New frontier: Adapting after monumental supply chain disruptions
Companies are still reeling from the global supply chain disruptions of the past few years. In SupplyChainBrain, Lou Longo discusses lessons learned and advises business leaders to consider a regionalized approach as they reevaluate and protect their production lines.
As industries reevaluate long-standing sourcing strategies and strive for greater flexibility in their distribution streams, the focus may shift to North America, with the United States becoming a more attractive location for manufacturing. Those companies that are the most agile, adaptable, and quickest to take advantage of a regionally based product pipeline will come out on top.Regionalized production has many competitive benefits over centralization, including less currency risk, reduced impact of geopolitical issues, and the ability to alter manufacturing capacity in various locations, depending on given situations.
With a centralized approach to sourcing, interruptions can affect the entire production and supply chain, impacting sales, customers, and even a company’s brand image. This played out on a global scale with microchip production issues in the automotive industry over the last few years. As automakers learned, putting all one’s eggs in one basket can be potentially disastrous — especially if the basket breaks.
