While global manufacturing has its benefits, there are distinct challenges that every company must overcome first in order to take advantage of them. Let’s take a deeper look at some of the ways that ITI Manufacturing helps companies overcome the challenges in global supply chain management.
Managing Communication with Global Manufacturers
When you consider a global supply chain, one of the first problems you might think of is avoiding communication issues. When partnering with manufacturers and logistics companies from different parts of the world, you’ll likely run into communication barriers that largely stem from differences in language, location, and culture.
Language Barriers
When working with companies around the world, it is likely that your manufacturer speaks a language that does not match your own. And even when speaking the same language, differences in the words, meanings, and the way language is used can lead to misunderstandings.
For example, speaking English does not mean that everything is the same everywhere you go. There are different versions spoken in different parts of the world, such as American, British, and Australian English. All three are the same language, but include different words, mannerisms, and meanings that can create issues such as misunderstanding a delivery date.
Cultural Differences
Cultural differences also play a major role in communication issues. This is because different cultures have different expectations for how you communicate. What is normal in one culture can be considered rude in another, and this friction between groups can make it harder to work together. You need a solution that addresses both the language barriers and cultural differences to improve communication.
ITI Manufacturing Manages Communications Within the Supply Chain
Companies that partner with ITI Manufacturing rely on our 50+ years of global manufacturing experience to communicate and execute throughout the supply chain, despite cultural differences.
We also employ people in multiple regions of the world to avoid the risk of important information being lost in translation or delayed due to time zone differences. Our global factory relationships have been built over decades, generating a level of understanding and trust that takes years to develop.
Although we handle communication and execution of the manufacturing supply chain, we keep our customers involved and engaged in the process by providing them consistent weekly updates and information related to their projects.
Weekly Updates to Improve Supply Chain Visibility and Predictability
One of the problems that companies regularly face in their manufacturing supply chain is maintaining production visibility in real-time. This is extremely difficult to do even under the best circumstances because global supply chains have many fast moving parts.
Without strong visibility throughout the supply chain, it is impossible to estimate when deliveries will be made with any level of predictability. All too often, supply chain professionals learn that a product is going to be late, after it was supposed to be shipped.
At ITI Manufacturing, we resolve this problem by providing detailed and specific weekly updates. Since we manage communication and execution throughout the supply chain, we are able to monitor operations and report back to you each week on the status of your project, products, and/or shipments. With our weekly updates, our customers are able to proactively plan production, inventory management, and shipment schedules. We keep you informed of your delivery date until the shipment is delivered.
Resolving Issues As They Happen
With so many moving parts, issues in production or shipping are bound to happen from time to time. But it’s frustrating when issues cause serious problems or result in finger pointing between companies and suppliers.
When an issue does happen, ITI has a standard process to immediately acknowledge it and then work to resolve it to our customer’s satisfaction. It doesn’t matter the issue’s origin or cause, our team takes ownership and follows up with our customer until it’s resolved.
ITI Manufacturing Maintains Quality Standards
Getting your products to you on time is only part of the effort. Throughout the entire manufacturing process, ITI conducts multiple quality checkpoints to make sure that all products meet quality standards and exact specifications. Detailed inspections ensure that quality issues are caught early and resolved in a timely fashion.
Diversification To Reduce Risks in Manufacturing
The trend in U.S. manufacturing supply chains prior to the pandemic was to reduce vendors, and often resulted in companies single-sourcing as many products as possible. These efforts allowed for more streamlined operations and improved communication with a few key suppliers. The global pandemic exposed and amplified some of the risks involved with single-sourcing such as factory closures, shipping delays, limited employee availability, and material shortages.
Many companies are now looking to dual-source products and increase their supplier-base to reduce the potential for future supply chain issues. ITI Manufacturing gives you the best of both worlds.
By partnering with ITI, you have the luxury of working hand-in-hand with a trusted vendor, allowing ITI to manage qualification and production from one or multiple factories for your product. ITI also allows your supply chain team to quickly pivot should an unforeseen disruption occur.
