Protecting your supply chain

If you’ve already thought about securing operations, it’s time to consider how the suppliers you work with could impact the success of your reopening. 

Supply chain risk is any incident, including a natural disaster, man-made disruption or economic event, that could disrupt your supply chain. 

To ensure the stability of your supply chain, communicate with your suppliers, partners and customers and confirm that your business can be supported and restart its operations. Look for backup suppliers and service providers who can step in if a link in your existing supply chain can no longer deliver the products or services you need.

After a crisis, review and manage your inventory. Your customers may have new needs, so make sure you have the raw materials necessary to meet these needs. You’ll also want to consider quality control—a change in supplier or internal control procedures could impact the quality of your product.

It may be wise to slow the rate of production to ensure your employees and machinery have adequate time to get back up and running. This will also help you maintain the same quality that your customers expect.

Next, let’s review how to prevent accidents when you reopen your business.