Manufacturing and SIOP experts say supply chains will never be normal

Manufacturing and supply chain expert Lisa Anderson, MBA, CSCP, CLTD, is known as the strongest link in the supply chain and as President of LMA Consulting Group Inc., regularly works with manufacturers to improve their supply chain. We are strengthening. “One thing he’s learned in 2022 is that supply chains don’t usually have them,” said Anderson. LMA Consulting Group works with manufacturers and distributors to address strategy and end-to-end supply chain transformation to maximize customer experience and enable dramatic, profitable, scalable business growth. increase.

The Wall Street Journal recently published an article about how COVID-disrupted supply chains are back to normal. “Despite the fact that the supply chain is looking at COVID in the rearview mirror, nothing is like normal. Suppliers may be more consistent at the moment, but customer expectations are changing. Customers are saying shorter lead times, more flexibility to change, and their patience is wearing off,” she said.

The war between Russia and Ukraine continues and some raw materials are in short supply. The supply chain can accommodate secondary suppliers for a while, but major changes take time and money. And while suppliers are catching up with backlogs and shipping, customer needs are changing and manufacturers and distributors are holding inventory that is no longer relevant. “These disruptions have gone from Southwest Airlines, which could have clearly avoided a December meltdown with its investments in technology, to having so many shoes they don’t know what to do in Los Angeles because offshore manufacturing has caught up. We see it all the time, right down to Dr. Martens’ shoes, where the supply chain hasn’t returned to normal, and it won’t recover anytime soon.The key is forecasting, planning, investing in technology and people, and being very flexible It is to be..

Anderson and her company use the SIOP process to help manufacturers consolidate departmental responsibilities so that all areas in the supply chain are owned and supply and demand are in line. SIOP processes can provide data, consistency, and order to the many moving parts of the supply chain. Anderson provides supply chain updates through Supply Chain Chat, a series of short videos that address current topics, issues, and challenges related to supply chain.