How to Shop Locally for your Business

As we all get used to the new normal under COVID-19 restrictions, it will be important to realize that some things have changed for the foreseeable future. Your business will need to adapt to these changes in the economy or die.

Travel restrictions will mean that shopping local will not be a choice, but perhaps the only option. In order for you to be able to shop local for your business, you will need to know and understand your supply chain. It’s a lot simpler for a family to do their shopping in the local supermarket or main street, but for a small niche business or technology enterprise, this may be a lot more complex. This article provides some insight as to how shopping local for your business can be achieved.

What is your Supply Chain, and How Can you Improve it?

Your supply chain is a great source of business information and potential money saving. It can also be a headache if you cannot get what your business needs when it needs it most.

Create a supply chain strategy by determining what the goals and aims of your supply chain are. For example, how much do you want to save on transport, where will you deliver the final product to? Even e-commerce concerns will need to think this through.

Growing sales is a critical aspect of the business, yet it is intrinsically linked to operations and logistics. Your sales are at the end of the supply chain, and in fact, you should be strengthening these linkages as you build lifelong customers and clients.

Cost management is the key element of the process to understand where you are spending over the odds within the supply chain. It may be that there is a specific supplier who is always late, resulting in operational delays and slower production. This must be pinpointed and adjusted.

Analyze the supply chain using all of the knowledge above and create a comprehensive review, noting patterns in demand and cost data.

Finally, optimize the supply chain, making trade-offs in your supply chain, including delivery times, inventory availability, transportation costs, facility costs, inventory investment, and which suppliers to purchase from, to find the highest service and lowest cost supply chain design. It is in this final step that you will be able to make the changes to a more local shop, buying local and creating a local community economy.

Can your Business Shop Local?

Therefore, it is not as simple as just choosing a more local supplier or popping into the nearest IT supplier. You need a comprehensive plan for your business, so you can identify the savings and rationale for changing suppliers or delivery times as you strengthen and improve the links on your supply chain. 

There is no need to panic because there are opportunities to conduct a professional supply chain assessment  providing your business with all the information you need. 

Keeping your supplies local is a growing trend. From restaurants to tech start-ups, all businesses are endeavoring to do their best for the planet and yet still turn a profit. One of the most basic things that you can change is where you get your supplies, office equipment, and sundries. If done right, your business can make money-saving, planet-saving changes to where you buy supplies and how you get them to you. Perhaps even amend the brand to let your customers know that you shop local. This will all depend on how well you are able to analyze and optimize your business supply chain.