Business leaders share tips for building robust supply chains
Supply chain challenges have plagued many businesses throughout the pandemic due to surging demand for products, coupled with lockdowns, delays and travel restrictions. Some businesses even turned to finance solutions to help suppliers.
At an event hosted by the Canadian Club of Toronto last week, Canadian-operated business leaders discussed the greatest disruptions they experienced during the pandemic, and how they have adapted to rebuild robust supply chains.
“I do think that going forward, companies need to look differently at how they finance their working capital, and look at alternatives that would help them in times like this when supply chains tend to get fractured,” said Linda Seymour, president and CEO at HSBC Bank Canada, who moderated the discussion.
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After an initial drop in business at the start of the pandemic, USC Forest Lumber, has seen an unprecedented demand since the summer of 2020. The distributor and importer of hardwood lumber had to build inventories and work closely with suppliers to increase allocation, and then service customers throughout the boom.
“It really was a collaborative approach with our supply partners,” said Warren Spitz, founder and CEO of UCS Forest Group, who spoke during the panel. “We’ve probably seen some consolidation around some key suppliers that have the capacity and the ability to adapt, and then we obviously had to bolster our supply chain within North America to compensate for the delays in Asia and elsewhere in the world.”
Lamour Group – a manufacturer and importer of socks, underwear, intimates and performance wear for major retailers in the US and Canada – also suffered tremendously at the start of the pandemic, with containers stuck in airports around the world. However, the solution was to avoid panicking, said panelist, Martin Lieberman, managing partner at Lamour Group.
“We recognized that through a disciplined approach we can navigate this huge challenge,” said Lieberman. “It was very problematic, but the reality is, by not panicking, we found a doable solution.”
Like the rest of the industry, automotive supplier Metrican suffered numerous challenges in the early days of the pandemic. Everything from border closures and delayed deliveries to material shortages and semi-conductor shortages plagued the company that has plants in Canada, U.S. and Mexico.
“We were impacted the minute China started having COVID cases,” said Anna Sanchez, EVP at Metrican, who also spoke during the event. “What it really took was working with our suppliers and our customers and navigating through this by allocating our own resources into the supply chain and helping our suppliers deliver the product that we needed,”
Metrican experienced labour shortages as many people moved out of manufacturing jobs, which created a big impact in the automotive industry, so the company increased automation and worked with suppliers to develop a new strategy, Sanchez said. The team at Metrican also built strong supply chains in local countries in order to navigate through the challenges.
Technology has been invaluable for many businesses as they manage supply chain troubles. UCS Forest Group is investing in new technology to help monitor shipments coming in from around the world, while Lamour Group is also taking advantage of the latest tools.
“AI and machine learning predictive analysis have allowed us to have 24/7 visibility on our cargo,” said Lieberman. “We can now drill down into the information to help us with predictability.”
Preparing for the unknown is always a challenge when it comes to supply chain, as problems can crop up one after the other, Lieberman says.
“Once you solve the problem of a port congestion, then you have a truck shortage, and then there’s a strike, and then there’s a COVID oubreak,” he said. “The only thing you can do is have a lot of contingency plans or ‘what if’ strategies, and in the same breath be very patient and allow yourself longer lead times to get the goods, and that way you can control the situation.”
