You're dealing with unexpected production delays. How can you maintain smooth collaboration with suppliers?

There is not a magic buttons to sort or avoid this kind of situations. But what never fails to start with the right foot even before that identify the real root cause is be open and communicate everything in different directions Suppliers, co workers and customers. You will earn trust and confidence with your customer and if you include to your co workers and suppliers in the action plans you will build a strong commitment.

Strict and continuous monitoring of suppliers KPI should help to reduce as much as possible suppliers delays. Collaborative planning should be beneficial to manage delays

Transparency and Trust: Open communication builds trust between you and your suppliers. By informing them about production delays as soon as possible, you demonstrate transparency and reliability, which are crucial for a strong and trustworthy partnership. Schedule Adjustments: Providing timely information about delays allows suppliers to adjust their schedules and manage their resources more effectively. This can help minimize the impact of the delay on both sides and maintain a smoother workflow.

When facing unexpected production delays, communicate transparently with stakeholders and work closely with the supplier to identify and address the root cause. Maintain contingency plans and buffer stock to cushion impacts. Foster a strong, trust-based relationship with suppliers through regular performance reviews and joint planning sessions. Encourage proactive problem-solving and continuous improvement, and consider diversifying suppliers to enhance resilience

Please remember to include suppliers in your business planning processes. Collaborative planning helps to align critical objectives. Engage suppliers in integrated business planning and sales and operations planning (S&OP). By sharing market insights, supply investments, and upcoming campaigns, you can co-develop strategies and enhance visibility. while regular measurement of collaboration is essential to monitor and evaluate progress. Invest in Supplier Relationships: Dedicate time and resources to maintaining strong relationships. This investment pays off by saving costs on sourcing, onboarding, and negotiations. Efficiently managed relationships become structurally sound over time.

I think that always must to have two suppliers and share the capacity 50% and 50% and they always be localizated near from your facilities and of course with Good prices, to me it works!!

It is crucial to collaborate with suppliers to ensure disruptions in material’s supply, identify potential risks or disruptions and define alternative plans to mitigate or minimize such events.