As the Coronavirus mitigation measures begin to achieve some success and the economic impact of this crisis grows across the globe, governments are calling on manufacturers to restart their production and to provide leadership in the post lockdown world.
For manufacturers, this is a time of great uncertainty as executives face increased challenges around supply and demand, workforce disruptions, and cash flow.
In addition, restarting production is, in many cases, a complex and uncertain task even for the most skilled operators. A production restart depends on many highly qualified professionals both inside and outside the business, from executives who set production targets, to process engineers, production managers who coordinate manufacturing, and specialist consultants and OEMs who remain on hand to coordinate risk and guarantee uptime.
For manufacturers facing uncertainty, scrap is more costly than ever. The ability for leaders to identify opportunities in innovation will be a critical differentiator in cost-saving as manufacturing resumes.
Here is a strategic checklist DataProphet has created in order to assist the restarting of your plant:
| Strategic Checklist | ||
| Timing | Given the costs of shutting down and restarting, the plant manager needs to weigh the opportunity of a restart against the business and operational risks of doing so prematurely. | What is the cost of the restart? What would be the cost of shutting down again? What are the risks that could lead to a new shut down? Lockdown resumed Supply chain interrupted Demand shortage |
| Supply Chain | In preparation for a restart, ensure that your supply chain will meet your production requirements, or you may be forced to shut down again. | How has the lockdown affected your current inventory? How has the supply chain been affected? Are your suppliers ready to restart their production? Are the logistics available to ship parts again? |
| Demand | Demand will probably have been affected by the Covid19 crisis. To manage this risk and align strategy within the business, manufacturers need to reevaluate their production volumes, production strategy, and/or realign their KPIs and expectations. | Can your sales team provide market insight? Can your excess production be stored at a reasonable cost? When are your competitors restarting their operations? How are your customers restarting their operations? How will demand from your end customers be affected? |