Blog

Almost every route to higher revenues depends on a reliable and predictable supply chain. Whether you are the CEO, CFO or the Supply Chain Director, knowing that your supply chain weaknesses could suddenly derail this quarter’s numbers, is probably keeping you awake at night! If 2020/21 has taught us anything it is that managing long term risk, sustainability considerations and the financial impact of an inefficient supply chain, can make the difference between enterprise success and failure.

Many businesses spend up to 70% of the value of their revenue with external third-party suppliers.   We see many companies that have overlooked the huge benefits they could achieve by re-assessing and re-mapping their supply chain. Most CFOs underestimate the value by up to 50%.

Although lower pricing from China is attractive, if you are growing your sales rapidly, such a long supply chain makes the business less resilient and ties up mountains of working capital which would be better invested in acquiring new customers. If your business model relies on debt funding, then reducing the environmental impact of inbound deliveries by repatriating supply closer to home will help you attract the growing legion of ESG-focused investors. Your supply chain needs a strategic approach; balancing cash, investability and opportunity cost. All of which grow the enterprise value of your business.

Run your supply chain ahead of where you want to be rather than where you are now. Can your suppliers support your production or sales forecasts? Call your key suppliers and ask them what business they expect to do with you over the next month/quarter/year. You might be running your own inventory effectively or managing payment terms superbly, but strains elsewhere in the supply chain will usually end up costing you one way or another. Not solving these problems is like driving a car with the handbrake on and too much luggage in the boot.

Have clarity about what can be done to improve the business. Set clear objectives and organise the supply chain around them. Be able to predict what your competitors or suppliers will do if you take a certain decision. Build barriers to entry wherever possible.

Building enterprise value depends on fine-tuning all the dials on your metaphorical dashboard. Doing this right doesn’t just add incremental value but is truly transformative.

 For some good examples download the UK Manufacturing Barometer now from www.insiderpro.co.uk

The pandemic and Brexit together represent a shock of unprecedented proportions that have transformed the economy and changed priorities. I’ve begun to run out of superlatives to describe the scale of the upheaval we have all experienced in the last year. Manufacturing and construction have certainly fared better than some parts of the economy like retail and hospitality, but we are beginning to see the shoots of recovery everywhere. Now is the time to take a hard look at your supply chain and to create value. In my long experience, most companies underestimate this opportunity by as much as 50%. And the value can be delivered in as little as 90 days!  Our new research featured in UK Manufacturing Barometer clearly demonstrates some of the issues you need to face into.

As we edge towards re-igniting the economy, CFOs of large, medium and small enterprises, need to focus on the basics.  The old mantra "Cash is king" has never been more important if companies are to recover and take advantage of the new normal.

On 5th December 2018, we published a blog  https://blog.insiderpro.co.uk/7-things-to-do-now-to-prepare-your-supply-chain-for-brexit

It's time to re-visit and assess whether those 7 things are still relevant today.  Now, exactly two years on, UK and European businesses await final the Brexit terms, amidst dramatic newspaper headlines which talk about a deal "hanging in the balance" and threat of "catastrophe at the borders". Meanwhile, professionals in industry continue to assess the potential impact on their supply chains across the continent.

Many, many articles have been published in past weeks, all attempting to assess the current crisis and foresee future impact. 

From politicians, economists, supply chain experts, Big 4 consultants and Futurists like Gerd Leonhard (very interesting), it is easy to feel overwhelmed and confused. 

The majority of us are at home with our families, trying to work whilst keeping safe and entertaining the children.  There is rightfully much in the news about the NHS and essential key workers who are doing such important jobs. 

Recent surveys show that many UK businesses are already preparing themselves for BREXIT by redesigning their supply chains in favour of UK companies.

We worked with a national builder and cut £millions off their cost base, moving their business from being uncompetitive to one of the most profitable in the industry.