IFS Praises John Lewis' Foresight in Planning and Limiting the Impact of Supply Chain Disruption

Sep 21, 2021 • News • IFS • service supply chain • supply chain • Parts Pricing and Logistics • GLOBAL

Following the news that John Lewis has chartered a fleet of ships to limit the impact of supply chain disruption on its Christmas season, Alan Laing, UK&I Managing Director at enterprise software firm, IFS has praised the company – noting that others can learn from their foresight and planning.

As reported by the BBC, John Lewis is chartering a fleet of extra ships, along with a number of other businesses, to make sure it has Christmas stock on time.

IFS HAS PRAISED JOHN LEWIS' FORESIGHT AND PLANNING CAPABILITIES IN LIMITING THE IMPACT OF SUPPLY CHAIN DISRUPTION AHEAD OF CHRISTMAS

Retailers have been grappling with a host of supply chain problems from driver shortages to shipping delays.

John Lewis chair Sharon White said the business was throwing everything at the issues to make sure Christmas would not be disrupted. "We're acting hard and we're acting fast to make sure we can still deliver a fantastic sparkly Christmas to our customers," Ms White told the BBC.

Following the news, Alan Laing, UK&I Managing Director at enterprise software firm, IFS has praised the company, noting that others can learn from their foresight and planning.

Alan Laing, UK & Ireland Managing Director at IFS commented: “Supply chain disruption has dominated the business and news agenda for much of the pandemic period, and it is clear that firms are increasingly worried about what that may mean for seasonal sales in the run up to Christmas. The measures announced today by John Lewis show a business that has made an intelligent assessment of the potential pain points in its supply chain operations and put in place a well-considered mitigation plan well ahead of time, proactively minimising disruption and ensuring their customers still receive the service they’ve come to expect from the retailer. Others can learn a lot from this example, leaning on resource planning software to gain true visibility of their business and plan for a range of potential scenarios to make sure they are delivering for their customers when it really matters – at the moment of service. However, the time to do this is now, before it’s too late.

IFS helps companies around the world who manufacture and distribute goods, build and maintain assets, and manage service-focused operations to plan and manage their supply chains and coordinate people, product, and processes to ensure businesses run optimally.