Lead time is increasing Since the inception of the pandemic, supply chain disruptions have been a new normal thing. Due to lockdown in several countries, shortage of working labors, the shutdown of factories, and the high freight price, it worsens for the suppliers. The whole supply chain system across the world is facing a huge problem due to these sudden changes.
Increasing freight price is a big problem:
The price of freight is also a big-time problem in today’s world. If we consider the international supply chain system, the freight price plays an important role here. Due to the huge price increase in international goods delivery, freight costs also increased. Hence, it is very troublesome to send the products at the same price as before.
Supply of essential commodities will get preference to reduce lead time:
One more thing should be considered here. When discussing supply chain systems, we must consider that preference has played an important role since the pandemic outbreak. Emergency supplies are those one needs badly to run a day-to-day life.
These are not lavish or luxury stuff. Essential commodities are the first preference of supply chain management of any country under the present scenario. If you have ordered something essential, it will get a special preference, and it will be delivered to you in a short time.
Ways to fight the condition:
As soon as the Covid infection across the world comes down to countable numbers, the Supply Chain management system globally will regain its original pace.
Till then, one can try some steps in order to cut down the lead time. Here are some ideas that you can imply. If you run a company, try these ideas to cut down your delivery lead time.
Local supplier:
You need to leave the comfort of your room and have to search a bit. The whole world is connected via social media platforms. You just have to find a local or domestic supplier in your area.
Contact the person and express your requirements. During the pandemic time, no one will think about the number of goods you are ordering.
Tell him what you want and in how many days you will reorder from him. The person will bring the products to your doorstep, and you do not need to step out of the house also!
Share your sale forecast:
If you are ordering in bulk from him, he should know when to restock the products! If you are buying from a local supplier, he also needs to restock the products.
As a business owner or a consumer, you must know when you will need the product again in the future. So, according to your calculations, ask the person to stock the products.
If you can maintain this chain and if your predictions are right, both of you will get helped. In this way, you can cut down the lead time a lot and can continue doing business.
Increase your order frequency:
Sometimes, people love to order in bulk. They think that ordering all the products altogether can save them a lot of delivery charges, but it eventually increases the lead time.
If you order in small quantities, the supplier will dispatch your order within a few hours. But with bulk orders, a lot of other responsibilities are also involved. So, you need to cut down your order size.
If the supplier knows that you order the same product every month or so, they will count you as a regular buyer, and your lead time will definitely come down.
Find one genuine supplier and keep two waiting:
Have you heard of the phrase “too many cooks spoil the broth”? Well, if you find a lot of suppliers out there and you make them supply your products from different sources, it can hamper your lead time a lot.
You have to call them, know their price, place your order, contact them again to check on the delivery and whatnot. You must not have only one supplier, but having a lot of suppliers can also spoil the game for you. You can contact one supplier for the task and keep the contact number of two such emergency suppliers in your region.
Find the specialist one:
Have you ever wondered why new suppliers ask you for smaller delivery charges? They do not have field experiences, and you are their sample projects. They take your order, research about it, market search is done about the product and the bigger suppliers and then they will send the products to your end.
So, they are basically taking a whole lot of time, and thus, the delivery charges are negligible here. You need to find someone experienced in the product you are looking for. Such suppliers won’t take too much time for it.
Conclusion
The situation is getting better with each passing day. The pandemic infection rate is also coming down. We are hoping that soon, everything will be under control, and the global supply chain management system will regain its speed.
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