Last week I moderated a class with noted financial funding expert, Ami Kassar. The class was focused on how manufacturing companies could protect their balance sheets to make it easier to survive supply chain disruptions.
Towards the end of the class, Ami got everyone’s attention when he asked the following question: Can you identify five things that could shut down your supply chain? It’s not an easy question to ask or one that people like to ponder. Why? Because truth be told, they either haven’t spent time addressing that question, or worse, they have chosen to ignore those things which could literally shut down their companies.
It can be pretty alarming to know and have to address your company’s supply chain vulnerabilities because once a company has identified these risks, they have two choices. Either address the issues or continue to ignore these risks. This may not be an easy choice because addressing these issues may require making painful choices that could affect our procurement, operations, or sales practices and processes.
The global supply chain crisis of the past twelve months has exposed supply chain “fault lines” – things that disrupt the flow of materials and products that companies need in order to produce the products they need to have to sell to their customers. And with freight rates skyrocketing, a lot of shippers are focused on the wrong things! Specifically, they are focused on what is happening with their carriers instead of addressing and/ or fixing inefficient processes and practices that are exposing their companies to increased risks.
For several years now we've sat down with logistics executives and their teams to address these issues during what we call a Rapid Assessment process which reviews the practices and process throughout a company's supply chain. Our Rapid Assessments have proven to be extremely beneficial because they can help companies break down silos, get people on the same page and identify those things that could shut down your company. More importantly, the Rapid Assessment process can identify solutions that can reduce these risks and help you protect your company’s supply chain. If you want to know more about the value and benefits of the Rapid Assessment process for your company, simply send me an email.
One of the things that you can do to protect your supply chain is to look at what to expect in the future on the transportation front. That's why we're bringing you a new webinar where you can hear directly from several CEOs and even ask them your questions. We encourage you to sign up for the webinar which will take place on 12/3 at 11am Central and we'll be sending the recording out to everyone who registered in case they're busy then.
BY MIKE REGAN, CO-FOUNDER OF TRANZACT
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