The Benefits of a Local Supply Chain

The profitability and outward appear of your company can largely be dependent on the efficiency of your supply chain. When you’re deciding if a local or global supply chain is right for you, there are a few things to consider. While global supply chains have traditionally been the more common choice, as wages increase in offshore locations and customer concerns change, some businesses are finding local supply chains to be the best fit. It all depends on your business, your brand tenants and mission, and your goals for the future. An intriguing argument can be made for local outsourcing. Lower transport costs, more controllable and sustainable practices, and stimulating the local economy are all valid reasons to want to outsource your supply chain locally. When going local with your supply chain and manufacturing, it can often involve dealing with a variety of vendors. Despite this however, local sourcing has been an increasingly more popular trend, somewhat in response to global sourcing and the move towards sustainability – 33% of business owners list responsible purchasing a priority for their business. Keeping your supply chain local can offer the comfort of proximity, shorter turnaround and supporting the local economy. Think a local supply chain is a better fit for your business? Some of the benefits include:

• Community Support – As a business thriving in the local community, it can be a positive experience to give back to the same community. If supporting your local community is a brand mission of your business, a local supply chain can be beneficial and positively impact how your customers view your business.

• Easier Travel for Faster Turnaround – Supply chain disruptions are frequent – 80% of companies are vulnerable to major supply chain disruption – and can be critical. Local supply chains are often shorter when using local suppliers. This leads to greater certainty and predictability, which allows for the supply chain to run much more smoothly. In addition, local suppliers can be more reactive during times of high demand as opposed to the longer lead times that global supply chains require.

• More Sustainable – As the subject of sustainability becomes more and more prominent, businesses are turning towards more local sourcing to reduce their carbon footprint.

• Brandable (made in Canada etc.) – When you keep your production on a local level, you can advertise it as such. More and more customers are trying to be conscientious of where their products come from so branding something as local can help target that demographic.

Managing a supply chain isn’t easy and, when not well managed, can cause headaches that can turn into loss of valuable time and resources to your business. On top of just maintaining it, it’s also just as important to constantly improve supply chains on various dimensions to improve efficiency, reduce cost and become more flexible. Our team at Inertia has the passion and expertise to coordinate and integrate the various silos of manufacturing to ensure your production cycle is kept efficient and profitable for your business. Give us a call to learn more about what we do and how we do it so we can benefit you.