The Suez Canal Blockage in March 2021 had rippling effects across the globe as approximately 10 percent of global trade passes through this waterway. Although the Ever Given was only stuck for six days, the situation forced many companies to re-evaluate their supply chain resilience and entertain the concept of “onshoring” or exploring new markets.
In this blog, we’ll review the importance of having a dynamic system, such as NetSuite, for navigating challenging supply chain disruptions like this.
Onshoring your supply chain after the Suez Canal Blockage
Establishing relationships with new suppliers and manufacturers is not new, but interest in “onshoring” and localizing elements of the supply chain has gained steam in the last year. A survey by Thomasnet.com found that “nearly two-thirds of American manufacturers are ‘likely’ to bring production and sourcing back to their home continent.”
Onshoring or moving elements of the supply chain closer to home can lower transportation costs and tariffs/taxes, enable greater control, and better product tracing. Additionally, the benefits of overseas labor or component sourcing can be nullified if there are delays or disruptions (like the Suez Canal blockage).
NetSuite is an excellent tool that can be used to navigate a transition like this. (And we can help if you need a NetSuite health check.)
It is a cloud business management platform, and all critical data is updated in real-time. Any KPI or data point can be accessed on-demand, and customers can drill down to the transaction level from anywhere with an internet connection.
NetSuite also has the most comprehensive reporting capabilities on the market. It provides customizable dashboards, role-specific KPIs, flexible report-building tools, and much more. Customers also receive extensive permission management to grant tiered access and visibility to various actionable data. Even exploring new sales channels like ecommerce is simplified because NetSuite is a fully integrated solution capable of handling your entire business.
This level of reporting complexity and visibility could help provide peace of mind to prospective supply chain partners.
A thorough cost-benefit analysis is required for big decisions like these. This white paper shares tips for onshoring, running a cost-benefit analysis, and more.
Nearshoring or outsourcing your supply chain?
What are the most significant barriers to moving supply chains to the US? Cost of production, materials availability, and access to highly specialized labor.
Companies that depend on raw materials or subcomponents will have a difficult time in the US. Many of these materials are only available in foreign countries, or they are made in other countries. Separately, highly specialized and technical labor is harder to come by in the US because many of these jobs moved overseas.
For those companies that are exploring new markets to diversify their supply chain, NetSuite OneWorld is an outstanding solution for your business needs.
OneWorld is NetSuite’s solution for companies with multinational and multi-subsidiary operations. It was created to support global ambitions and enable companies globally to utilize this dynamic business management system.
NetSuite has 36,000+ customers in more than 217 countries, and all are running on the same version. Its OneWorld solution supports more than 27 different languages (and counting), it has a complex multi-currency management system with nearly 200 currencies and exchange rates, a powerful tax engine, built-in compliance, and much more.
Read more about OneWorld and other NetSuite modules here.
This is a highly customizable global solution that can adapt to your needs and the needs of your prospective supply chain partners.