Radwell International’s Blog

Exploring the Last Three Years of Supply Chain Progress and Challenges

As we reflect on the tumultuous past three years, it's impossible not to wonder if any progress has been made with regards to the disruptions that were induced by the pandemic.

Supply chain companies were severely impacted by lockdown measures and reduced shipping capacity, resulting in a challenging environment for manufacturers to adapt to the “new normal”. Consequently, we witnessed empty shelves and panicked consumers struggling with short supply, including a shortage of toilet paper during the pandemic's peak.

In this article, we will delve into the topic of whether any significant improvements have been made since the pandemic began. It's important to note that our focus will be solely on this subject, and we won't touch upon discussions surrounding inflationary pressure and its potential impact on supply chains.

Manufacturing is an industry that is filled with successes, with massive potential and of course, with challenges. Because everything in manufacturing is interconnected, it is critically important to streamline as many processes as possible and push for efficiency to help things run smoothly. In this article, we are going to discuss three of the top challenges faced by manufacturers in a post-pandemic landscape.

Packaging materials and equipment are often taken for granted but can be mission-critical items for busy manufacturing and distribution operations. What are some of the important considerations to think about when purchasing packaging materials and equipment?

Radwell is a hybrid distribution and engineering company that is designed using modern advances in ecommerce and internet connections. Unlike older distribution models using small local industrial engineering-enabled distribution, or more modern national e-commerce web sites that lack engineering support, Radwell gives you the option to combine local engineering support style distribution along with the power of a national ecommerce platform. With Radwell you get the ease of a worldwide ecommerce site combined with the largest technical support provider globally. Added to that, with Radwell’s after-marketplace you have access to the largest stock of new and obsolete parts available globally.

To say the world is experiencing supply chain challenges is a vast understatement. From shortages to delays, the world is struggling on all sides of the supply chain. Is there any way to create a positive impact? According to Sarah Scudder from Source Day in Texas, creating efficiencies at the start of the supply chain can help with problems that can occur at the end of it for manufacturers. She was the host of a recent chat for USA Manufacturing Hour on Twitter and shared some insights with participants.

Now that the new year is up and running, manufacturers are left wondering what 2022 will hold for their industry.

Supply chains are an intricate structure. There are many critical factors that go into a successful supply chain. Due to this, risks run high. In the event that one area runs into an issue, there are ramifications for the entire supply chain. The possibility of challenges is more likely than one might think. Problems can stem out of anything from machine down situations, to cyber attacks, to unforeseen weather patterns. Strategizing, and having proactive solutions will help in the case of a disruption.

In today’s fast-paced and supply chain-challenged world, manufacturers are trying to create efficiencies in their processes wherever possible. One way of creating more efficiency is by digitally transforming supply chains. During USA Manufacturing Hour Twitter Chat, hosts Jon Freeman, Strategic Partnerships Manager and Justin Dickson, Chief Revenue Officer at FreightPOP in California, led a discussion about this timely and important topic for manufacturers worldwide.

When is surplus the right choice for manufacturers?

Answering this question begins by looking at the current state of the global supply chain and how it has changed since the COVID-19 pandemic. Current times have been a constant challenge to the supply chain. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, things worked very differently from the state of today’s supply chain. There are product restrictions, material shortages, and obsolescence for aging equipment that require servicing and maintenance. As a result, doing business as a manufacturer can be a challenge for even the most agile of operations. How can these challenges be overcome to keep a manufacturing operation running smoothly and efficiently? The answer is often surplus equipment and parts.

A supply chain is a series of links between companies and suppliers for the purpose of producing and distributing a product to a final buyer. This network of links includes various entities such as manufacturers, producers, warehouses, logistics services, distribution centers and retailers. When it comes to supply chain management, a healthy supply chain helps get a product successfully and profitably from the planning phases to the end user in a reasonable amount of time. Healthy supply chains help reduce costs for companies as well as help them stay competitive in the marketplace.

These five stages of a supply chain outline the basics of what it takes to transform raw materials into finished products successfully and profitably.