By rob eagar 
Starting a new business requires a lot of coordination. Marketing, product development, research into your target audience, and simply creating your HR procedures and business structure can take up all of your time, but there is another critical component that is supply chain management.
COVID-19 brought supply chain management to the forefront, particularly in the early months of the pandemic, when ports closed, flights were cancelled, ground freight was stuck in locked-down cities, and factories shut their doors.
Thousands of businesses, ranging from large retail corporations to small online sellers, were left with insufficient inventory or saw stock stranded in their warehouses pass its literal or metaphorical ship-by date, unable to move it on for delivery or distribution. Also, they faces many startup supply risks.
As we approach 2024, no one can claim that supply chain logistics is trivial. If you want to avoid the six supply chain pitfalls that new business owners face, you must plan ahead of time.
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6 Common Supply Chain Pitfalls in Starting a New Business?
1. Not Enough Data
You require accurate, real-time data on the status of your goods, how they are handled, and the conditions they are in. Fast, accurate data enables you to respond quickly to delays and resolve setbacks without disappointing your customers.
It’s especially important if you’re shipping temperature-sensitive or fragile items that require special handling and conditions. Consumers are impatient with orders that arrive damaged or not as expected. A cold chain temperature monitoring system that provides real-time data allows you to ensure that products arrive in perfect condition and have not been compromised.
Of course, this requires a digitalised supply chain analytics system. Tracking your shipments with an Excel spreadsheet that you manually update every time you receive an email alert is simply not going to cut it, even for small start-ups.
2. Tracking the Incorrect KPIs
Setting the right KPIs puts you in a position to measure the right metrics, allowing you to focus your efforts on the issues that have the biggest impact on your business. Working with well-chosen KPIs places the onus on you to understand your customers’ top concerns, such as delivery turnaround times, prices, or item conditions upon arrival.
For example, your KPIs may be focused on fulfilment times, leading to you to prioritise the fastest but more expensive logistics provider. However, if your customers are willing to wait a few extra days for their orders in exchange for free shipping, you should consider working with a different shipping partner. Determine which KPIs are most important for your target market, product, and business needs.
To optimise the entire supply chain, KPIs should be aligned across all teams. It’s pointless to save money by consolidating orders into fewer if it means you have to hire extra warehouse staff to handle the large product volume. Just like a student to hire Assignment Help UK-based services to manage their all assignments easily.
3. Forgetting to Plan for the Unexpected
If there is one thing we should have learnt from 2020, it is that resilience is essential. Natural disasters, strikes, political upheavals, and other events can occur in the blink of an eye and throw a monkey wrench into your supply chain operations, so don’t design a supply chain that is so rigid that the slightest disruption or delay disrupts the entire network. You should also plan for future business growth.
4. Building a Siloed Network
Siloed teams result in a fragmented supply chain with limited visibility. They are more common in large, complex, and long supply chains, but the decisions you make at the start of your business determine whether your teams and tools can work together smoothly or exist independently.
When data is siloed across different platforms, you won’t be able to identify cost-cutting opportunities or the source of disruption. You should consider distribution network optimization.
Lay the groundwork for a unified and fully visible supply chain by combining data from all of your logistics, warehousing, suppliers, and other partners into a single platform for analysis. Then, make sure that you establish simple communication methods for each entity.
5. Putting Price Above All
You want to spend as little as possible on supply chain management while still receiving excellent service and execution.
If you only look for the cheapest partners, you may end up compromising on other factors such as dependability, speed, or levels of quality assurance transparency. Your logistics partners are critical to your business’s success, so be willing to invest a little more money in a partner who will always have your back.
Your supply chain’s business relationships must provide both quantitative and qualitative value.
6. Overlooking Security Controls
Ignoring or dismissing security concerns is asking for trouble. Data privacy regulations are becoming more stringent, and a data breach can result in a large fine as well as significant damage to your company’s reputation.
Ensure that all of your logistics providers, vendors, and suppliers adhere to security requirements and data privacy guidelines.
It is equally important to protect your physical product. Use logistics monitoring tools that notify you if someone attempts to interfere with the packaging, and place seals and tamper-proof locks on containers to ensure that you are fully aware of any attempts to steal or tamper with your merchandise.
Supply Chain Management Doesn’t Have to Be a Minefield!
Supply chain management is one of many essential elements of a successful business, regardless of the product. By focusing on data availability, KPI optimisation, and security issues, avoiding silos, planning for all contingencies, and considering the entire relationship with each partner, new business owners can avoid the most common supply chain pitfalls and set themselves up for success.