From the coronavirus pandemic to Brexit, the past 18 months have been characterized by disruption around the globe. Every segment of the supply chain has been forced to endure lightning-fast changes and restrictive regulations. While some companies have crumbled under the pressure, many others have risen to the occasion.
It can be difficult to cast challenging circumstances in a positive light, but one thing is certain: Disruption breeds innovation.
“When there is great change, you have to look for opportunities within that. If you’re not finding success, you should be rethinking your strategy,” DDC FPO Global Technical Director Richard Greening said. “What we’re certainly seeing this year is a lot of our clients are making more decisions. People have realized they must have courage in their convictions.”
Faced with new pressures — and new opportunities — many companies have been quick to adapt. As a result, decisions that used to take months or years started taking days or weeks, according to Greening. This circumstance explains why more innovation can often happen in one challenging year than five calm years.
“Any kind of disruption creates ripples. It’s like dropping a stone into a lake,” Greening said. “It creates those ripples of highs and lows, and I think the key is to try to maximize the highs and minimize the lows.”
Companies can create and implement solutions to maximize their own highs, but their success will be limited at best without taking other industry players into account and seeking collaboration to achieve their goals.
DDC conducted research about Brexit’s impact on logistics earlier this year. During that research, the interconnectedness of the supply chain came up time and time again. In a world — and an industry — that grows more connected by the minute, it is impossible to do anything in a vacuum.
“For example, if you’re a freight forwarder, you’re impacted by manufacturing. Everything is symbiant, and we saw that in the research,” Greening said. “We talked to people across the supply chain, and everyone was having the same pain points.”
Partnering with a third-party company like DDC can help companies address those pain points and thrive amid disruption. Looking outside their own walls can help them move beyond insular solutions and into a more collaborative mindset, maximizing their chances of success.
For companies attempting to navigate Brexit, for example, various shipping and regulation changes are set to take effect on July 1. DDC offers customs brokerage processing to help companies navigate these unknowns while ensuring timely clearance. Handing off the burden of international shipping to seasoned experts allows companies to focus on other things — like innovation — without compromising service.
The same applies to companies that find themselves struggling to keep up with demand and source capacity as consumer behavior shifts away from pandemic practices. Enlisting a strategic partner makes it easier to ensure a company’s supply chain runs smoothly and consumers’ expectations are met.
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