Generally, when people think of redundancies negative connotations usually come to mind. Redundancies have a stigma of being unnecessary to the direct tasks at hand. But prevention and mitigation are just as important as direct action and day-to-day goals. Preparing for worst-case scenarios can prevent small disruptions from causing huge crises.

Disruptions to your supply chain can happen at any time and can be hard to predict. When these disruptions happen, they are often completely out of your control. Redundancies are an important part of your risk management plan and can keep your production line running smoothly.

Redundancies are, “the inclusion of extra components which are not strictly necessary to functioning, in case of failure in other components.” This means having back-up plans or fail-safes in place, so that production never halts when disruptions happen. The disruption comes in and is immediately replaced with a backup until the problem can be resolved.

Having redundancies in place has several benefits, but the most important is their ability to minimize shutdowns and keep production constantly flowing. Why is this important? Well, it is important because shutdowns and production halting cost you time, money, and good customer relations. It can even tarnish your company’s reputation if the disruption lasts too long.

Before you can put redundancies in place, you must complete a risk management assessment of the whole business and the supply chain. This will allow you to find weak spots and where you need to focus on the redundancies. The assessment should give you a baseline on what needs improving, continuous observation, and where your supplier may be falling short. Determine if issues are being caused by your business or one of your suppliers.

Just-in-time deliveries can be beneficial for many manufacturers, especially when space for inventory is limited. But there is a balance between having products delivered just-in-time and preparing for the just-in-case. The risk assessment can help you narrow down what parts of the supply chain should have backup plans and which ones are good to continue for just-in-time deliveries.

Creating backup plans can help you to achieve enhanced reliability, improved customer service, and profitable redundancy. Prioritizing customers during this process can help to ensure that you are maintaining your quantities and prices as best as you can for their needs. This will keep you going even when competitors run out of stock or must adjust prices.

Working with a supplier that is versatile and nimble can keep your supply chain as resilient as possible. Your supplier should not be reliant on a single partner or sourcing location. Before choosing a supplier, ask them what redundancies they have in place and how they can support the weaker areas of your supply chain. Not only do you have to think about your own redundancies, but also about the redundancies in place across the whole supply chain.

Enhancing inventory levels to serve customers at short notice during normal times and can still guarantee delivery when there are disruptions. This level of customer service and care will bolster relationships and create a profitable redundancy.

Even with every protection in place, disruptions may still occur, and the reaction becomes the most important factor to supply chain resiliency. Having redundancies and backup plans allows you to move quickly when disruptions occur because there is already a plan in place.

When major disruptions occur, the redundancies are enabled by effective processes, a clear understanding of what is being impacted, and control over your systems. This planning should come from training that is based on anticipation, simulation, and hypothetical scenarios. Plan for the worst-case scenario, so that nothing can throw you off.

Before you can put redundancies in place, companies need to understand their supply chain, its vulnerabilities, and potential losses. The insights that you gain from comprehensive assessments will help pinpoint where redundancies and buffers are most likely to have the biggest benefit. Strategic redundancies pay for themselves in the face of normal volatility and severe disruptions.

Redundancies in manufacturing are important to keeping your production line moving and keeping customers happy. Do not wait until you are in the middle of a crisis to start planning. Understand the impact of potential risks, so that you can remain resilient, efficient, and effective to customers on all fronts.

Conner Industries, Inc. is a leading provider of industrial lumber and packaging solutions in the United States. We specialize in supplying cut lumber (softwoods, hardwoods, and panel products) needed for pallets and transportation packaging, fully assembled custom pallets, crates, and integrated packaging solutions, as well as a wide variety of services tailored to customer needs. With 14 plant locations, we have redundancies in place so that supply chain disruptions do not affect our customers.

In 2018, Hurricane Michael brought through a wave of destruction that demolished homes, cars, and accumulated billions of dollars in damages. Our Panama City, Florida plant was among the properties that were destroyed by the hurricane. Because of the redundancies we had in place, we were able to move orders to surrounding plants, while we helped our Panama City plant and employees get back on their feet.

Major disruptions are part of the world we live in, so work with a supplier that plans for the unexpected and has redundancies in place.