Port issues, others threatening our supply chains, manufacturers lament

Manufacturers in the country have said constraints at the ports and policy inconsistencies are among the critical issues threatening the supply chains of their businesses.

They said sourcing of raw materials and capability to drive backward integration, foreign exchange allocation problems and technology adoption were the other major issues faced by supply chain managers in the manufacturing sector.

The manufacturers revealed this in a poll during a webinar organised by the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria on Thursday, themed ‘Managing supply chain challenges in Nigeria.’

In the poll conducted by the Supply Chain Director at Kimberley-Clark Nigeria, Azukaego Chukwuelue, they identified the capability of suppliers and service providers to tackle supply chain issues as the easiest issue to solve.

Infrastructural and information systems issues were regarded as the most difficult problems for the long term.

Chukwuelue noted during her presentation that the first half of 2021 was marred by severe port congestion due to changes in documentation, frequent hikes due to vessel congestion and container availability challenges followed by the devaluation of the naira, delays in port inspection and approval from the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control.

She added that community issues in Onne Port, Port Harcourt also hampered logistics.

Ete Pinnick, the Supply Chain Director for Sub-Saharan Africa at Mondelez International, Cadbury Nigeria Plc’s parent company, Cadbury Nigeria Plc’s parent company, said the nature of policymaking in the country made it quite difficult to maintain efficiency.

He also said that the African Continental Free Trade Agreement would require participating countries to build local infrastructure to create a competitive advantage.

Pinnick urged supply chain experts to do more mentorship to build capability in the manufacturing supply chain ecosystem.

He said engaging policymakers was important but supply chain players should build it with integrity.

He said, “Stop giving bribes. If all of us stop doing that today, it might cause a delay in the short term but it will end and build a resilient supply chain in the long term. We need to be accountable and also infuse our supply chains with value to improve their capability.

“Listen to people, get feedback and improve your processes. This improves the predictability of a supply chain. Use simple, low-cost, scalable solutions rather than setting up costly systems in the name of design.” PUNCH

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