Plus Relocation

How do RMCs work with supplier partners during a crisis or emergency?

It’s critical that relocation companies have a sound supplier management process, especially during crisis situations. Senior Vice President of Global Services and Supply Chain Tracey Gatlin has details in this Remote Relo Tip Tuesday.

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Complete transcript: “Hi, I’m Tracey Gatlin, senior VP of client services and supply chain here at Plus, and welcome to a remote edition of Relo Tip Tuesday. I’m coming to you today from my home as we all do our part to keep a healthy distance and slow the spread of COVID-19. My question today is: ‘How do RMCs work with supplier partners during a crisis or emergency?’

Often, supply chain management is seen as just sourcing or performance management. But risk management is an integral part of supply chain management. Under normal business practices, we prepare for risk in a few ways:

• First, we select primary, secondary and tertiary suppliers, just in case there’s a need.
• We also monitor financial health to ensure that supplier remain financially healthy as we work with them.

But what we are facing now goes beyond normal risk management practices. A crisis management plan lays out the roadmap for recovery during a crisis situation such as this pandemic. There are four stages in this process:

• First, you need to control the situation. Actively monitor the supply chain to ensure that there’s business continuity and shift work if that is needed for interruptions.
• Planning for recovery is the next stage. And this is where you’re going to evaluate your anticipated increases or decreases in service volume and source for additional providers if that’s needed.
• Third, in the act and recovery stage, which really is when business starts to pick back up, you’re going to start providing services to all of these moves that are possibly moving off hold or new authorizations that are coming in.
• And then the last stage is to transition to business as usual, or BAU. This is where you’ll want to monitor and manage the activity to ensure there is a seamless transition.

With this process and continued diligence, we are prepared for whatever ‘new normal’ is awaiting us. So stay safe and healthy and prosperous, and thank you for watching!”