When You and Your Supply Chain Become the Weak Link

Imagine your company as a Formula 1 racing driver. Your suppliers are the pit crew, the specialists priming a fine-tuned machine and making sure you have the right tires and fuel to compete against the best. Failure in the supply chain is like the pit crew fumbling a tire during a stop and wasting precious seconds in an environment won in the margins. A pretty dire picture! Now, imagine that instead of being the driver you are part of that pit crew; that fumble is no less impactful to the team’s placement in the race.

When we take the perspective of our customers and think of our companies as critical suppliers of products that enable our customers to succeed, we realize how vulnerable and dependent they are on our performance…and don’t think they don’t realize this. They will move their business elsewhere in a heartbeat! So, let’s park the self-pity, ditch the checkered flag fantasies, and take a good, hard look at what the market wants from us mere mortals in the supply chain. Because the truth is, if we don’t listen, the roar of those engines might just be leaving us in the dust.

On-time Delivery: The Dependence on Product Quality

As manufacturing leaders, envision yourselves not just as producers but as integral parts of your customers’ supply chains. The demands and expectations placed upon you are reflections of what your customers expect from their suppliers. A 2022 MHI Annual Industry Report highlighted that on-time delivery (OTD) stands as a top priority for 51% of executives. Another industry study by Modern Distribution Management (MDM) research found that 72% of manufacturers track supplier OTD. However, the only ways to ensure on-time delivery are either to get first-time quality right, so there are no delays due to rework, to carry excess inventory, or to have your customer carry safety stock. The latter two are generally not options to remaining competitive, which leaves first-time quality as the only real solution.

Reliability: The Cornerstone of Customer Satisfaction

Reliability is the linchpin upon which trust is built. According to the Institute for Supply Management (ISM), the vast majority of manufacturers rate consistent quality as very important when selecting suppliers. Wherever you are in a supply chain, having predictability of your supplied products is not just reassuring, it is required to drive customer satisfaction.

Business Continuity and Contingency: Mitigating Risks Together

Business continuity planning is crucial. The lessons of the past several years have uncovered many opportunities for improvement. Just-in-time has provided significant efficiencies and cost savings, but it means the risk of a disruption has a much larger impact requiring continuity and contingency planning. Similar to product quality, prevention is best and that can take many forms. It could mean redundancies, it could mean established contingencies or it could be pre-arranged agreements. All of these require significant thought and planning.

Cost-effectiveness and Transparency: Driving Mutual Growth

Cost-effectiveness and transparency in pricing are paramount. Looking at it from a non-traditional perspective, the price anyone pays for a quality product is proportional to the sum of the price-points each company in the supply chain pays. A supply chain partner may pay a high price for quality if their capabilities require a lot of inspection and rework. On the other hand, if they are focused on prevention, first-time quality, and eliminating repeat problems they will minimize that cost. When you can reduce your costs you can drive mutual growth and longer-term customer relationships.

Technology Adoption, Compliance and Relationships: Forging Long-term Partnerships

The speed at which technology, business standards and customer needs are changing, coupled with the global economy forcing manufacturers to deal with evolving and varying regional regulations, are to the point that partnering with specialists is required to be able to adapt to those changes so that the manufacturer can focus on their core competencies. Gone are the days when the internal IT organization can keep homegrown systems running and compliant with standards while also trying to keep up with the mitigation of cyber threats.

As you contemplate the demands placed upon you, it’s imperative to realize that meeting these expectations isn’t just about your internal operations. It’s about aligning your strategies, processes, and technologies with your customers’ needs.

QAD EQMS Improves First-Time Quality

In today’s complex manufacturing environment you need help to maintain customers and to be chosen by prospective customers. QAD EQMS software will help you improve your first-time quality, allowing you to reduce your costs and with that higher quality, on-time delivery becomes much easier. Adopting SaaS software technology like QAD EQMS also drives risk-based thinking throughout and enables you to manage those risks and drive business continuity.

Our EQMS isn’t just a software solution; it’s a catalyst for elevating your role within the supply chain, enabling you to meet and exceed customer expectations, solidify relationships and drive mutual growth. QAD EQMS actually transforms the way you contribute to your customers’ success.

Contact us to learn how you can better support your customers and grow your business with our adaptive manufacturing and supply chain solutions.