DHL-backed Report Calls for Shake-Up in Manufacturing Supply Chains

A leading authority on supply chain management has issued a new report backed by DHL which says the manufacturing sector needs to shake up its supply chain activity.

Lisa Harrison, President of the US-based Iharrington Group, who provides strategic consulting services with regard to best practices in supply chain management and a is a prolific author on the subject, says it is imperative for manufacturers to act.

Her report The Resiliency Challenge: Constructing the Agile Supply Chain for Heavy Industry reveals manufacturers are largely 10 years’ behind with their supply chains compared to other sectors.

The report highlights a number of factors stalling supply chain activity including migrating manufacturing, cost pressures and consumerism.

Harrington was reported in The Manufacturer magazine as saying: “Change won’t come easily to an industry populated by companies which have been around for more than 80 years and are used to ‘business as usual’.”

Harrington, who is one of four co-founders of the Supply Chain Management Center at the RH Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland, added: “But it is imperative that they transform their supply chains in order to meet the demands of modern business with its onus on faster, leaner and more resilient operations.

““Those that do so can use their newly discovered logistical capability as an offensive weapon against competitors who fail to adjust.”

She also pointed out that demand for E&M products and services was moving from more established markets to growth regions that often have more local and agile competitors.

The drive for more regionalised supply means, means manufacturers must ensure their efforts can meet these new consumer-driven demands by becoming more lean and resilient.

Andy Ramsden, VP global sector development, automotive, engineering and manufacturing, DHL supply chain, was also quoted in The Manufacturer.

He said: “We work closely with our customers to introduce supply chain agility, resiliency, capability and control that can quickly become the differentiators in this industry.

“Integrating supply chains so that all the upstream and downstream partners can see the full picture enables companies to plan ahead more accurately, manage demand more cost-effectively and support their customers more proactively.”