge

Managing supply chain issues

March 3, 2023

Minimising supply chain issues is a challenge many business owners face in today’s global business climate. One of our experts from one of our firms in India recently wrote a piece for the ACCA’s AB Magazine, highlighting how businesses can tackle this challenge in several ways. Read the full article here or the summary below.

Supply chain issues

Supply chain issues are a significant concern for businesses in India, particularly in the fast-moving consumer goods sector. Inventory tracking is essential to reduce the impact of supply chain problems, and businesses must factor in lead time, geo-economic conditions, availability of materials, and other factors to determine the reorder levels needed to manage their supply chain effectively.

Inventory tracking

Carrying costs of inventory can be huge, and small businesses often face challenges in investing in a large amount of inventory due to budgetary constraints, time considerations, labour, and physical space limitations. They can deal with this by buying popular products as much as they can afford when they become available, looking for heavily discounted items to stock up at reorder level, seeking financing to invest in popular inventory, expanding their storage space, or outsourcing solutions for storage, packing, and shipping.

Supplier management

Alternative suppliers in different locations should be considered, and businesses can also be creative in their offerings to customers by researching alternative ingredients and dishes to put on the menu. Automation tools like supply chain management (SCM) software can help businesses track inventory, manage shipping, and offer updates on which items are moving the fastest.

Transparency to customers

Transparency with customers is crucial, and businesses should be upfront about any delays or challenges with certain products. They should also keep up to date with the latest developments in the industry and news affecting the products they need to anticipate any potential shortages.

Businesses must take a multipronged approach to prepare for any disruption, particularly as disruptions caused by climate change, political instability, and the ongoing pandemic may continue to occur. Promising developments like blockchain management of supply chains may offer creative solutions in the near future, but businesses must be disruption-ready by staying informed and having contingency plans in place.

If you would like support managing supply chain issues for your business, please get in touch.