ProcureCon Supply Chain Resilience. People who may not have even previously heard the term, although were probably unconsciously familiar with the concept, now have a greater understanding of how critical these networks are to modern society.
Even now when the worst days of the pandemic are fading into memory, other emerging global crises are compounding its fallout such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine. With no end to that conflict in sight, we need solutions to our supply chain woes today.
We need to increase the resilience of our supply chains, so the impact of any future crises is reduced as much as is possible.
Transparency
According to research by McKinsey, the number one factor companies need to focus on to make supply chains more resilient in the future is transparency. Greater transparency leads to an improved ability to respond to situations as they emerge.
80% of people surveyed in McKinsey’s research said the key to unlocking increased transparency in supply chains was to improve and invest in digital planning.
“The holy grail of supply-chain risk management is multitier transparency,” said McKinsey’s Knut Alicke. “A lot of companies have visibility into their direct suppliers because they have a contract with them. Often the problem is not with the first tier but with the first, fourth, and fifth tiers. And what everyone is now looking into is how to create this visibility when something is going wrong and have an early-warning system so they can do something about it. From a tech perspective, this is possible to solve today. You also need to create trust amongst the partners, and the ecosystem of the supply chain.”
Inventory and Planning
Before the pandemic, it was common for supply chain planning meetings to occur just monthly or even quarterly, but this will no longer do in the new normal in which we find ourselves.
Biweekly or even weekly planning cycles should now become standard operating procedure. This means inventory footprint can constantly be assessed and reassessed to ensure business critical items do not run out during crucial moments – or indeed global crises. Employing multisourcing and dual sourcing will make an organisation less reliant on critical suppliers and allow inventory levels to be kept in a state where just in time supply chain practices are less important than they once were
“Things can then die in inventory, and that’s not really helping your cash flow,” continued Alicke. “So, you need to increase the inventory for the critical stuff, and you need to make sure that you are less dependent on critical suppliers. Therefore, multisourcing and dual sourcing is very important. To do that, you need to invest in digital talent to be able to do the planning, understand all of the algorithms, and with this, come to a fast decision.”
Final Thoughts
Supply chain resilience is going to be critical moving forwards. By increasing transparency and investing in digital planning, businesses can better manage inventory and become more agile when it comes to responding to emerging crises in the future.
PROCURECON EUROPE
The Flagship Procurement Event to Benchmark Your Strategy with the World’s BIGGEST Companies.
Be a Business Person in Procurement, Not a Procurement Person in the Business!
After two years of virtual learning and networking, it’s time to unite the industry in person again.
More than ever, procurement executives are driving the commercial stability of their organisations.
Balancing digital innovations and sustainable initiatives against a backdrop of global instability and spiraling prices isn’t easy, but you’ve got this.
With inspirational keynotes, small-group interactive learning, fun networking events and hundreds of peers to connect with, we can’t wait to welcome you back to ProcureCon.
Only here will you discover how procurement leaders from Europe’s largest companies are:
– Innovating with suppliers to increase commercial opportunities
– Shoring up supply chains to ensure continuity of production
– Embedding sustainability at the core of what they do to drive permanent change
The Fun Stuff
Learn, network and have fun doing it! Join us in our drinks receptions at the end of days one and two. Enjoy cocktails & refreshments while networking with your industry colleagues but also making new connections.
4 Reasons Why ProcureCon Is the Leading Procurement Conference
1- No other event brings together so many CPOs and heads of procurement – open to all with no subscription constraints – allowing you to benchmark your procurement strategies with those ahead of the curve.
2- No other event unites so many leaders from the entire procurement community – turning Barcelona into the ultimate procurement networking hub
3- No other event offers a procurement focused agenda split across 3 comprehensive days. Built on 63 research interviews to ensure all your purchasing challenges and opportunities are addressed.
4- No other event gives you the biggest and best procurement focused speaker faculty in the business, featuring 60+ procurement leaders to ensure you walk away with practical insights from those leading the way.
27-29 September 2022 – Hyatt Regency Barcelona Tower
– BYinnovation is Media Partner of ProcureCon Europe