A Global Imprint: COVID-19 and Its Effects on Our International Supply Chain
2020, Rethink. 2021, Reform.
Our global pandemic continues to overwhelm many businesses as it forces them to make “here and now” decisions. While taking a proactive approach is recommended, risk management would suggest having several backup plans. Supply chain disruptions are the new normal. Is your business worried about the continuously rising cost of freight? Concerned about supplier and mandated country shutdowns? Are you scanning for containers or frantically looking for shipping capacity? You’re not alone, and despite all of these historical disruptions, “the show must go on.” Companies that are absorbing this “new normal” transformation are succeeding. So, what exactly are businesses doing to adapt to these supply chain disruptions and travel restrictions? How are companies able to transform themselves during a time of crisis and alleviate these disruptions?
September 7, 2021
Recover. Review. Rectify.
An unpredictable global supply chain leaves vulnerable businesses fully exposed.
As teams scramble to revise their original game plan, it may or may not be enough to keep their heads above water. It takes every effort to protect your people, your customers, and your company. In doing so, it brings agility and flexibility. Disruptions are a daily occurrence and tend to change without warning. Businesses that take the time to evaluate all possible disruptive scenarios, formulate a strategy, and adapt continuously to reduce these global interferences.
Regardless if you’re leading a B2C (business to consumer) or B2B (business to business), no one is unscathed due to the global encompassing of this virus. Every company, in some regard, is feeling the effects of these obstructions, but ultimately it all comes down to who’s willing to move towards ingenuity and expand their business capabilities.
Ingenuity
COVID-19’s short-term impacts have shaken our fragile supply chain, challenging its vulnerability while simultaneously forcing businesses to repurpose their structure and discover new ways to resolve issues. As we enter the second year of our global pandemic, we’re able to see the resiliency of many businesses, witnessing a distinct separation among those that have seized this opportunity to evolve their business structure, as well as those who continue to struggle and ride the waves of uncertainty to survive.
The lingering impacts of COVID-19 are very real. Now, entering our second year, we’re able to observe the elasticity of businesses. Those succeeding in our new normal are capturing opportunities to expand their abilities by prioritizing their people, their customers, and their business.
Overnight, businesses had to shift their operations from offices to remote work. Fortunately, for companies in that space already, it provided them an advantage over those who, in order to stay alive, worked tirelessly to adjust to online platforms, training their employees through this new online workspace while simultaneously hurdling disruptions and maintaining business operations. Today, the term “business-as-usual” is no longer applicable for businesses looking to acquire results. The world of international companies is transforming, and global procurement functions are evolving in their new space. Businesses that refuse to adapt will be disregarded, while those eager to test new boundaries and ambitious for growth will flourish.
Global Growing Pains
While there may be many positives to stem from our international shutdown, global procurement still faces many challenges. As travel restrictions and work-from-home orders have certainly hindered regular, in-person contact with teams and suppliers, there will always be operations that continue to remain a daily priority. Regardless of domestic and global confinements, maintaining regular contact with teams, customers, and suppliers will always take precedence. In having the ability to streamline workflow from in-house teams to customers, and suppliers, operating with transparency is ideal. Of course, it hasn’t been easy; however, with eighteen months of practice, many businesses have modified the way they operate to a completely digital system.
It isn’t a perfect system, and certain flaws continue to present themselves; however, it’s the effort and constant self-reflection that will allow businesses to persevere. Fortunately, this isn’t the only time our global supply chain has had to face new challenges. Companies have always had to fight and ‘bounce back’ from procurement disruptions. Disruptions come in all shapes and sizes, but businesses have had to adjust their operating capabilities to adapt to overcome various situations. Whether it’s maneuvering through seaport congestion or manipulating your supplier’s production schedule, we’re all experiencing the pains of growth.
What is affecting our global procurement?
Below are current situations and questions that we feel may help you to self-reflect and initiate a successful plan:
- Working through stay-at-home orders and the inability to work in the office
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- How do your employees handle working from home?
- How can you continue to stay aligned with your team?
- With limited international travel, how can you hold your team accountable?
- Seeking alternative ways to work with suppliers
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- How do you prepare for a supplier shut down?
- What if the country where your supplier is located shuts down?
- How do you continue to ensure quality products/quality service is being enforced at your supplier without being able to visit?
- How do you identify new suppliers? Vet new suppliers?
- How do you prioritize regular communication with suppliers?
- What happens when raw materials aren’t easily obtained, or there is a delay in delivering raw materials?
- Managing record high freight costs, limited container availability, and port congestion
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- How do you prepare for the rapidly rising cost of freight?
- Is your business able to afford these high freight costs?
- What do you do if your business cannot afford freight but needs products now?
- What do you do if you can afford the freight but cannot obtain a container for your product?
- How do you avoid port congestion?
- Are you unable to acquire container space?
- Preparing for the recovery and rebound
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- How has our company adapted to the “new normal”? What have we learned?
- Looking back on how it started and how it’s currently going, is there anything that our business could have done differently?
- Are there adaptations in our routine operations that we will continue to implement as we return to “normal”?
- How can we begin to prepare for the next global supply chain disruption? The next global pandemic?
How Can HB International’s Global Sourcing Strategies Assist You?
What we have learned from COVID-19 and our supply chain is that we are resilient. Amidst the unknowns and unpredictable country lockdowns, supplier shutdowns, and supply shortages, we continue to deliver high-quality products and services to our customers. HB International is a business founded on digital infrastructure, and since 2002, HBI has continued to strengthen with the advancements of technology.
As a global sourcing agency, we are responsible for being proactive and developing preventative actions to avoid these supply chain disturbances. With our international team, we have the advantage of conducting in-person Quality Assurance product inspections and supplier audits while also working closely with our customers to ensure products are produced on a prioritized schedule. Our team is aligned to ensure communication is transparent and efficient with our customers and our suppliers.
The last thing that we want is supply chain disruptions and our global pandemic, to limit your success. There are many services that HB International provides its customers. Let us know how we can best assist you!
