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Procurement officer speaking to shipyard employee

Supplier & Supply Chain Risk Resources

Understanding Logistics in the Workplace

Procurement officers are tasked with building reliable supply chains. In addition, changing consumer sentiment and government regulations have brought unprecedented attention to supply chain practices. Business data can help companies manage supplier relationships and comply with ethical sourcing laws. Learn about important supply chain topics, including human trafficking and how procurement officers manage these risks.

Procurement officers checking suppliers' inventory

Major Supplier Risk Concerns

Procurement professionals are tasked with building reliable supply chains, keeping costs in check, and complying with government regulations. Supply chains are complex structures susceptible to a variety of risks. Price volatility, supplier failures, damage to infrastructure and political disruptions are just a few of the concerns that can bring assembly lines to a standstill.

Resilient supply chains allow businesses to respond to a variety of challenges; weak links may snap under pressure. The core function of logistics is to move goods from the point of origin to the consumer. Here are common supply chain risks that can interfere with that goal:

 

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Price Volatility

The cost of raw materials can fluctuate depending on supply, demand or speculation. Unexpected price spikes may shrink margins or cause a slowdown in production.

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Supplier Risks

A partner’s problems can quickly become your own. Financial stress, labor concerns or compliance violations could affect the performance of a vendor.

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Infrastructure Damage

The network of highways, railroads, waterways and air routes are what connect parties all along the supply line. Earthquakes, hurricanes and floods threaten to isolate partners.

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Political Unrest

Governments can exercise a great degree of control over economic activity. Sanctions, trade disputes, and war can be as disruptive as natural disasters when it comes to the free movement of goods. Global supply chains may reduce costs, but they also create vulnerabilities.

Types of Logistics Jobs

The field of logistics is composed of many positions. Purchasing officers, warehouse managers, supply chain experts, compliance analysts, and transportation coordinators are just a sample of common job titles. Programmers and data analysts will become increasingly important as more companies try to integrate data and analytics into their operations.

Logistics & Ethical Sourcing

Ethical concerns are of keen interest to procurement officers. Every attempt must be made to avoid doing business with companies that violate environmental laws, exploit labor or engage in corrupt practices. The scale and complexity of supply chains can help unethical companies hide their behavior, but technology empowers logistics professionals to evaluate and monitor suppliers like never before.

Online compliance solutions can flag potential warning signs, such as a manufacturer with factories in countries known to turn a blind eye towards forced labor. Insights into key officers and corporate families may also reveal a high risk for compliance violations.

The Future of Logistics

Logistics stands to benefit greatly from technological innovations like the Internet of Things, or IoT. Visibility into every stop along the supply chain helps companies identify inefficiencies and manage risk. The technologies listed below have major implications for logistics, and many are already in use:

Factories can monitor the performance of machinery in real time. Predictive analytics allow manufacturers to estimate when components will fail so that they can be replaced ahead of time.

You can learn more about supply chain risk management, ethical sourcing, and other logistics topics in the articles listed below.

D&B Viability Rating

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Supplier Diversity

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Supply Chain Management

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Ethical Sourcing

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Supplier Relationship Management

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Detailed Trade Risk Insight (DTRI)

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Understanding Supply Chain Analytics

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Effective Vendor Risk Management Process

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D&B Cyber Risk Rating

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