5 Supply Network Facts You Should Know
If you run a business, you should know about supply networks and what they do. A supply network, which some business entities call a supplier network, is a spatial and temporal process pattern. You spread it out over distribution links and facility nodes.
You Need One Because the Economy is Unstable Right Now
One reason you’ll want to have a business supply network in place is that the economy is volatile right now. This is because:
- Many people have lost their jobs
- The pandemic is still wreaking havoc
If you have a supply network in place, whether it’s proprietary or you’re paying a company to use theirs, it stabilizes your production methods.
If you maintain constant supplier relationships via set parameters, you never have to worry about where you’re getting raw materials or how your physical products are getting from point A to point B.
They Let You Have Full Data Security
When you have a supplier network in place, part of that is a secure parameter system that you or an expert develops. Your supply network might involve technologies such as:
- Blockchain
- Decentralized network protocols
When you use these technologies, they make security breaches less likely, if not downright impossible in some cases. You want security protocols that allow you to reach your suppliers and let them contact you at all times.
You can use your network to figure out where shipments are or whether a payment has gone through. It’s how you keep careful track of your whole enterprise and maintain stable client and supplier relationships.
Having One in Place Ensures Your Suppliers Will Trust You
Your suppliers want to build a relationship with you. Trust needs to form that relationship’s backbone. If you use outdated technology to approach supply chains, the best suppliers will not want to do business with you.
If You Have More Suppliers, These Protocols Simplify Matters
Let’s say you make and distribute products. You have many different components that you need, and they come from several sources.
If this is true, you must maintain several relationships at all times. If you can’t get one of your components, you can’t create the finished product and ship it off to wherever it needs to be.
If you have supply network protocols in place, it means that if you ever can’t get what you need, you can probably find a temporary replacement a lot easier. You might go to a secondary supply course, and they know they can trust you because you have mass-market capabilities set up.
The more those in and out of your supply network see that you have a set of proven standards and practices, the more willing and eager they will be to partner with you.
These Protocols Reassure Your Employees
You want to have a reliable supply network in place for your various product and part suppliers, but also your employees.
If you can show your employees that you have a regular supply chain and protocols for managing it, they will see that they have job security. A company’s closure is less likely if they know where their vital materials are coming from at any moment.
For these reasons, if you don’t have a reliable supplier network in place yet, you should take steps to construct one.
