QAD Tomorrow: Learning from the Ultimate Supply Chain Stress Test

'Things move as fast as the least lucky and least competent supplier you know.'
- Elon Musk

What's worse is the suppliers in your supply chain you don't know. Ignorance is bliss…until it's not.

It's been said that risk is what's left over when you think you've thought of everything. Luck is when the risk does not manifest itself. Just as hope is not a strategy, luck is not a tactic manufacturers should rely on.

The Year That Was

2020 was a tough year. As it ended there was hope that the world would return to normal for manufacturers. This hasn't happened as evidenced by disruptions from the storms in Texas, new COVID-19 shutdowns in France and the ship that blocked the Suez Canal. At the same time, with a huge sigh of relief, at least we can see the light at the end of the tunnel with respect to COVID-19 pandemic.

So what now? Most manufacturers survived the pandemic, but does that mean our supply chains are healthy? To what extent is this just luck? While we want to move on and get back to business, 2020 did give us a gift in the form of a stress test to our supply chains. We can ignore it at our own peril, or learn from it. There are a few certainties. There will be more disruptions and they will not be the same as the last one. You can be lucky sometimes, but you can't be lucky all the time.

Avoiding Yesterday's Mistakes Tomorrow

QAD Tomorrow is an online Thought Stream designed to help manufacturers understand supply chain challenges, root causes and best practicesfor overcoming them. When thinking about supply chains; efficiency, agility and resilience (how we respond to disruptions) are key factors. Many manufacturers, given their current processes, view these as trade-offs. By reimagining our processes and leveraging best practices, it is possible to increase efficiency, agility and resilience simultaneously. At the same, we can minimize the trade-offs as, when done correctly, they can reinforce each other. For example, take strategic sourcing. Engaging multiple suppliers through a scalable process can reduce costs through competition, increase agility allowing you to quickly shift demand to a supplier that meets your changing needs, and enhance resilience through multi-vendor sourcing to reduce single points of failure.

In thinking about supply chains, it is easy to see the nodes (suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, retailers, etc.) while undervaluing the role of the connections between each and the regulatory differences from country to country the supply chain spans. Moving from transactional to strategic relationships, focusing on landed cost optimization by working closely with transportation partners and proactively addressing duties, taxes, and compliance leveraging real-time updates and automation can have a profound impact on supply chain performance.

The traditional view of supply chains focuses on the mostly downward flow of materials. Concentrating on the information stream up and down the supply chain creates a rail on which to optimize your supply chain practices. Even the most efficient logistics are constrained by distance and the speed of a train, ship, truck or airplane. Information on the other hand can move at the speed of light. Integrated Supplier Managementimproves supplier collaboration and supply chain visibility allowing for faster response to changes in supply and demand.

Welcome to QAD Tomorrow

Join us on May 19th for QAD Tomorrowto learn about today's supply chain challenges, root causes and the latest best practices for addressing and overcoming them. Hear from manufacturers and subject matter experts. Then take the Integrated Supplier Management Diagnostic to assess where you are and how best to get to where you want to be.