The Value in Dual Buying and Sourcing Partners in COVID-19 Times
The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted every aspect of normal life for people around the world. Beyond the health crisis caused by the pandemic, areas such as global supply chain continue to be greatly impacted. Buying, manufacturing and even sourcing has become a struggle for businesses in the United States where many facilities have been impacted by the inability to travel to work due to restrictions and quarantine guidelines. The cost and availability of materials has also been a hindrance across a number of industries.
While countries around the world are starting to experience some sense of normalcy with increasing restriction relief, there are still severe bottlenecks in supply chain. It is important for businesses that sell goods to have the ability to be agile and have partners in both the U.S. and abroad to maximize efforts across buying, sourcing, and manufacturing.
While factories and labor are relatively abundant in China, it can be difficult to know who and how to work with manufacturers within the new limitations brought on by the pandemic. Shutdowns and lockdowns may vary depending on the region or the status of workers within the facility. It can take some navigating to get the most efficient factory for your goods.
Shipping Challenges
Although humans have made incredible advances in technology, ships are still a large component of how we transport cargo around the world. We may be able to send data from our phone to space, but we still need these large vessels to move freight back and forth across the seas. Huge areas of cargo and ship congestion at Chinese ports has been one of the sources of challenge for shipment needs out of the country. Imagine sitting at a stop sign in a line of thirty cars. You may have plenty of gas and be revving your engine to go, but you will not be able to move forward in your travel until the very first car in line moves forward and the subsequent cars go as well. This is what’s happening at many ports. Although the world is opening up and work is beginning to resume, there is still a backlog of production to move through while brand new orders continue to come in.
Value in Dual Partnership
Pandemic restrictions for businesses vary wildly around the world. One way to avoid having your goods fall into the stream of congestion is by having a dual partnership for all needs related to your products and goods. The ability to be agile by having partners here in the U.S. and in China provides you the opportunity to meet your timelines for production and keep your costs as low as possible. Having a buying and sourcing partner in the states can help you have more available options for the full process of creating and producing your commodity. Collaborating with a domestic partner who understands your business needs will take pressure from you and ensure your needs, which will minimize any downtime.
Global Manufacturing can assist in procuring the resources you need for your manufactured goods. To get more information on how we can meet your needs, contact us at Info@GlobalManufacturingSales.com or (732) 970-7800.
