Manufacturers all over the world are being forced to reevaluate their supply chains as a result of the Covid-19 crisis, the U.S.-China trade war, and supply and demand shocks. It is still an ongoing process as the effect of COVID-19 is still not over. Just like getting an authentic assignment writer from a trusted assignment help source is still a challenge to the students!
This article offers suggestions for strengthening your supply chain without sacrificing competitiveness. If you are working on an dissertation that demands manufacturing process of China during COVID-19, you can take essay help from a reputed assignment service platform. The assignment writers will help you to get a brief idea.
Now, let’s get focused on how you can manage your international supply chains in the post-epidemic era?
To find both direct and indirect sources, start by mapping the entirety of your supply chain. Analyze how quickly the things that are most important to you could either recover from a disruption or be replaced by a substitute. Diversify your suppliers or accumulate necessary supplies to address the vulnerabilities.
The world actually looked very different after the Covid-19 pandemic has passed. The demand shock that followed the supply shock that began in China in the beginning of March as the global economy collapsed exposed flaws in the production plans and supply chains of businesses all over the world. Their flaws were highlighted by transient trade restrictions, shortages of essential medicines, and other goods.
What are the probabilities?
A lot of things won’t change. Just like taking assignment help from a reputed assignment writer.
- Customers will always want low prices (especially during a recession), so businesses won’t be able to charge more simply because they produce for more expensive domestic markets.
- Competition will make that happen.
- Additionally, there will continue to be constant pressure to operate profitably and use capital and manufacturing capacity sparingly.
- Making supply chains more resilient while maintaining competitiveness will be a challenge for businesses.
- Managers must first recognise their weaknesses before considering a variety of options, some of which should have been considered long before the pandemic began.
What should keep in mind?
Identify and mitigate any hidden risks
- Modern products frequently include vital components or complex materials that call for specialised technological expertise to produce. It is very challenging for one company to have the variety of resources required to produce everything on their own. Think about how many electronics are now included in modern cars.
- The countless microprocessors that operate the engine, steering, and features like power windows and lighting, as well as the touchscreen displays in the entertainment and navigation systems, aren’t things automakers are equipped to make.
- Manufacturers in the majority of industries now rely on specialised suppliers and subcontractors, who in turn frequently need to rely on a wide network of other people. Benefits of such an arrangement include: You can incorporate the newest technology into your product with a great deal of flexibility.
- However, you expose yourself to risk when you rely on a single supplier located far into your network to provide discount and vital component or material. Your disruption risks are even higher if that supplier only manufactures the product in one facility or one nation.
Recognize your weaknesses
- It might take a lot of research to figure out where the risks are so that your business can protect itself. It entails mapping your entire supply chain, including distribution centres and transportation hubs, and goes far beyond just the first and second tiers.
- This is time-consuming and costly, which explains why the majority of large companies have narrowed their focus to only strategic direct suppliers, who represent a sizable portion of their expenditures.
- The classification of suppliers as low-, medium-, or high-risk should be the end result of the mapping process. Tom Linton, a former supply chain executive at several large corporations, and David Simchi-Levi of MIT recommend using metrics like the effect on revenues if a specific source is lost, the amount of time it would take for a specific supplier’s factory to recover from a disruption, and the accessibility of alternative sources to achieve that.
The answers to those questions largely depend on whether your manufacturing capacity is adaptable and can be rearranged and redeployed as needs change (as is the case for many manual or semiautomated assembly operations) or if it consists of highly specialised and challenging-to-replicate operations.
If you take an example like available on this site https://bumber.info/, the manufacture of cutting-edge smartphone chips is focused on three Taiwanese facilities owned by the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company. On the other hand, the production of exotic sensors and components, is primarily accomplished in extremely specialised facilities. This is specifically done in a small number of nations – such as Japan, Germany, and the United States. The complete refining of neodymium for the magnets in AirPods and electric-vehicle motors, which is mostly done in Taiwan.
Once the risks in your supply chain have been identified, you can use this knowledge to mitigate them by either diversifying your sources or storing essential materials or products.
Effects of COVID-19 on global supply chains
- Significantly impacted major industries include those in the automotive, electronics, pharmaceutical, medical equipment and supply, consumer goods, and more. This is a result of China’s emergence as a major global producer over the previous two to three decades.
- The majority of parts, raw materials, processed materials, and significant subsystems are supplied by China to manufacturers worldwide. Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in China haven’t been the only ones struggling to resume production; global manufacturers have also been affected by part shortages in their supply chains.
- For a variety of reasons, Chinese businesses are taking their time to resume normal production. These include the lack of components from lower-tier suppliers, the lack of labourers who might still be stranded because their villages and other affected areas have been shut down.
- Also, the strict regulations requiring businesses to set up adequate protective measures and supply an adequate supply of protective gear for employees, and the slow recovery of the transportation network’s capacity due to road shutdowns and other emergency regulations and priorities.
How Chinese companies fought back?
Chinese businesses have also developed innovative and resourceful methods of hiring personnel to meet the demands of production. Some businesses negotiated with local authorities to be allowed to send in chartered buses and even aeroplanes to transport workers from remote areas back to the city.
To compensate for the labour shortage, others have begun to adopt automation. Some are also using technology to provide accelerated training to newly hired manual labourers. In some businesses, salaried employees temporarily take over the duties of hourly labourers in specific crucial production areas.
The COVID-19 pandemic has served as a reminder to business decision-makers that they must create new business strategies for their supply chain designs in the future. Future supply value chain designs will likely include both traditional metrics like cost, quality, and delivery as well as new performance measures like resilience, responsiveness, and reconfigurability in their key performance indicators (KPIs) (otherwise known as the 3Rs).
Wrapping up,
The World Economic Forum’s Platform for Advanced Manufacturing and Production is bringing together senior operations, supply chain, and top leaders from government, academia, and civil society to analyse the economic impact of COVID-19 on value chains.
Author Bio,
Maddy Paul is renowned for providing is renowned for providing assignment help at MyAssignmenthelp.com. He is an English teacher at a renowned high school in England.
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I am Julie Mike, and I have been working as Content Writer at Rananjay Exports for past 2 years. My expertise lies in researching and writing both technical and fashion content. I have written multiple articles on Gemstone Jewelry. I hope my work keeps mesmerizing you and helps you in the future.
