LEARN ABOUT THE MAIN CHALLENGES OF SUPPLY CHAINS!

Mexican companies are beginning to work on solutions to adapt to the future of supply chains. The challenges presented by the industry go beyond internal company factors. Supply chains face external factors that they do not directly control, such as political, environmental, security, infrastructure, and social factors, that directly affect the daily operations of any firm.

A couple of years ago, supply chains focused only on reducing time and costs in their operations. Now they must also focus on the environmental impact of all company activities and ensure that their suppliers and chain actors comply with ESG (environmental, social and governance) criteria.

These challenges of internal and external factors do not represent an inefficiency in the company's operation, they are simply a reflection of an interconnected supply chain that must respond to changes, and when we talk about international trade, we are referring to national and international changes.

Soy Logistico Asociacion in collaboration with Deloitte, conducted a survey on the main challenges of supply chains, and these were the results:

Skilled labor
Infrastructure in roads, ports and airports
Inventory shortages
Insecurity in the country
Financial volatility

The shortage of skilled labor and talent in the supply chain sector is one of the main challenges facing the industry. As a solution to this challenge, companies have opted to invest in automation and implementation of intelligent processes such as AI, which allows solving certain tasks where human talent is lacking.

Moving on to the goal of reducing the carbon footprint, improving delivery times and reducing transportation costs, supply chain leaders are betting on nearshoring. This practice of relocating companies to nearby locations reduces exposure to disruptions, and after going through a global pandemic where foreign trade operations were paralyzed, nearshoring has become the current solution for foreign trade.

Continuing with the theme of sustainability, in recent years we have witnessed how environmental pollution has modified climate change. We are faced with weather forecasts that affect crops and the routes of certain modes of transportation (mainly air and sea). These changes generate delays in delivery times and increased costs.

Geopolitical instability is another challenge currently facing supply chains. Trade wars directly affect the operation and costs of supply chains, even if they do not affect the country firsthand. Changes of government in Mexico and the United States generate economic and commercial uncertainty in society, which alters the production and demand for goods and services.

In conclusion, we can summarize the current challenges facing supply chains as follows: Logistics crisis, labor shortage and geopolitical factors.

Looking for a solution to these challenges, we list 3 of the current trends that supply chain leaders have implemented the most: Digitalization, sustainability and proximity.

This is the beginning of the transformation of supply chains since we live in a globalized world where technology and information travel in an amazing way that reaches every corner of the planet changing challenges and trends every day.

Ten years ago, we could not imagine this supply chain, and in another 10 years we will be talking about a completely different one.

‍