Supply chain is a critical component in the management of any business or organization. As a specialist function, supply management has emerged as an integrated system in the past few decades. Before that, there used to be the disjointed areas of procurement or buying and transportation. In the present context, supply chain encompasses the entire route from the sourcing of the product till it is delivered ready for use at the consumption end. It could become complicated at times due to the external factors involved and overcoming them is the job of those entrusted with supply chain management in Iceland.

Each Business Has Its Unique Challenges

There are many common elements in managing the supply chain for different products, but there are some differences too. The issues faced by the apparel industry may not be the same as the one encountered by the fishing industry. There are special moments like the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic that has affected the logistics business like hardly ever seen before. Industries in Iceland that depended on inputs being imported would have taken a hit. Though the cargo movement was one of the first to be resumed, there are still many restrictions in place. Those handling supply chain management in Iceland would have spent sleepless nights trying to figure out how to keep the flow going uninterrupted.

Fishing Industry in Iceland and Supply Chain Management

Any discussion on supply chain management in Iceland would be incomplete without analyzing the status of the fishing industry. The country has a thriving business with a bulk of the production from this sector being exported. Domestic consumption is limited, with the country’s small population. The industry has to first contend with the regular supply of inputs from the catchment areas. The raw fish has to be treated before they can be transported to the fishing products manufacturing units. Iceland has witnessed the deployment of technology in this area and though the number of fishing vessels and fishermen has reduced over the years, the volumes handled by the industry have been steadily increasing. Besides, the government controls the quantity of fish caught on an annual basis.

There are multiple stages in the supply chain in the fishing industry. It starts in the fishing vessel itself since it can take a few days sometimes for the vessel to reach the shore after the actual catch. The infrastructure to have the catch gutted and cleaned have been built in the trawlers. The fishes are then sorted and stored in storage bins in ice with stickers to identify the variety and quantity.

There is secondary processing as soon as the trawlers reach the shores. Some companies have built the infrastructure in their fishing trawlers to handle the second stage of preparation of the raw material. This saves time and ensures the factories engaged in preparing the final products and packing received fresh material at their end. All this form critical supply chain management in Iceland.

Academic Support

The universities in Iceland offer bachelor and master level courses in supply chain management and logistics. Students will gain a thorough knowledge of how supply chains work and those graduating from these courses can be directly absorbed by the industry. They may have to be provided with the initial exposure to the field and orientation on the different aspects of the supply chain process and they should be in a position to apply their academic knowledge for practical use. There is already a healthy collaboration between the industry and the universities in Iceland. This ensures the courses are structured in a way to enable the students to learn the practical aspects of supply chain management rather than just the theoretical ones.

If you require any type of assistance in Iceland, contact Swapp Agency.