Manufacturers urged to look at supply chain as coronavirus 'exposes weaknesses'
Manufacturers should look at their supply chain as the coronavirus lockdown has exposed weaknesses in industries, a business expert said.
The head of manufacturing at national audit, tax, advisory and risk firm Crowe, Johnathan Dudley, said firms should be considering the country of origin for parts they are sourcing.
Oldbury-based Mr Dudley said the key elements in any supply chain were location, quality and certainty of supply and cost of procurement.
“The current Covid-19 crisis, has exposed a number of weakness across industry, more specifically those within the supply chains and as manufacturing moves back into production, there are lessons to be learned," he said.
“For many years the driving force behind many production and sourcing decisions was cost and the easy solution was to source from the Far East or eastern Europe. However, this has thrown up supply chain issues and often involved questions of quality too.”
Mr Dudley suggests that while lockdown is still in place it is a good time to “run the sums” again and see what advances in automation, production and productivity may be available on your own doorstep.
In recent years many manufacturing companies have gone through the process of reshoring and are reaping the benefits of a shorter supply chain and enhanced control of quality issues.
He argues that it is not only manufacturing that can see the benefits of a resurgence in the “Buy British” mood.
“We recently saw Kate Humble on Countryfile exhorting the benefits of locally-sourced food, and a shorter supply chain for our food and vegetables is good both for UK farmers and the environment with less transport required.
“At Crowe we have helped many companies to examine the pros and cons of reshoring and mapping out a more efficient and cost-effective supply chain."
