When it comes to keeping up with the new complexities of our world today, it may be prudent to revisit supply chain management tips.

My first recommendation? Review your process periodically. Your product goes through different processes before it arrives in your customer's hands. Effectively managing your supply chain management may help you manage risks, stay up-to-date and keep up with the competition.

In evaluating your supply chain management process, consider:

●      how vital a product is for your business,

●      whether you need to shift shipment strategies or

●      if you need to invest in technology to manage your supply chain process.

In that regard, here are three more supply chain management tips to get you started in reviewing your process:

1. Are you keeping an eye on tariffs?

Supply chain management tips tend to address the issue of tariffs.

Part of managing the supply chain of your business is to be prepared for an increase in tariffs that may raise your costs. Increased tariffs can have a ripple effect that could affect your business and may require you to make adjustments.

For example, let's say your business includes selling spices in small tins.

A new tariff on steel or aluminum may cause the tin manufacturer to boost the price of the tins which indirectly increases the cost of your final product. You may not be able to pass on the new cost to the customer. That's where agility in your supply chain management comes in handy.

Ask yourself these questions:

1.     Do you have a plan B in place? In my simple example above, could you switch to a spice supplier who provides spices in paper pouches, plastic bags or glass containers?

2.    Can you renegotiate your current supplier agreement?

3.    What expenses can you eliminate to make up for the unexpected increases?

2. How is your last-mile delivery?

Last-mile delivery is the transportation of merchandise “from the nearest distribution hub to the final destination, such as a home or business." Last-mile logistics is about delivering goods to the end user as fast as possible.

A list of supply chain management tips would be incomplete without a discussion of speed. Speed is becoming a crucial area in supply chain management because of the growing demand of customers expecting fast deliveries. (In some cases, the need is for same-day delivery and even delivery within a few hours, such as food deliveries or pharmaceutical products.)

When looking for supply chain management tips, consider updating your supply chain management processes to respond to these customer needs. It may help you gain a competitive advantage. 

—Bruna Martinuzzi

Questions to ask yourself:

1.     What type of delivery speeds do your competitors offer?

2.    Is your fulfillment speed equal or better than your competitors?

3.    Do you need to make adjustments to remain competitive?

You may be putting all your efforts into developing and marketing the best product you can, only to lose to your competitors on the last mile due to slower shipments.

One change that you can make to your supply chain management is instituting new ways to speed up shipments. Consider delivery on-demand services from one of the many companies in this space, such as deliv.co, Postmates, ShipHawk or DarkStore. Look for a company that works best for you.

3. Are you using last-century systems?

Perhaps the most useful of supply chain management tips is the importance of examining the technology you use.

You may be using systems developed over the years that no longer serve you well. With rapid technological advances, you may want to consider whether or not you need to switch to more advanced tools and systems.

Let's say you have a plumbing and heating business with many reps in the field. Equipping your field reps with tablets may eliminate duplicate data collection at the office. It may also speed up the flow of information, billing and payment.

Something else to consider: Do you handle all your fulfillment in-house?

Do you still use labor-intensive processes such as packing boxes and envelopes, creating shipping labels and using your staff to go to the post office or courier company?

Consider updating your system and using third parties that offer digitized solutions for all of these processes.

Digitized solutions can give you access to what's happening through sophisticated dashboards. These dashboards allow you to stay in control of the customer experience and save you time to focus on growing the business. Companies that offer such digitized solutions include ShipBob, ShipWire, OrderHive or ShipStation, just to name a few. Search for a provider that is suitable for your business.

What's more, an up-to-date customized supply chain management software can centralize information. It can provide a tracking system that gives increased visibility to your supply chain management process.

Taking the digitized route may make it faster and easier to share changes or updates to customer orders—or alerts of potential inventory shortfalls—with stakeholders. This transparency can improve your supply chain management process, making you more nimble, and ultimately helping with customer service and retention.

Customer expectations are changing. More than ever, today's customers expect competitive pricing, speed, transparency, real-time communication and efficient IT support in the supply chain.

When looking for supply chain management tips, consider updating your supply chain management processes to respond to these customer needs. It may help you gain a competitive advantage.

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