Collaborative Strategic Sourcing
This approach highlights the collaborative approach of engaging suppliers in long-term partnerships with active involvement in the decision-making process which allows room for feedback and information sharing from your suppliers. This creates an investment in the end product or outcome which ensures full client satisfaction. This, in turn, can lead to constant improvements along the supply chain. The more strategic you are with the optimization of your supply chain the more you are then able to reduce various risks that come up along the way.
Corporate Social Responsibility
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is becoming essential for all supply chains to adopt. Suppliers who adopt CSR are taken into stronger consideration over and above those who do not. Brands increasingly want to partner with suppliers who can provide them with environmental compliances and want to know what green initiatives they run to partner with. One of the best ways to begin understanding how to implement these solutions regionally is to look at a global brand that has had its fair share of supply struggles. Herman Miller is a good example to do this with.
Miller is seen as instrumental in paving the way with greening the supply chain from using a green design for their products, to ensuring they use less harmful chemicals within the products. The only way they were able to do this was through gaining supplier buy-in. They asked their suppliers to begin complying with the zero-waste policies within their procedures.
Herman Miller has used greening their supply chain as an opportunity for innovation. They have been able to create new uses for material and product that were otherwise disposed of to the benefit of their product and brand. These kinds of innovations have huge benefits as they continue to pave the way as a strong globally competitive brand with green initiatives at the fore of every process they follow.
As consumers increasingly dictate what manufacturers make, the power of adopting CSR and green initiatives as part of your strategy can have global results for your brand.
Check out our comprehensive guide on optimizing your quality assurance systems.Third Party Quality Assurance
Your supply chain is directly linked to your brand image; it is, therefore, imperative that you have an efficient supply chain management strategy. You may find that your brand could benefit from adopting third party QA. The challenges experienced along your supply chain are often full of complexities, through outsourcing all of your procedures to a compliant QA company your brand’s image is taken care of. The QA solutions that are offered are tailored specific to your needs and the ever-evolving changes.
Technology
Global brands are known to adopt various technological solutions to 
effectively manage their supply chains. Regionally there is the thought that this may be too expensive to apply. When it comes to technology, it is too easy to jump to the first software you find. It is essential to understand what you need technology to do for you, so that you may select the type of technology that is best suited to your needs. By doing this, you are ensuring that this is not overly costly for you and maximizes its efficiency for you.
These are only a few of the supply chain best practices that can be implemented regionally. Always review your procedures to work out what will work best for you, don’t find yourself in a position where you have adopted the first solution you’ve come across with no noticeable evidence of the benefits it has for you and your quality procedures. The point is to optimize your supply chain for the best possible outcomes for your brand. What solutions do you use to optimize your supply chain?
If we take a look at Targets mistake of launching the toddler sized Barbie SUV country-wide, the problem they faced was that their distribution centers were receiving inventory faster than they were distributing it to stores across the country. This meant that there were Target stores that had empty shelves with none of the promised items in store. They attributed this to inconsistencies between actual inventory and the computer records. A mistake like this will have cost millions in revenue loss, but also detrimental to both Target and Barbie. As a supply chain manager, it is up to you to ensure you suppliers and distribution centers operate on the same system to mitigate risks like this occurring.
A team that is led by someone who has a strong sense of leadership can drive the team towards the finish line in a successful manner and ensure that they are achieving the supply chain goals. A strong leader needs to be able to ensure that everyone is on track to achieving the goals as set out. They need to build confidence within the team.
The leader is also responsible for managing all relationships and removing any issues that may hinder the effective functioning of the team. Lastly, the team needs to see you in the trenches, alongside them, digging deep. This creates a sense of solidarity and unity with your team.
“Which business leaders do you look up to? Let me know in the comments below…”
Regular, daily reports are important for tracking team progress. The data collected and presented in your weekly meetings should align with your quality control plan and should make recommendations and adjustments where necessary. This will help you and your team understand what goals are on track to being achieved, what problems may need to be addressed and what things need a more strategic focus.
The more accurate and concise your reporting is, the more focused your quality team can be in fixing potential problems and even avoiding potential risks. If your supply chain key performance indicators are not aligned with all departments of your 
Creating a sense of trust and motivation within your team may sound too emotive for you, but everyone has a desire to be motivated. This creates a sense of ownership and a deeper sense of responsibility and control over their work.
Improved team trust leads to an energized team, an energized team can lead to procedural innovation within your 
Let’s take a dive into some of the historical trends with regards to global sourcing. A brief overview will provide us with why we keep up with these trends and what these trends mean for today. They underpin the way in which we currently view and conduct sourcing, so it is important to understand how sourcing has evolved.
In the early 60’s there was a great focus on purchasing although this was still a clerical based position, as we moved through to the 70’s there was an acknowledgement of the enormity of the task so it became its own department, a department solely focused on purchasing and all the procedures that go into that. As history goes, politics, the environment, and government affect every element of the economy and the manner in which it functions, shifts and changes.
The oil embargo in the late 70’s pushed the agenda of purchasing into the hands of businesses, this made purchasing in the 80’s take a more strategic look into quality, quantity, timing, reliability, and strategy. As I am sure you are aware, the 90’s was all about reducing costs, sometimes at the expense of quality. Although there was also a greater emphasis on developing long-term supplier relationships, with long-term contracts.
This era also birthed good supplier relationship management. The 
Global sourcing as a whole has made it essential for companies to improve their 
There is evidence that supply chains are often managed functionally with metrics, systems, and behaviors geared to managing the performance of a specific area. Whilst detailed functional knowledge and understanding are essential to delivering a quality product, a narrow view can lead to a potential misalignment of the different elements of the chain towards the end goal. Senior management needs to ensure that decisions which are taken at the top are not sub-optimised in the operational execution. In practical terms, this means a real transformation in how measurement systems are designed and implemented to ensure that there is a full understanding of how the business interlinks. Individual incentives and success need to be aligned for the achievement of overarching goals, not purely functional excellence.
Be clear – This may sound like an obvious basic principle, but it’s vital to make sure the ‘narrative’ of the information comes across so that it is understood easier and its relevance and context are clear. Use a brief headline, to sum up, the information being communicated and focus on the key aspects of the data as well as why it is important and how it can be used.
Retailers can protect themselves from potential supply chain interruptions or delays associated with suppliers’ human rights, labor, environmental, and governance practices by ensuring buying offices have effective compliance programs and robust management systems. Here are steps to manage risk:
Inaccurate data, existing systems infrastructure, and entrenched business practices are common barriers to the implementation of quality management systems. The importance of getting existing processes in line with 
Once you have done your best to involve all relevant parties in the quality assurance procedures, your next task is to keep your finger on the pulse.
Even if your quality assurance procedures seem to be working fine, and you have integrated QA and open channels of communication, you may still be falling behind.
Best practices are called that for a reason.
They are tried and tested and shown to improve the success of companies. However, they are always progressing, and so should you.
Do get complacent with what you have, or let hubris stand in the way of taking note of what works for others.
Seeing what works for those in a similar field may greatly improve your business, through incorporating useful ideas, tools, or 
All along I have emphasized that QA procedures are a team effort.
You do not have the time to meet with everyone, answer all emails, and be everywhere at once. You also desire time off.
The good news…
You do not need to do everything on your own!
You can pick your battles to optimize expenditure of time and money.
When you do not have the requisite expertise, hiring a 3rd party company may be the way to go.
This could free up time and some responsibility, allowing you to focus more on what you can manage. This will allow for all-round 
With these five (
You can be more hands on in approach to factory and production monitoring and inspection.
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