How to strengthen your safety supply chain

August 3, 2021
By Brent Roeder | Global Director of Sales for Safety and Metalworking

When it comes to supply chain disruptions, we aren’t just talking about pandemics. Every organization has a unique situation to prepare for when it comes to hurricanes, wildfires, and supply shortages.
 
So to be ready for whatever the next disruption might be, here are some steps you can take to prep your team.

Have a plan
The first thing you can do to mitigate some of the risks in your supply chain is to develop a team that can create a plan around risk mitigation. Give them authority to make decisions and make sure you have an executive sponsor who supports the team and the goal of creating a plan.
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People will want to mitigate or eliminate risks in your supply chain, and that’s good, but to really add strength, you’ll want to be ready for known possibilities.

Know your options
Having options is a great way to prepare your organization for the next unknown disruption. So once you have a plan in place, practice. Set up a mock scenario of a natural disaster affecting your organization. Now, what do your people need to do to be ready?

1. Be prepared to take action.
2. Talk with suppliers ahead of time.
3. Get suppliers and stakeholders involved when the disruption occurs.
4. React as earlier as you can. (Having a plan allows you to react a lot earlier.)
5. Practice. Don’t be afraid to run simulations, especially if the risk is reoccurring.

Communicate. Communicate. Communicate.
Communication may be the most important part of any response. And this isn’t just communication in the heat of the moment. Communicate before, during, and after a disruption.

Communicate Before: Talk about your plan and be sure all parties are involved. This allows for each part of your team and your suppliers to know the plan and truly be ready.

Communicating During: It’s necessary to make sure everyone knows what the rest of the organization is doing. And it’s important to reiterate the message over and over again. “We are focusing on X.” “X is the top priority.”

Communicate After: Have an after-action meeting. “No plan survives contact with the enemy.” So, talk about what went well and what didn’t.
 
What did we learn from COVID?
We need to think ahead. We need to be thinking about what happens downstream to our supply chain as we see increased demand for materials and labor shortages due to shutdowns.
Examples

• ​Increased demand for sanitizer lead to shortages in plastic bottles
• Increased demand for toiletries and home delivery lead to cardboard and paper product constraints

All of this points back to that first step. Have a plan. That way, when the next disruption hits, you can be a step ahead.

Three takeaways

1. The first thing you can do is develop a team that plans out risk mitigation in your supply chain.
2. Talk with vendors and suppliers ahead of time. Ask what they can do before a disruption occurs.
3. Communicate. Always communicate. Communicate before, during, and after an event. ​

​See the conversation.

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