Supply Chain Crisis – Solved (episode 400)

by Chloë Thomas

Well.. not quite!

But for our 400th episode, we’re squeezing the best advice on how to deal with this hugely frustrating issue. 

Thanks to our expert guests for their tips on how to minimise the impact of the supply chain crisis on your eCommerce store.

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Chloë’s 7 Action Points

  1. Understand how the supply chain crisis is affecting your business. Ignore the hype, look at the data.
  2. If you don’t have systems that make it easy for you to understand the data, then you need to put them in place.
  3. The great thing about that software is that it’s going to save you time and money – lots of time and money through how it can automate activities, AND bring you data for better decision making.
  4. Make sure you’ve got the right suppliers in place to give you the flexibility to adapt. AND make friends with your suppliers!
  5. Get proactive with customer service – including returns process. Marketing can help here, but so can those software systems to put the right data in front of your customer service teams.
  6. Be clear on what inventory you are selling and where. Failing to be proactive with this can cost you a lot.
  7. Keep Optimising!

Gavin Warwick, SmartFreight

  • Build flexibility and scalability into your business.
  • Have smart, interconnected systems and be less reliant on manpower so you can easily manage errors, delays, and the couriers you work with.

Sara Arthrell, Brightpearl

  • Inventory optimization is key because it coincides with having the most optimal cash flow and the best ROI.
  • Have the right tools, plus processes and people in place to maintain optimization. This should not be a manual process so you have to automate.

Kelly Barner, Dial P for Procurement Podcast

  • Narrow in specifically on where the issue is in your supply chain.
  • When you know where the issue is, do these three things:
    • Be careful about your inventory.
    • Think about the reverse supply chain or reverse logistics.
    • Partner with key suppliers.

Martin Heubel, Consulterce

  • Be clear on where you want to prioritize the availability of your top selling items.
  • Be aware of your profitability drivers and how a negative impact on your supply chain can also negatively impact your business on a bigger scale.

Ian Hammersley, Smartebusiness

  • Make sure that your stock feed is updated.
  • Think about how you can make the most out of the stock that you have, such as having a VIP customer list that becomes your priority.

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