3 supply chain issues you should be wary of
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There’s an old saying that a business is only as strong as its supply chain. If your supply chain runs into problems, it can be very troubling for the rest of your business. You may be unable to process orders and meet deadlines, leading to a bad reputation for your company. The worst part is, clients and customers won’t know or care if the problem is out of your hands. They only deal with you, not any other company in your supply chain. So, when one of your suppliers messes up, your business is the one that suffers.
As a result, it’s important to keep an eye on potential problems within your supply chain. Below, you’ll find three of the most common supply chain issues to be wary of:
International customs
When goods are being moved across borders, they have to pass through customs controls. In essence, this ensures that dodgy or illegal items aren’t being smuggled into a country. For a business, customs can be a pain as things get slowed down, you might have to pay fees, and so on. If there’s a suspected issue, it can take days before anything is sorted. Be on the lookout for any problems like this, and perhaps enlist the help of some professional customs brokerage solutions. This should help you speed everything up and ensure your goods are always given the all-clear. The smoother the customs process is, the better it will be for your business.
A lack of data
You need to have lots of accessible data if you want a productive supply chain. Effectively, this relates to all the information your suppliers have access to, that your business also needs. The most obvious of which would be tracking data. Where are your supplies? Have they been shipped yet? This information is so important when planning ahead and thinking about selling to customers. For example, what if you’re waiting to restock some products and loads of customers are messaging you for updates. If you have the data that shows you where everything is, you can inform them of when it is scheduled to arrive. Otherwise, you’re completely out of the loop and it’s hard to plan anything. So, always be sure you get as much data as possible from everyone in your supply chain.
Country-specific problems
This isn’t technically one issue, but a number of them rolled under one heading. We’re talking about any problems that stem from suppliers being in different countries. As an example, national holidays that mean companies are closed for the day. If you have suppliers in a country, and they’ve got the day off for a holiday, it sets you back by at least 24 hours. Similarly, think about problems that only affect certain countries – like an economic issue. This is why you should be cautious when selecting suppliers – ideally, the closer they are to your home country, the better.
Hopefully, this has taught you about a few supply chain issues you need to keep an eye on. Make it your mission to keep your supply chain as fluid and productive as possible. When issues arise, it will lead to negative consequences for your business.
