United in a crisis
In part two of our Keeping the Chain Going series, we look at how SIG has been standing up to COVID-19 to ensure food remains safe and available
In part one of our Keeping the Chain Going series, we saw how COVID-19 has become a new reality for the food and beverage industry. All over the world, manufacturers have had to quickly change how they work, adhering to lockdowns and social distancing, presenting supply chains with a series of unprecedented challenges.
Every business has been taking action in their own unique ways but how has SIG been responding to the crisis? What have we been doing to ensure our customers can provide a continuous supply of food and beverages to consumers?
Meeting the demand
COVID-19 has hugely disrupted traditional supply chain models, especially when it comes to raw material sourcing and logistics. And the fact that the outbreak of the virus hit in China – a country many see as the ‘factory of the world’ – has only exacerbated the situation and further strained the supply of materials and goods.
Despite these challenges, we have a strong and flexible supply chain that’s been able to cope with the current situation. Due to our solid and longstanding relationships with suppliers, we’ve managed to ensure a constant supply and availability of raw materials. And our supply chain contains planned safety stocks that make us resilient to short-term challenges in inbound and outbound logistics, raw materials and consumables.
And thanks to the extraordinary efforts of SIG teams, we’ve been able to operate at near full capacity – taking local action together with the support of our global network. So, while we don’t know how long the current situation will continue, we’re confident we can keep meeting our customers’ needs, even with spikes in demand.
Sourcing as normal
Typically, we source raw materials locally in the regions where we operate, which means we’re flexible enough to switch between our suppliers. To date, we’ve only seen a tightening supply of ethanol due to the urgent need for disinfectant products. But our Sourcing and Procurement department is set up in such a way to ensure all our needs can continually be met – identifying risk factors early and moving quickly to take action.
Though there’s currently reduced sea freight capacity between Europe and Asia, we’ve been working hard with all our material suppliers – such as aluminium in China – to secure the sailings we need, as well as switching some routes to train where appropriate.
Support at all times
With severe travel restrictions and social distancing, providing manual or physical services has been challenging. That’s why our Remote Services have become more valuable than ever. Via video-enabled smart glasses, they allow a customer to digitally connect to an SIG service technician from anywhere in the world, gaining expert guidance over a secure live-feed.
Our Remote Services were designed to offer manufacturers a smarter way to service their filling machines and generate more filling line uptime. But in this new COVID-19 reality, they’re enabling us to deliver vital support while observing critical health and safety requirements.
And when it comes to sourcing parts and components for our filler assembly and spare part operations, we’ve had no reported shortages – even with current travel restrictions. In any case, we’re prioritising spare parts supply to our installed base – meaning our customers can always depend on us to keep their filling machines and systems running as normal.
Maintaining essential services
As with the majority of the food and beverage industry, SIG is among the businesses defined as critical infrastructure. By adhering to and often outperforming official regulations and guidelines in the countries we operate, we’re confident and proud that we can continue providing essential services to society at a time when reliable food supply is more important than ever.
Ultimately, together with all our customers, partners and suppliers, we’ve been doing what we can to make sure a health crisis doesn’t become a food supply crisis.
Want to know what other actions SIG has been taking against COVID-19? Find out how we’ve been working to keep people safe and secure, while further serving communities which we’re part of, in our Standing Up to COVID-19 story series.
Don’t miss part three of our Keeping the Chain Going series when we’ll take a look at the impact of COVID-19 on consumer trends and consumption habits.
- May 20, 2020