As the times are changing it’s becoming more important for companies to be set up with the necessary skills to optimizing your supply chain. It goes without saying that we are living and working through absolutely unprecedented times right now, with the world seemingly changing because of COVID-19 with each passing day.  For consumer products executives, in particular, there is a dual responsibility to our employees and to our consumers.  While we have always had to manage that balance, this is seemingly more pronounced today.

First and foremost, you have a responsibility to your people.  And I know from discussions I have had with many companies, this responsibility is being taken with utmost seriousness.  Many of you have established two-way communications that have offered a place for employees to safely express any concerns or feelings of uncertainty that they might be having.  You are, without a doubt, demonstrating an empathy and caring for your employees that is indicative of the common sense of purpose and well being that we all share.

However, while it might be easier for your corporate employees to stay home and ensure social distancing, this is obviously a greater challenge for your manufacturing and distribution employees.   Your consumers, now more than ever, NEED your products.  Your food, your drinks, your cleaning supplies, your logistics capabilities, etc. are critical and the manufacturing needs to continue to ensure that consumers are able to get the supplies they need in this crisis.  The precautions that you are putting in place to ensure your employees’ utmost safety, while still realizing your sense of purpose to your consumers is critical to success.

One of the most profound issues that companies are facing today, certainly within Consumer Products, is how to manage through the increased consumer demand in light of so much supply chain disruption.  Manufacturing facilities have limited access to employees due to state by state quarantines, raw materials are harder to procure, factories are being hit with the virus are being forced to temporarily shutdown and there is more and more limited access to logistics to move goods.

Optimizing Your Supply Chain

This said, I wanted to welcome Bruce Twery and Sebastian Valencia to this week’s Taking Stock.  Bruce and Sebastian both have extensive supply chain experience, and have a shared point of view as to how organizations should view supply chain as a competitive advantage.  In our discussion, we will discuss specific ways in which supply chain leaders could manage the challenges of today and, perhaps more importantly, set their organization up to be able to manage the future challenges that lie ahead.  They will share perspectives on the fine balance between being proactive vs. reactive, having a fixed design versus allowing for flexibility and optimizing your supply chain and planning for risk.

You can download and listen to the Optimizing Your Supply Chain: Taking Stock with Bruce Twery and Sebastian Valencia here.

Taking Stock

In this podcast series, Clarkston Consulting Partner Steve Rosenstock sits down with experts and thought leaders from both within Clarkston and throughout its consumer products and life sciences client-base, covering a range of topics from industry trends and consumer dynamics, to organizational governance and business strategy. Steve provides you access into the passions of its guests and allows you to benefit from their stories, knowledge, and deep expertise.

Additional contributions by Bruce Twery and Zach McClughen.