在 COVID-19 及以後保護您的供應鏈

As we move past the halfway point of 2020, we asked Marc Strandquist, President of the Americas at Optimas, about the state of supply chains today, what we’ve learned so far and how to secure your supply chain for the path forward.

現在製造商面臨的最大挑戰是什麼？

The short answer is understanding true demand. Back in January, we saw customers building say, 200 units a day and then they were shut down in April. When manufacturers reopened and began to ramp up production, they started with maybe 50 units a day. This is significantly less than where they were six months prior, and many were making their best guess at the numbers. It’s difficult to project and adjust production, especially in such a volatile market.

製造商的上游是材料供應商。例如，鋼鐵行業不得不調整生產，以盡量避免因下游生產停滯和減產而導致的庫存增加和價格下跌。

我們都希望並祈禱，如果出現第二次全國性的病毒激增，我們會以不同的方式處理事情，我們會找到更好的方法來保護我們的經濟，而不是關閉一切並重新開始這個循環。

What are some of the other challenges that you’ve seen manufacturers struggling with?

許多供應商宣布不可抗力或停業，使分銷商和製造商陷入困境，導致供應鏈出現重大中斷。

The industrial industry has also had to deal with limited mobility and travel restrictions. They’re not able to visit customers, meet with key accounts, and its hurting customer relationships.

當然，一些公司正在為現金流而苦苦掙扎。

一些公司比其他公司更好地準備應對這場危機。這些公司做對了什麼？

我認為他們在與客戶和供應商的溝通方面採取了非常積極的立場。他們確保提供持續更新和簽到，提供舒適感。

Also, companies that leveraged technology – digitizing as much of their supply chain as possible – had the right data resulting in better demand planning for defers and cancels that push out inventory – so they could have enough cash on hand.

那些措手不及的人呢？

Communication is so important. Companies that did not communicate upfront and effectively with customers and supplier partners struggled the most. They couldn’t react appropriately or fast enough. As we’ve all recently witnessed, a shutdown leaves us vulnerable and exposed. Clear and transparent communication makes it possible to better mitigate risk.

And, from what we’ve seen so far of the 2020 pandemic, supply chains built primarily on low cost, single source, and low inventory were the least equipped to deal with such massive disruptions.

最後，我認為沒有與合適的供應商和供應鏈合作夥伴建立牢固的關係會傷害許多企業。

您看到製造商為糾正路線和穩定所做的一些事情是什麼？

具有適當風險緩解策略、多元化採購、數字化以及與供應商建立牢固關係的公司更具彈性。

已開始實現供應鏈多元化並實施在岸供應鏈戰略、投資國內製造的公司已大大降低了風險。

好消息是，美國製造業將從中受益匪淺。

At Optimas, for example, we do high-volume, high-quality manufacturing in our Chicago-area facility. We’re seeing an uptick in interest in sourcing domestically versus overseas.

我們將在第四季度繼續看到哪些供應鏈挑戰？

任何公司及其領導者面臨的挑戰都是他們無法控制的事情。通過這個，我的意思是更多的政府在州或國家層面關閉。這將使計劃庫存、預測需求和相應地調整勞動力變得不可能。

製造商現在可以做什麼來穩定他們的供應鏈並將風險降至最低？

Get accurate data on what you’re going to consume. That’s #1. As an industrial distributor, we don’t have a problem getting inventory for our customers, but we need good data to ensure the highest level of service possible. Greater visibility is key.

需要哪些長期解決方案來繼續保護他們的供應鏈？

每家公司都應該對其供應基礎和商品戰略進行非常徹底的審查。確保與穩定、財務上可行並具有交付能力的供應商簽訂協議。回到我之前所說的，透明的溝通和關係至關重要。

COVID-19 將如何永久改變供應鏈？

There is no question that there will be a whole new way of doing business. There will be less human contact, more Zoom/Teams meetings, and likely more restrictions on travel as well. These things will be with us for a long time. But it’s an opportunity for all of us to get creative in how we interact and reach our customers to help them achieve their business goals.

我還預計對國內製造業的持續興趣。製造商正在尋求降低他們的總擁有成本，並為他們自己的生產和客戶提供更好的支持。

當我們擺脫 COVID-19 時，反彈會是什麼樣子？

Those that took this time to focus internally on the business, train their people and make their companies stronger will be the ones who can get out there and grab some market share. Those that were passive and wasted their time will be left behind – big or small. There will be a lot of aggressive behavior out there to get market penetration.

At Optimas, we’ve been quite busy the last five months. We’re better prepared to gain market share and grow because we’ve been investing in technology upgrades, expanding into new markets, and adding new product assortment for our customers.

作為領導者，您在這段時間學到了什麼？

I had to change my thinking about working from home. I was not a fan of the concept before the virus. I thought that it would degrade the business or be too difficult. The downsides are that you lose a bit of team camaraderie and company culture suffers when you’re all remote. It ended up being a seamless transition. We made sure our people had access to what they needed so they could continue to do their jobs.

How can we be ready for what’s next?

Make sure your team understands that your customer doesn’t want to be sold to right now – they want answers and help figuring out what’s next. Respond quickly to customer needs and make sure your people are properly led and trained to work in the current conditions. There will be opportunities out there, but you need to be properly prepared and flexible.