We are exploring ways to improve energy efficiency in injection molding to reduce financial and…
Many of our topics these past few months have been associated with COVID-19, whether it's how plastics are essential in the fight against disease or how your packaging can stand up to the increase in ecommerce. It's rare that one thing can impact so many facets of life and business, but a global pandemic is certainly a factor that can cause everything to grind to a halt. One of the biggest impacts has been in the global supply chain. A reliance on overseas manufacturing created obstacles that made it hard to access raw materials and finished products while downturns in manufacturing and closures for safety caused increases in turnaround and lead times.
While manufacturing, production, and shipping are all getting back to normal, it's important to be prepared moving forward. To help you in this goal, our injection molding company is providing ways you can improve efficiency in your supply chain.
Finding the Value in Your Supply Chain
Take a look at your suppliers, manufacturing company, and other vendors and see where you can leverage their services. For example, in addition to designing and manufacturing custom plastics, we provide several value added services, including assembly and finishing, inventory management, and drop shipping. Services like these allow you to minimize extra steps, cut down shipping costs, and see inventory needs before they become a problem. See where you can streamline your supply chain, and you'll experience fewer challenges and improve efficiency.
Stay on Top of Data and Trends
Many companies struggled with sourcing materials and products because they didn't watch trends happening in the supply chain steps around them. For example, they didn't see the slow down of overseas manufacturing coming early which affected supply, nor did they see the massive uptick in demand for certain goods as the pandemic hit stateside.
Take advantage of the data analytics available to you, and keep in open communication with suppliers, vendors, and other organizations that are part of your logistics structure. By seeing what's happening in advance, you can prepare or put a plan in place to mitigate problems.
Invest in Technology and Digital Infrastructure
While supply chain and logistics projects seem physical and hands-on, technology plays an important role. First, anything you can automate, including inventory replenishment, automatic ordering, and creating trends in sales can help you avoid being caught off-guard.
Improving technology also allows you to model and test a variety of scenarios to help you see the results of making shifts or adjustments to your supply chain before you implement them. This can help you create backup plans if necessary, so you always have a steady flow of resources and product to tap into.
Also, having cloud-based software can help you and your team manage a remote working environment and access data and information from anywhere, so even if you can't be in the office, you can make sure critical work is completed.
Keeping Production Local
When possible, keep your production and vendors local, or at least within the United States. This way, if another country is dealing with a disaster, whether it's a pandemic, flood, fire, or even war, you won't be affected at the same level. You'll have a better feel for issues that may affect your suppliers and manufacturers, and it's easier to maintain communications with them without language or time barriers. As communication is crucial during shortages and supply issues, ensuring there isn't a language barrier can help you avoid confusion and problems.
Connect with Our Plastics Manufacturing Company
Advanced Plastiform, Inc. offers full-service plastic manufacturing, starting with design and prototyping through thermoforming or injection molding, and we also offer assembly, inventory management, and drop-shipping. By offering such a broad array of services, we are able to help our clients reduce cost and improve operations to satisfy their clients, and we can help you too. We work with a wide variety of industries across North Carolina, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Tennessee, Georgia, and Virginia. Reach out to us today to learn more!