Manufacturing and Supply Chain Expert Lisa Anderson, MBA, CSCP, CLTD, President of LMA Consulting Group Inc., has advised manufacturers and distributors throughout the pandemic on maximizing and leveraging their supply chains. She suggests that prioritization is a must to optimize the supply chain. LMA Consulting Group works with manufacturers and distributors on strategy and end-to-end supply chain transformation to maximize the customer experience and enable profitable, scalable, dramatic business growth.                                                           

"One thing is for certain, shortages are not going away any time soon. From suppliers' suppliers to transportation challenges, the supply chain is being taxed like never before. Manufacturers need to make hard choices to keep products moving and customers satisfied," commented Ms. Anderson. While customer expectations can be tempered, they have choices, and they will not hold out for long if they cannot receive what they want when they want it.

"It is critical that manufacturers take a hard look at their data. They need to understand what suppliers are performing and their lead times. They need to understand internal capacity, costs and throughput. And, they need to evaluate their customers and products – categorize them in order of importance like volume and profitability. The more data they can assess, the better idea they will have on how best to manage their supply chain," she added.

Manufacturers and distributors are looking at all options to manage their supply chain, like adding suppliers and tweaking products. "Adding suppliers to cushion shortages may not sound like a big deal, but it is. Vetting them, evaluating quality, and trying to anticipate demand takes time. Yet, sometimes it's not easy to find the right suppliers. 'Firing' customers may be an option for the sake of fulfilling other customer obligations. Sometimes high maintenance customers are not high-profit customers or strategic, and for the sake of the supply chain, they need to find other sources. There are no easy answers, and all options have risks. But, for the sake of the business, the supply chain needs to maintain a level of integrity, or the business can fail," Anderson concluded.