We just want Covid 19 to be over, to be able to return to normal, but we know in our hearts that the new normal will be different. Covid 19 has impacted us in so many ways that it is hard to pick the one that will help us see what the new normal will look like. I believe we will see a better and stronger economy and will get there by fixing our supply chains but, also, we will have to endure the inflation that our broken supply chains will continue to drive until they are fixed.
The occasional empty shelves in the supermarket are nothing compared to the empty shelves in company warehouses and the gaping holes that Covid 19 has created in our supply chains. The drive to integrate, rationalize or optimize supply chains may have made them more cost effective but it also made them weaker.
New technology based on international standards holds the promise of helping us heal our existing supply chains and add the flexibility and resilience we will need to overcome future global disruptions which, like storms, we now know are clearly in our future.
The new international standards are as easy to implement as they are powerful. The faster they are adopted, the sooner we will see the new generation of resilient supply chains. The first step is to know your suppliers: (KYS) ISO 8000-116 is the international standard for formatting Authoritative Legal Entity Identifiers, use it. The second step is to be able to track part numbers and serial number to their authoritative source: ISO 8000-115 formatting is simple, use it for your products and demand that your suppliers use it too; all you need is a SmartPrefix.
What about inflation? Covid 19 has clearly created the perfect storm and while there is little we can do to avoid it, we can certainly anticipate the impact and take protective measures. Perhaps the lesson we are supposed to learn from this pandemic is that we are all truly connected and interdependent. Accurate, timely information combined with good communications and a willingness to work together will be the key to minimizing the impact of inflation.
Peter Benson