This series looks at manufacturing supply chain challenges and opportunities resulting from COVID-19. See the full list of topics covered at the bottom of this article.
In this part of the series, we dig deep into your manufacturing supply chains. Earlier articles discussed the importance of re-evaluating your forecasts and revisiting your bill of materials.
Right now, it’s critical to foster relationships with customers and suppliers and to be transparent. Some thoughts:
Likely, the business effects of COVID will have permeated deeply through your organization and your supply chains. Founders and the manufacturing and sales teams communicate clearly with each other to ensure everyone grasps the changes to demands and capacity, and any reduced or increased lead times.
Realistically, the onus may fall on manufacturing to proactively initiate these conversations, as sales may be focused on delivering quickly to customers and the selling advantages (and incentives) that come with that. Because manufacturing has to manage the expectations of what they can actually deliver, it will be on them to: