Forbes contributor Kate Vitasek shares four tips for strengthening and maximizing strategic partnerships in order to simplify supply chain issues facing any business in a post-pandemic economy.
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00:00One of the many things that COVID-19 pandemic taught us was just how fragile most organization
00:11supply chains are.
00:13A White House report indicates that a majority of businesses experienced major disruptions
00:19over a year after the onset of the pandemic.
00:22Fortunately, we've learned some valuable lessons on the power of strategic partnerships and
00:28how they can simplify and improve supply chains in a post-pandemic world.
00:33One way is to understand pre- versus post-pandemic trends.
00:38According to the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics, it's important to recognize
00:43that COVID-19 wasn't what broke the global supply chain.
00:48Instead, it revealed underlying problems that already existed.
00:53Now this served as a long-term positive because it helped us accelerate industry changes.
01:00The organizations that were best able to respond to pandemic challenges had adopted an agile
01:06approach that allowed them to quickly change their processes as needed, and sometimes even
01:11completely pivot their processes to address changing customer needs.
01:16The pandemic also accelerated trends of supply chain automation and achieving full end-to-end
01:22visibility to better evaluate supplier relationships and customer behaviors.
01:28Many of these functions rely on some form of strategic partnership to be carried out
01:33to get the maximum effect.
01:35For example, brands need third-party software and robotic experts to help them implement
01:41automation.
01:42They also need improved communication with suppliers to achieve full supply chain transparency.
01:48Without these types of partnerships in place, and without the right partners, efforts to
01:52implement these big-picture trends will fall short of their potential.
01:58Let's look at a second area, which is focusing on the essentials.
02:02The pandemic also taught some companies a hard lesson about carefully judging the value
02:08delivered by each partnership.
02:11Sometimes simplifying your supply chain operations means cutting out partners who are no longer
02:17serving your business effectively, or being more selective regarding the partners that
02:22you do work with.
02:24Businesses should revisit or even revitalize existing relationships to optimize their supply
02:29chain operations.
02:30Now, let's look at number three, emphasizing collaboration to solve problems.
02:36For many organizations, the pandemic, as well as the economic uncertainty and inflation
02:42from the last year, has caused organizations to more critically evaluate their supply chain
02:48partnerships.
02:49Suppliers' costs are an important thing to consider in a partnership, but so too is the
02:53partner's ability to collaborate to solve other types of pressing supply chain problems.
03:00Because of this, transparency is essential.
03:05Transparency can increase the value delivered in your supply chain that help you meet your
03:10customer expectations.
03:13Organizations that emphasize collaboration aren't going to withhold important information
03:18from upstream or downstream partners because their focus is on an end-to-end facilitation
03:24of a smooth supply chain for everyone in the supply chain, not just for themselves.
03:30When this happens, supply chain costs decrease, customer satisfaction increases, and everybody
03:38wins.
03:39Now, the fourth area is maximizing resiliency, agility, and sustainability.
03:45When strategic partners have the right collaborative mindset and are able to deliver technology
03:51or resources that streamline your supply chain operations, they subsequently maximize your
03:57organization's resilience, agility, and sustainability.
04:01This is especially important in light of how consumer preferences have changed in a post-pandemic
04:08world.
04:09In fact, a report from McKinsey illustrates, and I quote, this fast-moving, fragmented,
04:15consumer-centric world will require a different sort of supply chain.
04:20Traditional supply chains sought to achieve stability and minimize cost.
04:24Future supply chains need to be agile, end quote.
04:29When vetting potential supply chain partners, organizations should consider how that partner's
04:35capabilities, technology resources, and even their vision can amplify your own resilience,
04:42agility, and sustainability.
04:44The bottom line, it is your bottom line.
04:47The better your organization is able to proactively address challenges and changes in the global
04:51market, the better you're going to be able to respond to everything from shifting customer
04:57demand, to cost savings initiatives, to even solving tough sustainability challenges.