Adapting to supply chain disruptions
Since the Corona crisis, the majority of German companies have taken certain measures to adapt to supply chains. This is shown by a survey conducted by the Ifo Institute in which 4,000 companies participated in July 2022.
In industry, 87 percent of the companies surveyed changed their procurement strategies as a result of supply chain disruptions. In wholesale, 76 percent did so, and in retail, 63 percent of companies did so.
“In an earlier survey conducted in May 2021, even less than half of the companies said they wanted to adjust their procurement strategy,” Ifo researcher Andreas Baur informs. This shows that several companies are now reassessing the risks in their supply chains, he said.
Measures taken by companies
As the survey further reveals, 68 percent of industrial companies took the measure of increasing their inventories. 65 percent of the companies increased diversification from their supply chains by adding new suppliers to their supply base.
Another measure taken by 50 percent of companies was improved monitoring of their supply chains. Thirteen percent of the companies surveyed added previously outsourced production processes back into their business.
As Baur observes, small and large companies developed different strategies in response to supply chain disruptions. Large companies took more action than small as well as mid-sized companies, according to Baur. “In addition, large companies primarily diversified supplier structures and monitored their supply chains more closely. Small and medium-sized companies, on the other hand, relied more on increased warehousing,” Baur continues.
Source: www.kloepfel-consulting.com