Caia Baker VP of Procurement Fasteners Direct
s u p p ly c h a i n
How to ensure a successful fastener supply chain?
Post-pandemic wholesalers are maintaining stock in efforts to prevent any unforeseen delays. This warehouse has added its most frequented items to ensure no stockouts.
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Whether it’s a buyer of copious quantities of fasteners for ongoing projects or a onetime consumer assembling a work-fromhome desk, it’s important to recognize the value of a buyer and supplier interaction within the supply chain. Treating this exchange as a relationship — and a potential long-term partnership — rather than a transaction is one key to long-term success for both parties. The global pandemic emphasized the significance of supply-chain partners for several in the fastener industry. Frantic purchases, frequented stockouts, shipping delays, and skeletal workforces highlighted how prepared (or ill-prepared) many companies were to handle the sudden changes and restrictions. However, it has been said that challenges bring opportunities. If 2020 offered nothing else, it forced companies to re-evaluate their systems for doing business to identify faults and ensure resilience. For
December 2021 www.fastenerengineering.com
many, perseverance was the only option, which meant generating and adopting new ways of conducting business. This required flexibility and modifications, such as investments in a more secure online presence and remote accessibility for customers and employees. For example, collaborative platforms such as Microsoft Teams, Dropbox, or Smartsheet let users transmit data in real-time with the ability to connect, do business, and track orders digitally. For essential-service manufacturers and suppliers, it also meant re-distributing the workforce for a period of time to meet distancing regulations in an effort to fulfill customer demands. The changes and challenges over the last couple of years also likely strengthened many supplier-buyer relationships. It quickly became evident which companies could meet the challenges and remain dependable.
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