Flexport’s Chief Revenue Officer Will Urban made an appearance on Let’s Talk Supply Chain’s weekly morning show, Thoughts and Coffee, where he and host Sarah Barnes-Humphrey discussed Your 2023 Supply Chain Planning Playbook. Here are the three key tips that any business should have in mind to stay on top of their supply chain planning in 2023 and beyond.

Read more in Flexport’s 2023 Supply Chain Planning Playbook - Predictions & Advice From Global Logistics Experts.

Stay on top of Market Trends

Look at the impact of current trends like the falling price of ocean shipping, or the impact of China’s loosened COVID policies as examples. Staying up-to-date on freight rates, availability of capacity, and timely factors like the geopolitical situation at your point of origin can all help avoid missteps in your planning process.

Don’t Stop Talking About Redesigning Your Supply Chain

The pandemic showed us just how unique each company’s supply chain truly is. Over the course of the last three years or so, many companies took a long, hard look at their end-to-end global logistics—from sourcing strategy to routing options, to last-mile possibilities—in the interest of overcoming the disruptions and getting their products to their buyers. As we return to a semblance of normalcy in logistics, many are slowing down their planned revamps and that’s not a good idea.

Diversification of suppliers and multimodal shipping are two examples of the best ways to start building resilience into your supply chain. Keep updating your plans to be better prepared for whatever the global market brings next.

Visibility, Visibility, Visibility

The ultimate goal is for every shipper to have true end-to-end visibility into their supply chain, from factory to front door. While we’re not quite there yet, there are many great ways to glean deeper insights from the data available today. The pandemic amplified the reality that many steps of the supply chain are siloed, meaning there’s partner data you can’t access, or is in a format you can’t incorporate into your own data stream. The more you can incorporate, the closer you can move to a single data source for your supply chain and the sooner you can reap the benefits.

There are other hot topics top of mind for supply chain professionals as well—Is there a growing protectionist headwind building up against global trade? What’s the lasting impact of the Trump era policies like the Section 301 tariffs? What is the logistics industry doing to combat the growing threat of cyberattack? Watch the recording below for more insights on these pressing issues.