Corona has brought some production lines or even entire productions to a standstill or severely restricted them. Delivery times have been extended or parts could not be ordered. Currently, many companies are ramping up their production again. What is in the warehouse, what is missing? What about suppliers, partners and customers? The industry is facing many questions right now, a ramp-up in this complexity with so many asynchronous supply chain states and uncertainties has never happened before. These ten Dos you should consider for your Ramp-Up!
1. speed and agility are required
Set up a crisis team where all relevant information converges so that decisions can be made quickly and without bureaucracy.
2. collaboration is important – as never before
Only those who coordinate with the players in the supply chain in a spirit of partnership will be able to manage the ramp-up efficiently!
3. bring transparency into your supply chain
In order to initiate the ramp-up in a targeted manner, transparency about the flow of goods is indispensable. Keep an eye on your customers as well as your suppliers and sub-suppliers. This is the only way to weigh up requirements and time constraints.
4.sketch a picture of your supply chain state
Due to the successive elimination of production and transport capacities around the world as well as the close interconnection of supply chains, supply chain processes have come to a standstill in an asynchronous state. Therefore, get to know at which ports, transshipment centers and locations which stocks are available.
5. stay up to date
Regularly evaluate political and economic developments in terms of their relevance to your supply chain. Regulations and bans, hygiene measures, border regulations and many other aspects can have an impact on your supply chain.
6. clarify the demand situation
Talk to your sales experts in the regions to find out the needs of customers in the current situation. In which regions is a return to normal expected and when?
7.identify the critical paths
Not every undesirable condition in your supply chain needs to have an immediate or severe impact on your ramp-up. Therefore, always evaluate the relevance of current and expected challenges: Which parts are critical to getting your production back on track? Which of your suppliers or sub-suppliers are in an economically or financially difficult situation? On which routes are transport bottlenecks to be expected?
8. Reconcile demand and capacity.
Develop measures to gradually convert the asynchronous state of your supply chain back into a synchronized state. Take into account the critical paths and the regionally different expectations of your customers.
9. support your partners
The loss of a critical supply chain actor can have a huge impact on the performance of the entire supply chain. Therefore, support your partners as much as you can – by providing the best possible information transparency as well as the willingness to grant financial leeway.
10.keep your start-up planning flexible
Due to the large number of dependencies and imponderables, it is important to keep various future scenarios in mind. Simulation tools for supply networks can be a valuable help to secure planning decisions for complex supply chains and different scenarios.
Starting the ramp-up will not be an easy task. With the right structure and a transparent exchange, you will master it.
Fraunhofer-Institut für Materialfluss und Logistik
with his colleagues: Saskia Wagner-Sardesai, Josef Kamphues, Philipp Klink