This supply chain crisis results from factors such as changes in consumer demand, shifts to online shopping due to lockdowns, factory closures, shipping delays, raw material shortages, to name a few.
With economists predicting that the current conditions won’t improve until 2023, here are a few ways that businesses can navigate supply chain issues in the new year.
Moving Excess Stock:
- Geotargeted Ads: Having the ability to target potential customers according to their proximity to local stores could be a powerful way to let nearby patrons know that their favorite products are in stock.
- Mobile Wallet Coupons: This allows businesses to create various promotions or coupons and send them directly to a customer’s mobile wallet in return, giving them a nudge or encouraging them to purchase from your store next time they’re looking to make a purchase. Once the coupon has been added to the customer’s wallet, the business can share updates about it through notifications.
Dealing With Limited Stock:
- Take control of stock levels: Research shows that 43% of retailers believe better stock level visibility would help serve customers and increase the overall customer experience. You can implement an effective stocktake system to keep track of stock accurately.
- Digital transformation: As many countries begin to move away from lockdowns and restrictions, bricks and mortar retailers are starting to recover; however, foot traffic is still not where it used to be pre-pandemic. Many businesses are benefiting from moving online to supplement income lost due to lower than average levels of in-store shopping.
- Source locally: It could be a valuable exercise to source alternative products or components and materials locally instead of relying on existing shipping routes. This will vary for different businesses and depend on where they currently hold inventory and are presently sourced or manufactured. This will help companies determine their options and perhaps uncover even better solutions.
- Network: Speak to other retailers who might be experiencing similar things to your business. Not only is it essential to have a strong support network around during challenging times but keeping your finger on the pulse and staying informed will help with decision making and forecasting. These networks may also be beneficial for sourcing new products or stock.
As supply-chain disruptions persist, volatility and uncertainty remain for the foreseeable future. However, retailers can grab the opportunity by the horns and address disruptions head-on. This will help in the short term and, if executed properly, could also help build resilience against future disruptions.
Mobeo’s suite of solutions can be customized to fit your individual business needs while driving traffic locally to your product or store. In addition, we offer the ability for businesses to create scalable, personalized digital offerings that are seamlessly added to shoppers’ mobile wallets, allowing for online-to-offline conversions in-store.
Talk to us today about how we can help boost your digital footprint.