The past year has been one of unrest and unpredictable supply chain challenges. Business owners have tested the boundaries of their creativity to outlast Covid irregularities but continue to be plagued by shortages and rising costs. Now we have new potential obstacles on the horizon with China threatening to overtake Taiwan which could potentially shut down the already throttled chip supply to the United States. On domestic soil, gas prices are on sharp inclines and trucking convoys are slowing domestic deliveries. We have every reason to suspect supply chains will be further impaired.
Surviving the next catastrophe relies on preparation and tools to streamline your inventory processes, save labor costs, and improve communication. Your ability to react quickly to arising circumstances is the key to staying in the game.
Stock Up
Now’s the time to stock up on non-perishable supply. If your business has the warehouse space to accommodate additional stock, get your supplies while you can. While additional inventory eats up cash flow, if the supply chain breaks down, you won’t be able to fill orders. Manu
The recent outbreak of war in Ukraine will lead to higher prices, shortages and slowed shipping routes.
Can You Fill a Need?
Can your business provide an essential product or service to others facing shortages because of the political unrest?
In the early days of Covid, certain businesses produced alternative items in demand like hand sanitizer, ventilators, PPP equipment, etc. None of these products were items regularly produced by those manufacturers nor would there have been any other reason to make them. In fact, you had liquor manufacturing companies creating hand sanitizer because they were set up to meet the standards for handling alcohol. Well-known pillow manufacturer, My Pillow, created masks. New circumstances create new needs. You must be keen to recognize them and seize an opportunity to provide items in demand.
What If Banks Shut Down?
It’s a strange question to ask, but we just witnessed this very phenomenon happen in Canada when their government called for the freezing of bank accounts by anyone who contributed to the trucking convoy. Could the same thing happen in the U.S. if people donate to the U.S. trucking convoy? Quite frankly, we just don’t know. A lot of unexpected things have happened the past few years that you just can’t dismiss the far-fetched possibilities.
It may be time to look at the companies you do business with or aim to diversify the types of business accounts your company employs. Keeping some funds on a hardware digital wallet may be a good safeguard in the event all internet connected financial services shut down.
And if there were no money system, we might get by with a barter system. In worst case scenarios, you discover how inventive you need to be to make things work and survive. We learn that every time we lose power to a storm or when a cyber-attack shuts down the internet. We managed just fine before all our modern-day conveniences existed.