Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, business leaders from every corner of the world have been battling against the need of protecting their people, their customers, and their businesses. This crisis management has kept them busy all the time. Procurement leaders are also no exception. Supply chains all over the world have been stressed at a scale with a few precedents in the post-COVID market. With economies starting their transition to the next normal, a few signs of advancement are shown in the field of crisis management. Many product sourcing companies have started relying on newfound energy to apply hard-won lessons provided by the pandemic. Procurement leaders focus on reimaging the procurement function so that they can put great efforts into a great reset that the organization can follow.

Listed below are the areas in which the post-COVID situation needs improvement:

Data Processing Capacity

No matter if the Coronavirus pandemic is considered a global crisis or a working force behind the ever-growing systematic interruptions to supply chains. It is an alarm for the procurement sector. In Asian countries, the companies need to identify the initial difficulties in procuring products. It is also important to realize the possible implications of these difficulties. Organizations having cutting-edge information systems in place can leverage maximum benefits as they can analyze large amounts of data in real-time:

  • Exact and comprehensive mapping of tier 1 and tier 2 suppliers
  • Immediate Identification of the affected products and volumes
  • A clear insight into logistics channels and planning for transloading operations
  • Visualization of value chains and marking the bottlenecks

Agility

For procurement, the next big challenge is the speed with which the bypass strategies have been implemented. Two aspects can maintain the business continuity, such as:

  • Suppliers who are partially or completely unable to deliver should be replaced
  • Sourcing should be open to supply equipment and components, which are not covered by the existing supplier base.

A company-wide business continuity plan is essential for the procurement department. It enables the procurement team to respond fast. When it comes to agility, a few other things must be considered, such as:

  • Access to cloud-based e-procurement applications has established its vitality for maintaining performance across the board while working from a remote place.
  • Operational maintenance of an alternative supplier base
  • Traceability of component stocks and half-finished products to define collaborative cross-site strategies
  • Capacities to speed up the listing process without sacrificing the safety

Efficiency

Currently, procurement departments face some practical challenges that develop the base for their relationships with their clients. Shortages at all levels such as labor, transportation, raw materials services, and government orders are battling against the economic player to pave the path for the trade-off. It may change over time with the changing situations.

A Final Takeaway

The immediate lessons that reputed product sourcing companies need should go hand-in-hand with digital transformation. It has been underway for the last few years. However, the outcome of the pandemic also makes us aware of the virtual resources that should be used to their full extent.

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