The Supply Chain Resilience Framework
Supply chain resilience has been a top priority since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, a fraught geopolitical landscape and spiralling global inflation have further exacerbated cost constraints.
Recently, governments have begun to act. Securing supply chain resilience and alleviating infernal business pressures are top of the agenda. The UK government recently released an integrated review that set out the importance of strong and resilient supply chains. Whilst the report focuses on the UK, the recommendations apply to global supply chains.
Five pillars carry the UK government’s supply chain resilience framework
- Understanding risk: The first step in enhancing supply chain resilience is identifying and understanding the risks that could impact supply chains. The framework recommends conducting regular risk assessments and developing risk management strategies to mitigate those risks.
- Increasing visibility: It is essential to have visibility into supply chains to identify potential disruptions and respond quickly. The framework recommends using technology such as data analytics and digital twinning to increase supply chain visibility.
- Building flexibility: Supply chains must be flexible to adapt to changing circumstances. The report recommends building flexibility into supply chains by diversifying suppliers, developing alternative sourcing strategies, and investing in technology.
- Developing collaboration: Collaboration is critical to building resilient supply chains. The supply chain resilience framework recommends developing strong relationships with suppliers, customers, and stakeholders, and working together to share information and resources.
- The framework also emphasizes the need for leadership and governance to drive supply chain resilience. It recommends appointing a senior supply chain resilience leader and establishing a governance structure to oversee the implementation of the framework.
Wearable tech is a crucial prerequisite
Risk mitigation and visibility need to work hand in glove. In other words, ongoing visibility of your shop floor is a key prerequisite to allow for supply chain resilience. Yet, the truth is that most businesses only enact top-down visibility. However, reliable visibility requires a bottom-up view, too.
The good news is that innovative technology can address both. Wearable tech is a perfect example of this. After all, it provides the means to connect the boots on the ground to the internet of things. Thus, it allows businesses to collect operational shop floor data by contextualizing and deducing actionable insights. Both are instrumental in building supply chain resilience. They also provide additional flexibility if the technology is IT-friendly and allows for easy deployment.
Strong collaboration and information sharing needs a holistic approach. So, it needs to include human-machine collaboration. Wearable tech not only provides the means to promote that, but it can also leverage data analytics and the digital twin concept. In that sense, it is a means to enact watertight processes that are indispensable for strong and flexible collaboration with your partner network.
Do you want to learn more about how ProGlove can help you act upon the supply chain resilience framework? Request a demo now!