The global supply chain is keeping us on our toes so far in 2024. What’s going to happen next? And how can BCOs and LSPs stay ahead of unexpected events to keep their operations moving forward?
Those questions and more find answers in our exploration of this week’s headlines from around the industry. Continue reading to learn more, and contact us if you’re searching for a supply chain orchestration platform that can help your business thrive in the face of disruption.
There’s Another Supply Chain Disruption Waiting for Us
Missile attacks in the Red Sea and drought conditions along the Panama Canal have been the most prominent supply chain disruptions in recent months. They have clogged two of the world’s most important waterways and caused problems for anyone moving goods globally.
There’s another potential disruptor lurking in the second half of the year, though. Expect labor unrest to become a serious issue in the coming months. The two major potential labor stoppages include Canadian railroad workers and dock workers along the East and Gulf Coasts of the United States.
If it feels like significant supply chain disruptions are becoming more commonplace, you’re exactly right. New research indicates that the first half of 2024 saw a 30% increase in supply chain disruptions. Supply & Demand Chain Executive suggests that the key to overcoming these disruptions is speed. How fast does it take your organization to “identify your impacted materials, sites, commodities, and products?” The answer to that question determines how resilient your organization will be in responding to the disruption.
Of course, it’s nearly impossible to maximize the speed of your response to any disruption without modern technology. Manual processes and the fragmented legacy systems that many in the supply chain and logistics industry still use are not effective at helping users work through disruptions.
The Consequences of Using Fragmented Systems
Fragmentation has long been a serious issue in B2B technology. In the modern age, there’s little use for platforms that don’t integrate or communicate with one another. It’s difficult to ask team members to visit a new user interface and learn a new program in today’s fast-paced supply chain and logistics world. What any organization needs are technologies that solve real-world problems while also connecting to the primary platform an organization uses.
Inbound Logistics recently included “fragmented systems” as one of the reasons for the visibility gap that plagues so many supply chain participants. When you use fragmented systems that create visibility gaps, your organization risks increased operating costs, customer dissatisfaction, and risk exposure. But, when you establish the right single-source-of-truth platform, you’re able to reduce operating costs, enhance the customer experience, and mitigate risk.
The Road to Better Supply Chain Operations
According to TechRadar, achieving visibility is one of the two keys to better supply chain operations. The other? Resilience. These two things typically go hand in hand. Organizations that have a high level of visibility into the movement of their products and goods are also better positioned to be resilient if and when unexpected disruptions occur. Real-time visibility platforms can even help their users create a competitive advantage in the marketplace.
A New Kind of Supply Chain Disruption
The global IT outage in July was a new kind of disruption that “brought supply chains to their knees.” Australia, India, Japan, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States were among the countries most impacted by delays and financial losses caused by the outage. The outage-related supply chain disruptions are starting to ease now, but supply chain participants now have a new type of disruption to contingency plan around.
It’s ‘Impossible’ to Overcome Disruption Without Technology
CIO writes about the roles that technology and trends will play in the future of supply chains for the CPG industry. The story highlights the importance of embracing modern technology, going so far as to say that “it is impossible to manage disruptions,” no matter their nature, without the right technology in place. EY shares many of the same ideas and messages in its piece on using unified data platforms and analytics to power supply chain efficiency.
Be Ready for the Unexpected Disruptions Ahead
As the global supply chain throws unexpected challenges your way, you need a single-source-of-truth platform that supports collaboration and can handle everything from visibility to document management. At Cargologik, our supply chain orchestration platform helps BCOs and LSPs as they overcome the unexpected to keep their products and goods moving forward.
To ensure you’re ready for the unexpected disruptions ahead, get started with Cargologik.
