“ I help set the vision and strategy for supply chain and procurement , which are closely aligned with our company goals and priorities ,” he continues . “ The supply chain and procurement leadership team is focused on ensuring that the handoffs across processes and corresponding accountabilities are as clear as possible . This allows us to understand and respond to vulnerabilities up and down the supply chain . Many of our suppliers are also our customers , and the integrated organization allows for much better partnership . More recently , we have been focused on longterm de-risking of the supply chain while navigating unprecedented crises . It has allowed us to examine our end-to-end processes and tighten up accountabilities , hand-offs , and ownership .”
From demand unpredictability to longer lead times and unavailability of raw materials , like most organizations , the past two years have thrown up many challenges for Lubrizol . Difficult times , however , can often provide important lessons . As Arul elaborates : “ Developing long-term partnerships within the ecosystem is critical , not only during tricky times . Business continuity planning will pay dividends in the long run . It is important to constantly refresh options for supply chain contingency .”
Arul emphasizes the need to develop digital tools to perform what-if scenario analysis . Speed and agility are big success factors in the dynamic demand-supply environment . By equipping teams with analytical capabilities , it ’ s possible to quickly translate the impact of a potential disruption and explore solutions . Arul explains that communication is crucial . “ Vendor and customer communication
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