As an Omaha based 3PL warehouse, we’ve recently learned a lot about what natural disasters can do to a supply chain. It seems like every week we hear another story about a storm that’s causing flooding, tornados, heavy winds, and worse. It’s a constant challenge to navigate these storms, their destruction, and be prepared with backup plans when the unexpected happens. Unplanned emergencies hurt your retail customers and disrupt the making of goods that save lives and protect communities. Having a smart supply chain that’s spread out can help keep your products in production regardless of the weather.
Shipment Delays
Natural disasters take a toll on local economies when they cause the closure of airports, shipping ports, and highways. Sometimes these closures can last for days or weeks at a time. If you’re importing from overseas, you may be able to reroute your shipments ahead of a severe weather event like a hurricane. At a minimum, you can make sure that everyone up the supply chain is prepared for the delay.
Manufacturing Stoppage
Natural disasters don’t discriminate between trees and manufacturing plants. Your supplier can easily sustain so much damage that the production facility has to stop. The stoppage could be a few days, and in the worst-case scenario, indefinitely. Having another supply located in a significantly different climate and splitting your orders between the two locations could be a good insurance policy.
Infrastructure Damage
When the train tracks get damaged, your intermodal shipments stop crossing that portion of the route and need to be rerouted. Sometimes the reroute is hundreds of miles out of the way. Damaged bridges could also result in massive detours for long-haul trucks.
3PL Warehouse Partner
When you choose to partner with an experienced fulfillment center, you get a valuable resource that can help you evaluate a natural disaster situation. They can help you create alternate plans and get your products to where they need to go. An experienced, centrally located 3rd Party Warehouse keeps your supply chain going no matter what mother nature throws at you.
