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When you’re a business owner that’s just putting your company together, you’re unlikely to think too much about the supply chain you’ll need to set up. You know you need to have a manufacturer on your side, of course, and you’ll need to manage delivery, but these can seem like such archaic concepts you only need to think about later.
However, when you do this, you can very well set yourself up to fail. Indeed, you need to keep your supply chain management simple and straightforward from the get go. It’s part of what forms the very backbone of your business, and that needs to be as stable as possible.
As such, if you want to take control over your supply chain and turn it into something simpler to manage, make use of the three tips below.
Invest in Your Own Manufacturing Capability
For most businesses, it often seems easier to work with a bigger, well established manufacturer to get your products made well and ready to be shipped. This takes the control out of your hands, and you’re reliant on someone else to keep your production productive, but it’s a tried and tested method of working.
However, if your production line doesn’t need to be that extensive, there’s every chance you could bring it in house and control the flow of it yourself.
Indeed, you could invest in your own wood work machinery, if you have the space to host it and the time and funds to train your staff in using it. If you’re not paying for a third party manufacturer to take the reins here, your budget is likely to get a lot stronger and be able to fund a choice like this!
Understand Your Most Common Customer Concerns
What is it your customers are constantly bringing to you when they use your complaints line? Make sure you pay attention to the most common concerns that filter into your ticket system.
The more common the complaint, the more likely it is to be a widespread problem you need to fix.
Use Software
No supply chain system is complete without a handy bit of software to do the majority of the busywork for you. Software can give you a much better overview of what inventory you currently have, where it’s going and when it needs to be there, who was last to access it, and whether or not you’re running into any issues getting it used.
Indeed, having to dispose of stock that hasn’t sold can kill your profit chances right where they stand, and that’s a hard thing to track without round the clock dedication. Let software take this job on for you; you can check the dashboard at your own leisure, and make use of the data it presents with far less time pressure pushing down on you.
Simplifying your supply chain isn’t as difficult as you may think, but it does require some careful consideration. Use the tips above to help.
This is a contributed post.
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