Risk and Assurance of Supply Assessment: Why now is the critical time to assess your supply base?
COVID-19 has had a significant impact on the economy and the supply chain of every organisation. With businesses returning to work in this ‘new world’, this is an important time to complete a Supply Chain Risk Assessment to assess your supply base.
Globalisation has provided us with many opportunities. However, the pandemic has also highlighted some of the associated risks, especially with reliance on low cost countries. I am probably not alone in never previously imagined, nor anticipated, a situation in which whole countries and borders shut down to outside trade. This lead to demand outstripping supply of critical medical and non-medical items, creating significant supply chain disruption across the globe and yet it happened, and very quickly.
Remember the mass panic buying of toilet rolls?!
In addition, there was a surge of ‘fraudsters’ taking advantage, selling fake or non-existent products. They conned and tricked businesses, national governments (UK included) and people out of money with an array of deceitful schemes.
Yes, Covid-19 has had some very real and devastating impacts on the economy, however we cannot take our eyes off the ball either, the bigger picture has never been more relevant.
Today (2020) the bigger picture has never been more relevant. Modern day slavery and human trafficking is still unfortunately happening. Our planet still needs saving (arguably even more so with the increased numbers of discarded disposable PPE). Personal data is still being stolen to be used for fraudulent activities. To survive businesses need to review, assess, and manage supply chains risks outside of the pandemic also. We need to consider GDPR and data risks, ethical and sustainability aspects, and the dreaded (and easily forgotten with all that is currently going on) Brexit journey for the UK which will affect import and export trade. These risks are all still critical and should form part of your Supply Chain Risk Management Plan.
It is not enough to simply outsource to cheaper countries anymore to save cost. Businesses need to ensure that their sourcing and supply chain management processes are robust. This means enough to ensure feasible reputable alternative routes to purchase, and to build and utilise strong, local supply chains where possible.
Novo-K is offering FREE support to conduct supplier assessments to highlight any risks or impact to services or supplies. These will help you mitigate, reduce the risks, and save money.
You will receive a comprehensive report identifying potential risks to your business and your clients (worth RRP £1,000 +VAT). There are no additional overheads, time or resource for you or your team. This is a timely activity to help kick start your business as you move out of lock-down and all recommendations are provided by experienced, CIPS qualified procurement professionals.
Contact support@novo-k.com and we will set up a call to discuss the approach and answer any questions, or click here to learn more.
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