What are the best practices for supply chain management?

What are the best practices for supply chain management?
Supplier list - don't put all eggs in one basket and don't be afraid to bring in new suppliers when there is a need to inject fresh blood

Know what supplier times are for the full range of the production processes. It's easy to say to you Alls well, they are in packing - only to find packing takes 5 days and you expect it in one.

Benchmark same product suppliers. if supplier 1 takes 3 days lead-time for your product quantity X and supplier B takes 6 days lead-time for the same quantity - you have an unbalanced supply.

Identify on hand storage
As a company you may have 200 widgets a shift used - what happens if you run out due to exceptional demand - lead time used and production on stop. Does the supplier hold a volume - This reduces your paid for inventory - money in your bank

Quality Assurance - benchmark suppliers who produce same products. Does one have a high scrape percentage - act

Look for a cycle of continual improvement - if something is work ok then investigate if you can get it to work well

Listen to the people in the front line - Many good employees see poor operational situations well ahead you - listen, investigate - and communicate with them

Use the "walk a day in my shoes" process and see how and what actually is happening at ground level it's rarely what you thought was actually happening