Supply chains will never be normal

Manufacturing and Supply Chain Expert Lisa Anderson, MBA, CSCP, CLTD, known as the Strongest Link in Your Supply Chain and President of LMA Consulting Group Inc., regularly works with manufacturers to strengthen their supply chains. “One thing we learned in 2022 is that there is no NORMAL with supply chains,” Anderson says. 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.

The Wall Street Journal recently issued an article about how supply chains upended by COVID are back to normal. “There is no such thing as normal, despite the fact that supply chains are looking at COVID in the rearview mirror. While suppliers may be more consistent at the moment, customer expectations have changed. Customers want shorter lead times, greater flexibility with modifications and with greater consistency. Their patience has worn thin,” she said.

The Russia – Ukraine war continues to persist, making some raw materials scarce. While supply chains can accommodate with secondary suppliers for a while, major changes take time and cost money. And while suppliers catch up and ship their backlogs, customer needs have changed leaving manufacturers and distributors with inventory that is no longer relevant. “We see these disruptions all the time from Southwest Airlines who clearly could have avoided their December meltdown with technology investments to Dr. Martens shoes who now has more shoes than they know what to do with in Los Angeles due to off-shore manufacturing catching up and inter-warehouse inventory balancing. So, no, supply chains are not back to normal. And they won’t be anytime soon. The key is to anticipate, plan, invest in technology and talent, and be extremely flexible,” she concludes.

Anderson and her firm use the SIOP process to help manufacturers integrate departmental responsibilities so that every area has ownership within the supply chain and demand and supply are aligned. The SIOP process can provide data, consistency and order to the many moving parts in the supply chain. Ms. Anderson provides supply chain updates through Supply Chain Chats, a series of short videos that address current topics, issues and challenges related to supply chains.