Flexible supply chains help businesses succeed

August 29 2013

Every company has to deal with some form of the supply chain to be effective. Whether it is making sure paper for the printer arrives on time, shipping products like medication to a pharmacy to stock its shelves with or having an entire business based around sending packages, having a proper supply chain is a crucial aspect of business.

A recent Manufacturing.net column features an interview with Diane Palmquist, the vice president of manufacturing industry solutions at GT Nexus and she spoke about how the auto industry is affecting the supply chain. She said that as technology has advanced , the world has become much smaller and the overall supply chain is becoming longer throughout every aspect of it.

"Customers are less and less willing to wait for things," Palmquist told the news source. "As customer lead times become shorter, and as manufacturing lead time and sourcing becomes long, it creates an environment that needs some kind of real-time platform to keep things running."

She added that one of the main keys to success is to be flexible and know when it is time to change up the supply chain or logistics systems that are currently in place to a system that is more practical. With a more rigid solution, it can take time to implement any kind of changes while a more fluid option is flexible enough to meet the changing industry.

By partnering with a local supply chain and logistics company, any business can take a different look at their process and be more effective.