We have spoken before about the changing landscape of logistics, as influenced by global trends such as technology and human rights advancements.

It is necessary for any supply chain manager to stay up to date and fortify their business to ensure it continues to prosper in the face of industry upheavals.

This can be described as building resilience.

An essential part of business planning and operations, this essentially involves managing risks to the business. Doing so not only helps agents weather the storms of an ever-evolving global landscape, but can also serve to make the company more competitive.

The process can include establishing new partnerships, finding new techniques of carrying out operations or working towards cost reduction.

All these can help a company’s bottom line, open up opportunities for an expansion of business and of course, help the company gain an excellent reputation for efficiency and adaptability.

One great way to make your supply chain management firm or department resilient is to embrace global waves of change that apply not just to our industry, but worldwide.

An example of this would be the shift towards environmental conservation and consciousness. “Going green” is a wonderful decision to make out of a sense of responsibility, and can also add PR points to the company. Furthermore, its quickly becoming a legal requirement.

Towards the end of last month, the European Union made a point of calling for a reduction in emission of greenhouse gases connected to international shipping.

With emissions predicted to increase by up to 250% by the year 2050, drastic action needs to be taken across the industry.

The EU is taking early precautions to prevent this terrifying future from coming to pass, where larger vessels hoping to use EU ports will be need to report their annual verified emissions and other supporting information, as of 2018.

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Another way to develop business resiliency is by establishing partnerships with other industry participants.

An outstanding example of this would be the current agreement between Ericsson and Scania that promises to bring about the future of freighting.

The tech giant and motor vehicle heavyweight are combining the vast resources at their disposal to further research into vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure connectivity.

Scania is already head and shoulders above the rest of the industry with its platooning concept: where Scania vehicles drive in a tight formation which serves to reduce wind resistance and therefore fuel consumption.

Now with the best minds of Ericsson on the case as well, one can only imagine the advances that will arise and benefit us all.

Speaking of technology, embracing and staying ahead of innovations is always a surefire way to enhance supply chain resilience. Advances that are able to reduce reliance on human staff can work to buffer the company against rising labour costs or shrinking work forces that may see some facets of logistics wiped off the supply chain.

It is therefore prudent for supply chain managers to stay abreast of developments, such as what we are to expect from logistics tech start up ClearMetal Inc. which is looking towards simplifying container shipping using predictive intelligence tools.

What have you done to reinforce supply chain resilience this month?