Supply Chain Woes and What To Do About It

Supply Chain Woes are affecting everyone. No one is immune from corporations to mom and pops, from suppliers to retail businesses. What can you do?

Here are some suggestions and ideas to try.

• Cultivate trust with your customers. Be transparent and truthful about your current circumstances and be open about the fact that everyone is feeling the same pressure across the business landscape, including consumers, suppliers, and retailers. Make sure you do your best to bring them into your journey and carry them along for the ride.

• Have exceptional customer service. With emotions running high now is the time to make sure your customer service skills are at their best. Your best marketing is your last customer served. Our customers play a significant role as our attitude towards them will determine the impact they can have on those they speak to and come in contact with.

• Shrink the size of your portions. This is a controversial idea, and you may not feel that it suits you, but it may be worth considering. Keep in line with growing costs by shrinking portion size or cutting back on your operations to better your chances of at least breaking even.

• Adjust your business model. Perhaps you alter where your profits come from or how to minimize loss by removing certain items or equipment from your operations. No matter the variety of changes you have to consider, have some assurance in creating a “worst-case scenario” action plan so you can be ready instead of having to get ready.

• Stay with your current suppliers! Relationships are everything. Staying with your current suppliers may seem counterproductive if you feel motivated to shop around due to elevated prices and/or shortages. Unfortunately, chances are you will be placed at the bottom of another supplier’s list if you do bounce around, as large suppliers are likely struggling to meet the needs of their current customers. Especially for those critical ingredients or supplies, it may be worth weathering the storm momentarily as they sort themselves out. Undoubtedly, staying in close contact with your suppliers and thinking of them as partners can go a long way in staying informed and fomenting good will.

• Don’t be afraid to swallow some loss. We are too! The commitment to our business has made us take losses to protect our longevity. Perhaps some of you may find that a good long-term option is to incur some short-term loss to keep your business up and running. Relying on financial professionals such as accountants and advisors is a great way to start thinking about the months ahead from a financial perspective.

As you continue to persevere through all the challenges thrown at you since 2020, we will be happy to continue supporting your efforts to provide your plant-based customers the best product available on the market. We are proud to be by your side as our industry continues to encourage collaboration as a beautiful force of resilience - because WE KNOW that we are all better together! Our hope is that the more inconvenient adjustments are temporary.

With all our love and well wishes,

The Mami’s Team

Photo Credit 

Photo by Hannes Egler on Unsplash