Portico boss in Portsmouth advises business owners to consider revising supply chain

During a webinar hosted by the University of Portsmouth, Portico commercial director, Ben Harraway dished out advice to firms struggling with their supply chains after dealing with issues connected to the coronavirus pandemic.

Mr Harraway advised businesses to consider the supply chain a supply network rather than a straight line, ensuring that firms have alternative suppliers if available and needed, considering local, national and international options.

He also suggested business owners consider all forms of transport for their goods, including air, rail, sea and road.

Another thing he suggested was to ensure visibility within supply chains, being aware of tier one and tier two suppliers, as well as keeping diversity within the supply chain.

The event, #Covid19 Retail: Convincing customers my products and supply chain are sound, saw industry experts, such as Liz Sharples, a senior teaching fellow at the university and Faz Ahmed, co-owner at Akash Indian restaurant in Southsea, give their advice on supply chain management in the current situation.

Mr Ahmed, who is currently running the restaurant business as a takeaway and delivery-only business, found that some of his products had significantly increased in price.

He said: ‘I normally pay £18 to £25 for a box of ginger, last week I paid £65.

‘It has been difficult because we don’t want to put our prices up because you don’t want to take advantage of the situation, but looking at it we’re going to have to creep it up.’

Key recommendations from himself and Mrs Sharples were to remain honest with customers and ensure they are aware if the supplier has changed and to focus on the customers’ satisfaction over profits - something Mr Ahmed said has helped him retain loyal customers.

Mr Harraway also advised firms to ensure transparency and communication between customers and suppliers to maintain trust up and down the supply chain.

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