The supply chain is an integral part of all industries. As the economy's lifeblood, getting products and materials from A to B to C is far from simple and is often affected by changes to the economy and environment. In the past few years we have seen major shifts, from border delays to the cost of living, and the UK supply chain has certainly been affected by these changes.

But how can the supply chain prepare for future hurdles and overcome the challenges we’re currently facing? Join us as we investigate the biggest blocks to supply chain success and how you can overcome them.

Rising costs

Fuel costs and a surge in delivery (door-to-door in particular) have put a strain on logistics and supply chains and created a greater demand for imports of manufactured goods as well as materials. This has led to businesses becoming savvier as they look for the best ways to fill trucks and containers and ensure every trip is as efficient as possible. This includes changing systems to centralise hubs, filling trailers with multiple orders, and other optimisation tasks.

We’ve also seen fuel and gas increases which have had a knock-on effect on the whole chain, reducing margins and forcing hauliers and shipping companies to try to raise their prices to absorb the brunt of these increased running costs.

Supply chain businesses across the UK will need to look at ways they can adapt to deal with rising costs. This could be through reducing margins, efficiency exercises or data analysis to see where exactly their money is going. Once you’re able to identify the issue, you’ll be better placed to deal with it.

Increased demand leading to shortages

Consumer buying has increased for several years without production keeping pace. This is due to a wide range of factors including a surge in consumer demand and global events affecting raw material production. This compounding effect will require foresight and prudence as businesses will need to ensure they have the capital and connections to ensure that when one chain is down, another can support it.

Similarly, planning to meet expectations in high and low seasons can be invaluable and ensure that hauliers, logisticians, and other supply chain experts meet their expectations while maintaining budgets.

There are various ways to manage this, be it through networking, reinforcing business relationships, or developing new tools such as AI optimisation to meet demand in the face of global shortages. We focus on digital transformation later.

Modern demands and greener futures

Another challenge that requires a careful understanding of efficiencies is balancing modern demands with environmental pledges and factors. In fact, provisional data from the Government shows that ‘domestic transport carbon dioxide emissions have risen 10% (9.8 Mt), to 107.5 million tonnes in 2021.’

This leads us to an interesting, yet challenging position: how to meet the needs of domestic transportation while at the same time committing to pledges that reduce emissions.

Businesses have a variety of ways to face this challenge. First and foremost, optimising routes and reducing the amount of fuel used. But beyond that, there are ways to offset carbon emissions at warehouses and offices, such as installing solar panels to reduce the need for power from the grid, tree-planting initiatives, and even recycling drives which can make a difference.

By focusing on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) issues you can make a difference and endear your brand to employees, customers, and the public. Check in with suppliers and partners and see if there is potential to collaborate on projects.  The more research and planning you can commit to ESG issues, the more effective you will be in dealing with the growing concerns over the environment.

Red tape at border crossings

Red tape is the elephant in the room for all UK-based operations. There is no denying that leaving the single market has made life more difficult for the UK supply chain with more queues, more paperwork, and more headaches. However, adapting is the only way to ensure that red tape doesn’t completely halt operations.

To this end, it is worth investing time and resources in understanding new processes, applying for relevant bodies, and otherwise ensuring your team can dot every ‘i’ and cross every ‘t’.

The need for digital transformation

All of the above points have a common solution, an Occam’s Razor (usually the simplest answer) to address costs, paperwork, efficiency, and environmental concerns; digital transformation. There is no denying that digital tools improve the way we do business. From shifting meetings and working conditions to optimising processes so teams can focus on fewer time stealer activities; digital transformation is crucial to the supply chain and logistics industry and provides an always-on tool to monitor, manage, and optimise every aspect of the chain from routing to managing inventory.

Richard Litchfield, Managing Director at Forward Solutions, understands how important digital transformation is to the supply chain and has seen it first-hand with his experience of providing freight management software solutions to track consignments and shipments in real time across the globe.

“Even in 2023, the exchange of information is not where it needs to be. It’s clear that we took a backwards step with Brexit and while the “Amazon effect” has raised expectations for everyone, from suppliers to customers to the eventual recipient, we are close, but not quite at 100% efficiency. We are probably closer to 98%, which sounds great, but within that 2% remaining, there are a lot of inefficiencies. I’m a firm believer that technology and investing in tech, can help reduce the gap and support businesses around the world to shore up supply chains.”

By addressing the weak links, businesses can improve supply chain and logistics management, and in doing so; improve their services, reduce inefficiencies, and futureproof operations for higher demand, material shortages, and just about any other roadblocks that may get in the way.

Multimodal 2023

Are you interested in finding out more about the future of the supply chain and how you can keep ahead of the curve? Multimodal is the biggest industry meeting place for cargo owners, shippers, logisticians and other supply chain service providers.

Our annual event, on the 13th-15th of June 2023, is the perfect opportunity to learn more about the future of the supply chain, the challenges businesses face, and how to work together to ensure success for all.

Contact us now to find out more about the event and how you can either visit or exhibit yourself. We look forward to hearing from you, and can’t wait to see what innovations and insights are discovered at this year’s event.

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