The Supply Chain Can’t Stop: Coping with the Unexpected Shortage
Day 22. Just when you thought you were getting your supply chain team organized to manage through the COVID-19 disruptions — BHAM! You get hit with a curve ball — an indirect material shortage. First it was one or two small locations that were running low on cleaning supplies, which meant they couldn’t wipe down surfaces and took an operational hit. But then 3 of your largest distribution centers also ran out of cleaning supplies and now, 2 major manufacturing sites are out of lab coats and gloves.
Why is it always the little things that get you and how do you stay ahead of the next curve ball? Tune in for an episode of “Confessions from a Supply Chain Crisis Manager” to gain some insight on how to answer that question:
Confession #1 : Stop the email abuse people
If I see the words “toilet paper shortage” for the 111th time from our branch operations, *__* is going to hit the fan. And please resist the urge to reply-all just to say “ok’ or send emojis when there are 350 people on an email chain — NOT HELPFUL.
Confession #2 : I think I broke the spreadsheet… twice
I may, or may not, have updated the wrong cell with “urgent” status and had gloves and booties rushed to the wrong plant. Hey it’s hard to keep it all straight when there are a million rows, 80 columns AND you’re sleep deprived.
Confession #3 : Fingers crossed the big boss doesn’t ask for any analytics
That will definitely break the spreadsheet. We’re barely keeping up with issues as it is. And the conversations from Microsoft Teams don’t match up with issues in the master sheet so there’s no way I can track how long it took us to resolve something.
Dear supply chain HERO — stop stressing. There’s a better way. Use a virtual “war room” to get:
- Clear accountability vs. need-to-know (no more emails to 350 people)
- A single source of truth that you can easily personalize & filter (stop switching between email, spreadsheet & collaboration tools)
- Built in analytics to spot trends & assess priorities (big boss happiness)
Elementum is a cloud platform that was designed to help global organizations easily collaborate to track, manage and resolve supply chain exceptions. And in this time of global crisis we’re doing our part by inviting any and all supply chain organizations to use Elementum Essentials at no cost for the rest of this year. Our customer success team stands ready to set up a virtual war room for any organization that needs the extra help. It takes less than an hour to do so, does not impact your IT team, and we promise to have you up and running within 24 hours. Because #SupplyChainCantStop.
Finally, to all those unsung supply chain heroes out there, a heartfelt THANK YOU. We are here for you — ready to help.
Nader Mikhail
Founder and CEO | Elementum
