6 Mission Critical Supply-Chain Elements

Your supply chain will make or break your global trade platform and is also one of the primary macro-elements of import/export where details are overlooked and then plague operations at a later date. Whether you are a manufacturer taking a product into a market yourself, an export management company representing a client, an export trading company seeking buyers, or a trade merchant establishing a trade route: conducting the proper due diligence on your supply chain will not only ensure that you make better informed decisions but will also enable you to monitor the pulse of your operation more clearly thereby maintaining operation flexibility and leanness.

While a supply chain is not something intrinsic exclusively to import/export ventures, there are few parallel industries with as many numerous individual players (middle men, specialist service providers, logistics, etc,.) and moving parts (regulation compliance, government policy changes, currency fluctuations, etc,.) that must all be worked into your long-range business planning for sustainable operational success.

While the organizations, team members, and resources you utilize in the execution of the following six phases of your supply chain are subject to change, these same six phases, however, will not change in playing on-going mission critical roles in your supply chain management.

The six supply chain elements that you should conduct due diligence on in thorough detail with long-range flexibility playing a key factor are:

1. Research and Development (R&D)
2. Material Planning
3. Purchasing
4. Logistics
5. Traffic
6. Distribution

Keep in mind that the sum of your supply chain is greater than the parts. While each element is independent in its change management, strategic processes, and individual moving parts, if one phase experiences interruption for an extended period of time then it will cause a catastrophic ripple effect through the entire supply chain.

When you conducted your change management strategy development (you did right?) you should have included “What-if” and “Work-Around” scenarios and schedules that you would put into motion thereby keeping the issue isolated to its phase and avoiding a domino effect. Tip on ensuring you maintain the integrity of your supply chain: conduct “Business Interruption Drills” to test the effectiveness of your change management strategy and management team.

The old adage “only as strong as your weakest link” is quite relevant to your supply chain.

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