We Won’t Be Fooled Again: The Enterprise Perspective
In today’s tough supply chain environment, companies are spinning big-picture solutions that will keep them on the charts now and for the long play.
5 Lessons Learned for the Post-Pandemic Supply Chain
What’s on Your Supply Chain Playlist?
The pandemic has made people question some of the basic assumptions of their lives: Whom do I need around me? Where do I want to live? Can I keep working from home?
In a similar way, the supply chain disruptions we’ve seen emerge from this crisis have forced some companies to re-examine how they operate at the enterprise level: What should we manufacture ourselves and what should we buy? Which products and customers deserve the most support? What should our distribution network look like?
Here are some of the hard-won lessons they’ve learned to ensure they won’t be fooled again.
Make or Buy?
Copper State Bolt and Nut in Phoenix is mainly a distributor, selling fasteners, construction products, safety products and industrial supplies. But 10 to 15% of its revenue comes from products it manufactures in-house, potentially putting Copper State in competition with many of its suppliers.
Along with thousands of other companies in its market, Copper State saw demand for its products collapse at the start of the pandemic and then rebound. But supplies of both raw materials and finished goods have stayed tight. Rather than simply fight for access to those scarce commodities, Copper State has been talking with other manufacturers about how best to serve mutual customers.
“We feel there’s a lot more opportunity to cooperate and collaborate with others than there is to compete,” says Brian Cates, the firm’s chief operating officer.
For example, Copper State could manufacture certain bolts for its heavy industrial customers. But maybe it’s better to make only some of those items and procure others from third parties.
“By buying from some of those other manufacturers, while also making parts for different customers, we’re expanding the supply scope,” Cates says.
While rethinking which products to make and which to buy, Copper State also talks with suppliers about how best to procure the products its customers need. As those suppliers also struggle to provide enough volume to meet demand, some are glad to have Copper State turn to other sources for certain products.
Collaboration among trusted trading partners has grown especially important since early 2020, given ongoing supply chain disruptions. At the start of the pandemic, Copper State took specific steps to keep that trust intact. “We made it a point not to cancel orders during the first part of the pandemic,” Cates says.
Strategic make-or-buy decisions will remain important at Copper State even after the supply chain stress has calmed down. “Our goals are to grow at a pace faster than macroeconomic growth,” Cates says. Investing in production lines to make products that Copper State could easily procure instead won’t help the company reach those goals.
“If one of these collaborative companies has made that investment, they had good reason,” Cates says. “So why should we introduce competition that doesn’t have to exist?”
What’s Old is New
Along with materials, components, and finished products, supply chain disruptions around the world also make it hard for companies to obtain production machinery. “Companies are having major lead-time issues,” says Nick Taylor, head of the industrial division at Liquidity Services, a provider of reverse supply chain and liquidation solutions in Bethesda, Maryland.
A company that needed a new machine for a production line used to wait about three months to receive it. “Now, across the board, we’re looking at nine months, or even up to 12 months,” says Taylor.
To overcome that obstacle, companies are buying used equipment instead; some find what they need on the global market on an electronic marketplace that Liquidity Services runs.
“Used machinery will move from the United States to Asia, and from Asia back to the United States, increasingly so now, even despite the higher shipping costs,” Taylor says. Many companies consider it better to pay sky-high ocean rates to ship used equipment than to go without.
Other manufacturers are simply holding on to aging equipment. When one facility needs to replace a machine, rather than buy one, a company might redeploy a piece of equipment from another location. Liquidity Services supports that activity with its technology, too.
Based on experience with recent shortages and slowdowns, companies are now less apt to get rid of older production equipment.
“Manufacturers are taking a longer time to make decisions,” Taylor says. “And when they do make decisions on releasing assets, they are being considerably more cautious than in the past.” This tendency could survive beyond the immediate emergency.
Demand for used equipment is increasing as well. “Prices have gone up between 25 and 30% in the past six months for high-quality machinery,” Taylor notes.
When You Can’t Buy, Borrow
As shippers compete for capacity in today’s tight logistics market, some of the largest companies are taking matters into their own hands. Home Depot, Walmart, and other major retailers have chartered private container vessels. Some have also bought their own shipping containers.
Smaller companies can’t make those investments. But if they’re lucky, they work with service partners that have bulked up their resources to meet current demand.
Dale Young, vice president of World Distribution Services (WDS), an asset-based third-party logistics (3PL) provider, counts his company as one of those partners.
“Our organization recently bought about 1,000 containers to try and help customers,” he says. The company has also been chartering vessels to help companies that don’t have the buying power to find capacity on their own.
To compensate for supply chain delays, shippers also try to add more warehouse space in more markets so they can move inventory closer to consumers. But just because a company finds a suitable building doesn’t mean it can stand up a new distribution center right away.
“The lead time for racking—where you stack pallets in a warehouse—is about 24 weeks right now,” says Young. Steel shortages have reduced the supply of other important equipment as well.
WDS already had two new warehouses in development when the pandemic upended the logistics world. One of its latest purchases is new racking that will add space for 20,000 more pallets at its newest facility in Linden, New Jersey.
“That location is 480,000 square feet, and we filled it up on customer demand in about 60 days,” Young says. So the new storage capacity is welcome.
The pandemic’s big lesson for shippers is to be proactive about developing options, including multiple service partners, locations, and ports of entry. “Once you get them established, maintain those relationships,” Young advises. “Have them as viable options for the future.”
Strategic Design
Another way to avoid the hazards of long supply chains is to move manufacturing closer to home.
This sort of inshoring or nearshoring isn’t always just a matter of careful site selection. The answer to unwieldy supply chains could lie in the way a company develops its products, according to Bharat Kapoor, global lead of the PERlab (Product Excellence Renewal) at management consultancy Kearney.
For instance, if an American company decides to move production from Asia to the United States, it knows its labor costs will increase. So it needs to get creative with its products. “You design in such a manner that the competitive advantage the low-cost country has starts getting diminished further,” says Kapoor.
The company could, for instance, develop a product that excites consumers so much they willingly pay large sums to own it. He points to Tesla, whose customers paid $100,000 for early models and kept loving those cars even when their doors failed to close.
“Even today, if there’s a bug in a Tesla, people accept it,” says Kapoor. If a Mercedes or BMW showed a similar flaw, consumers would not be so forgiving, he maintains.
“But a Tesla is not a commodity,” he adds. “It’s something people care for.” Enjoying such fierce loyalty, a company can afford to manufacture close to the point of consumption, with components also made in the region.
Another solution is to design a product with parts so simple and modular, you can make it practically anywhere. Take Lego-brand toys, for example. You can buy a Lego Hogwarts castle, a Lego Darth Vader helmet, or a Lego pirate ship. Details vary, but the sets mostly consist of the same kinds of plastic bricks.
“We recently brought several of these Lego sets into our own lab,” Kapoor says. “We found that about 80% of the bricks are common among a bunch of sets. I call that genius.”
With simple common parts, a company could manufacture anywhere in the world and use any number of suppliers for components or materials. “You simplify the supply chain piece of it, but you can make your public-facing portfolio as rich as you want,” he adds.
Who Gets 100%?
Experts at Boston-based Profit Isle help companies analyze how various aspects of their operations affect profits. In today’s era of supply chain disruption, this kind of investigation, called Enterprise Profit Management (EPM), could help determine how best to allocate inventory to different customers.
In many companies, 10 to 15% of customers account for 150 to 200% of the profits, says Jonathan Byrnes, founding partner and chairman of Profit Isle and a senior lecturer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Another 10 to 20% of customers actually make the company lose money.
“And then the rest of the company is doing nothing,” Byrnes says. “Typically that’s a lot of small products being bought by small customers but taking up the company’s resources.”
When a company can’t get enough inventory, it makes sense to discriminate among these customers. “Take your ‘profit peak’ customers and give them 100% of their historical demand,” Byrnes suggests. Large customers that drain profits should receive 80%. The many tiny customers whose revenues contribute almost nothing to the business should get 60%.
The vendor can then work with large, unprofitable customers—the “profit drains”—to help them graduate to “profit peak” status, Byrnes says.
“Change the order pattern, change the services, and then you get 100%,” the vendor should tell them.
A similar analysis could determine which products to keep selling and which to drop. “In most companies, 3 to 5% of profit peak products sold to profit peak customers are giving them 100% of the profit,” Byrnes says.
Atlanta-based TireHub distributes tires that its parent companies, Goodyear Tire & Rubber and Bridgestone Americas, manufacture for passenger vehicles and light trucks. TireHub’s customers are auto dealerships, repair shops, tire shops, and other tire retailers.
The pandemic has triggered several challenges for TireHub, including uncertain product availability, increased lead times, and problems getting tires to markets that need them most. TireHub has approached those challenges by piloting solutions in several areas of operation.
One example is portfolio analysis. “We had to become very clear on what matters most and how we prioritize our products to best serve our customers,” says Nancy Triplett, the company’s director of product supply.
TireHub’s merchandising team determines the right mix of products for each of its 71 tire logistics centers (TLCs), which support retailers with same-day delivery.
“When we see a supplier is coming into supply, we understand which products to pay attention to and which ones we should get greater depth on to help keep us in service over the long haul,” she says.
Taking Stock for Customers
The team bases its analysis on data such as past sales and volatility of demand for particular stockkeeping units (SKUs). It’s also important to learn how much certain customers rely on TireHub.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s a high-velocity or low-velocity SKU,” Triplett says. “If it’s integral to a customer’s stocking plans, that influences what we’re going to stock.”
TireHub has also sought ways to get product from suppliers to customers faster. “We’ve tried all sorts of tactics, like direct factory shipments from the supplier, bypassing their logistics centers to get right to our TLCs, and then redistributing from there,” Triplett says. “We’ve looked at more creative customer pickup, rather than waiting for a truck to weigh out before it can ship from the supplier.”
Such experiments will probably influence how TireHub operates in the future. “The ability to pilot, trial, and learn, and adapt to changing business expectations and customer needs, is a skill,” Triplett says. “You have to build the culture and capability to allow people to learn, grow, and try things.”
5 Lessons Learned for the Post-Pandemic Supply Chain
The current global trade crisis has highlighted weaknesses within the supply chain and forced the industry to assess, evolve, and often transform their operations to meet the needs of today’s marketplace. Many changes are here to stay and should be embraced as the industry plans for the supply chain of the future.
David Bowie once said: “Tomorrow belongs to those who hear it coming,” meaning we need to listen to the market to anticipate what will come next. While no one can predict or prevent the next global crisis, we can build stronger, less vulnerable supply chains by learning from past mistakes and adding positive changes into day-to-day operations.
Following are five real-world examples that show how shippers rely on flexibility, investment, and alternative solutions to navigate the current supply chain disruption and why these changes are here to stay.
1. Stay open to new and unconventional ways of doing business. Pandemic-related disruption forced stakeholders throughout the supply chain to look at alternative ports, non-traditional routes, and different processes. Being open to new and unconventional ways of doing business not only served as a solution to an immediate need, but also underscored the importance of having an open mind about alternatives that could potentially save time and money compared to the traditional routes that have been impacted by congestion and capacity constraints.
2. Broaden networks; expand connections; deepen relationships. Using alternative ports and considering new routes forced shippers to expand outside their comfort zones, making new contacts and building new relationships. Port congestion and capacity issues also highlighted just how important it is for shippers to have a diversified vendor base for all the links in their supply chain—ocean, air, warehousing, and trucking. That way, as roadblocks pop up, they have alternative options and additional capacity they can dip into to keep freight moving. While sticking with “what has always worked” has its benefits, continuing to build strong connections outside of the traditional process is one way for shippers to build resiliency into their supply chains.
3. Allocate resources to equipment and partner with asset-based providers. No one wants to pay for assets that are underutilized, but the weaknesses of the previous model taught us that without building in contingency equipment, capacity, and warehouse space, your supply chain may not be strong enough to withstand adverse conditions, which can result in huge financial implications. The pandemic saw many large retailers (cont.) buying their own equipment to avoid delays and issues caused by container and chassis shortages. The demand for additional warehousing space to hold buffer stock and delayed seasonal merchandise also increased dramatically. For shippers who do not have the means to acquire, manage, and maintain their own equipment and distribution space, partnering with an asset-based 3PL provider can be advantageous.
Looking ahead, expect logistical planning to include managing equipment—containers, chassis, trailers—as well as warehousing space, and for shippers to select partners who will invest in equipment and space to meet demand.
4. Increase inventory levels. While the industry knew the “just-in-time” model was getting too lean and too tight to be sustainable, the realization of its fragility was brought to light in a loud and unmistakable way during the pandemic. This has resulted in what we now consider the “just-in-case” model, whereby shippers build extra inventory into their planning so they have goods on hand when they need them.
Increasing inventory levels ensures you have contingency goods available to meet unexpected demand or unexpected delays in your supply chain. The last couple of years have shown it is too risky to keep inventory levels low—you can no longer assume cargo can quickly and smoothly be delivered from a distribution center hundreds of miles away. To meet customers’ needs, it is necessary to invest in solutions that allow you to have inventory on hand where and when you need it.
5. Add more storage space in multiple markets. Supporting the strategy of having inventory when and where you need it is the movement toward diversified storage solutions, including increasing the number of locations, adding multiple new markets, and looking at storage near population centers. Having product or merchandise in multiple locations builds in more agility and flexibility, allowing you to get those goods to your customer more quickly. What’s more, being closer to population centers is almost a requirement in today’s “next-day delivery” e-commerce marketplace, which will continue to be a driver for where and when to build warehouses in both the short- and long-term future.
The pandemic affected the global supply chain in a variety of ways, presenting weaknesses, challenges, opportunities and solutions. Being open to new ways of doing things, building new relationships, adding buffer stock, increasing domestic inventory, and adding more storage space in multiple markets closer to population centers are just a few of the ways today’s modern shippers are successfully navigating disruptions.
While the future of the supply chain remains uncertain, many of these changes are here to stay.
—Dale Young, Vice President, World Distribution Services
What’s on Your Supply Chain Playlist?
Inbound Logistics asked readers to suggest the song titles that best describe their experience in the supply chain over the past two years. Here are just some of the many musical notes we received.
Stuck in the Middle With You
Stealers Wheel
John Reichert
Senior Director, Supply Chain Execution Systems
Tecsys
Truckin’—”What a long, strange trip it’s been.”
Grateful Dead
Joe Dagnese
President and Chief Executive
PECO Pallet
Paranoid
Black Sabbath
Arjun Chandar
Founder & CEO
IndustrialML
Helter Skelter
The Beatles
Sean Elliott
Chief Technology Officer/Chief Digital Officer
Körber Supply Chain
If You’re Going Through Hell
Rodney Atkins
Jonathan Parks
Senior Vice President, Supply Chain
iGPS Logistics
It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)
R.E.M.
Jeff Pepperworth
President and CEO
iGPS Logistics
Nikki Baird
VP, Retail Innovation
Aptos
Float On
Modest Mouse
Nathan Strang
Director, Ocean Trade Lane Mgmt.
Flexport
That’s Life
Frank Sinatra
Bruce Lancaster
CEO
Wilson Electronics
Don’t Look Back
Boston
Usually, learning from past experiences is a valid way to move forward. However, with the amount of disruption over the past two years, supply chain professionals could not rely on what worked in the past to succeed. As a profession we need to look forward, not back.
Hank Canitz
Vice President Industry Solutions
Nulogy
You’re All I Need to Get By
Marvin Gaye/Tammi Terrell
The past couple of years have highlighted that no one succeeds alone in the supply chain, as there are so many dependencies within all supply chains. With humans so dependent on supply chains, the interdependence between different supply chains is pronounced, from PPE to computer chips. It is evident that collaboration is critical to building resilient supply chains of the future.
Jason Tham
CEO
Nulogy
Another One Bites the Dust
Queen
This song comes to mind, referring to companies losing sales and loyal customers to their competitors. It has been a tough couple of years for businesses to meet consumer expectations when it comes to product availability and delivery. As a result, 49% of companies are concerned with their ability to compete with hyper-scale companies and online marketplaces.
Marcel Hollerbach
Chief Innovation Officer
Productsup
Don’t Do Me Like That
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers
Lonny Holston
Export Operations Coordinator
Mickey
Fix You
Coldplay
2021 was the most disruptive year in the modern era for almost every kind of supply chain due to COVID, the boom in e-commerce, the worker shortage, and climate change. We have no choice but to fix this supply chain.
Scott Evans
Co-founder
Waybridge
Crazy
Aerosmith
Challenges in the supply chain over the past two years have magnified the need for rapid adaptation and investment across both supply chain infrastructure and capabilities to be even more agile. In 2022, organizations will need to find the right balance of speed and agility to offer the right products while managing supply chain disruption.
Laura Ritchey
COO
Radial
I Believe That We Will Win
Pitbull
The heroic effort of people that work inside logistics has been publicized but underrated. These people do a lot. It cannot be understated. This song is a great indicator of the people who will help bring us through the other side of this with persistence.
Dustin Hansen
CEO
InXpress
Crazy Train
Ozzy Osbourne
Anna Maria Hubner
Manager, Advertising & Marketing
BSY Associates Inc.
Eye of the Tiger
Survivor
My motto is, “Success is never final, but failure is maybe fatal.”
Reo Hatfield
VP of Business Development
TA Services
(Sittin’ On) the Dock of the Bay
Otis Redding
How Long Do I Have to Wait for You?
Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings
Sitting, Waiting, Wishing
Jack Johnson
Dale Young
VP, Warehousing & Distribution
World Distribution Services
Help!
The Beatles
Highway to Hell
AC/DC
I Will Survive
Gloria Gaynor
Antony Francis
Supply Chain and Logistics Consultant
Endava