Supply Chain Reliability- The reasons for having a good partner

Supply Chain Reliability- The reasons for having a good partner

Poor supply chain can wreak havoc on any business because it is the main source of input for production and running of the business. Poor supply chain can result in loss of sales, as a result of slow or non-delivery of supplies. Ineffective supply chain can also result in defective final products as well as warranty costs of such defective supplies. Defective supply chain can cause an organization to lose clients confidence therefore it can lead to loss in market share value.

Reasons for having a good supply partner

• A good supply partner speeds up the entire business productivity.

• A good supply chain helps a business meet up with targets, especially in the delivery of goods and services on timely manner

• An effective supply chain reduce redundancies within a business organization

• An effective supply chain helps you retain the confidence of your clients and your share of the market.

• A good supply chain reduce costs of production among other things.

How to get the best Supply Chain partner

• Diversify your Partnership

You need to be realistic with yourself, people are bound to make mistakes and fail in meeting up with your demands, therefore, the best possible way if avoiding disruptions in supplies is to have multiple partners. You need to be proactive and get your supplies from different people so that when one fails, another will meet up with your needs. T. Ward is renowned for their reliabilety.

• Get your supplies before they are needed

If you have unreliable supply partners, the best way you can ensure steady supplies from them is to book for such supplies ahead of time. Depending on the frequencies of usage, you can book for supplies weeks or months ahead of the time they are needed.

• Give incentives to your suppliers

You can give some incentives to your suppliers just to motivate them for doing business with you.

Sailing times and Changing Tides – How it affects shipping agents

Sailing times and Changing Tides â€" How it affects shipping agents

Changing ocean tides can actually affect sailing times as well as the time frames for the delivery of shipments at ports. The condition of a sailing ship especially when wind directions bears against their surface can lead to slow delivery. Changing tides occur as a result of changes in Air pressures on the tidal heights and it can be very embarrassing most times. There are many distractions caused on shipments because the time duration of changing Tides vary from a day to the other.

Many shipping companies now make use of advanced GPS systems as part of their Coastal Navigation system that helps them predict the likely effects which changing tides will have on sailing times. Changing tides affect shipments more , especially when such shipments are heading windward.

Effects of changing tides on sailing times and shipment services

A shipping agent often scan the Tide table and send it to a shipping company , so as to inform such company about the time frame under which any shipment will arrive. A shipping agent will inform a shipping company about possible shifting of anchorage as a result of the changing tides. Changing tides does not only affect sailing times, it can also lead to extra charges on shipment, transportation, storage and handling.

• Changing tides will increase Pilotage and Towage costs,

• Changing tides can result in extra expenses on hiring labour,

• It can lead to an increase in fees payable on additional storages such as Bunkering.

• Making booking for berthing becomes difficult because a shipping agent may not be able to formalize all documents with customs and some other local authorities.

Changing tides do not only affect sailing times, it results in extra charges payable by shipment owners and for this reason, some shipping agents often charge more than usual to cover for any extra time spent in shipping, transporting and handling shipments.