How to safeguard your supply chain to keep projects on track

As supply chain disruptions continue to impact everything from food distribution to critical components delivery across industries, individuals and public and private entities across the world are taking steps toward safeguarding their supply chains to keep lives and operations on track.

Because supply chains challenges are so broad, it can be difficult to determine what immediate next steps to take to address these disruptions. The key first step is to gain full visibility into one’s supply chain. Many organizations have operations geographically distributed across countries and continents, and a lack of organization-wide contracts with no central view across their supply chain can add to the challenge of managing global operations.

According to 2022 Zippia research, only 6% of companies report full visibility on their supply chain, and 69% of companies do not have total visibility.

Like in many other industries, supply chain issues in construction and engineering are substantially impacting schedules and costs. In addition, the hefty cost of materials used for construction projects is forcing owners to rethink how they manage materials.

“Without an effective material management system, productivity levels decline, and projects are disrupted. On average, materials account for 50%-60% of costs in construction project budgets,” according to a report from the American Society of Civil Engineers.  

But managing materials may only be half the battle. Recent supply chain disruptions have also stemmed from social and political factors that have been more amplified in the wake of the pandemic.

Today’s technology can provide not only visibility into an organization’s supply chain, but forward-looking insights to help prevent surprises. With notice, organizations can plan. Without notice, organizations are stuck.

“Top 400 contractors report that their biggest challenges stem from trying to control what seemingly is uncontrollable,” according to Engineering News-Record. “Pricing volatility, tariffs on building materials, such as lumber and steel, and supply chain disruptions caused by Covid-19 shutdowns and the war in Ukraine all fall under that category.” 

Safeguarding supply chains in times of uncertainty

To learn more about the causes, current situations, and strategies to address supply chain challenges, leaders from Oracle Construction and Engineering invited Chris Lee, an industry veteran with over 25 years of supply chain management experience and 20 years of logistics experience, to share his expertise, perspective, and advice on how to improve supply chain health.

Lee teaches supply chain management at the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University and brings a unique perspective to safeguarding supply chains during these times of uncertainty.

During a one-hour webinar, Lee discusses sourcing strategies and the value of organization-wide visibility and standardization, integrated cost and contract management, and contingency planning to increase control and help keep projects and programs on track.

Watch the on-demand webinar here to gain a better understanding of how labor shortages, environmental impacts, politics, and logistics are affecting supply chains and how to respond.

Today’s technology can provide not only visibility into an organization’s supply chain, but forward-looking insights to help prevent surprises. With notice, organizations can plan. Without notice, organizations are stuck. Increased transparency and collaboration throughout the supply chain also helps improve vendor relations. As Lee says, “It is amazing what your vendors can tell you if you let them.”

Learn how to leverage master agreements to support projects and built assets, no matter their location. Reduce the risk of errors and streamline contract implementation using integrated cost and schedule functionality. Ensure cost impacts of changes are understood prior to approval. Once changes are approved, updates can quickly and accurately be made across cost sheets and contracts to keep projects on track.