Supply Chain Health Check

Supply chain leaders today are under pressure to do more with less. You need to deliver exceptional service, improve efficiency and prepare for disruption, all at the same time.

This guide takes you through 10 key questions to ask about your supply chain.

Use it as a practical framework to enhance efficiency, find hidden savings, improve DIFOT, and make your network more resilient.

1. Are your freight forecasts current and shared with carriers and partners?

Accurate, timely forecasts are one of the strongest drivers of supply chain performance. When carriers and strategic partners can see what is coming, they can plan capacity, equipment and labour to match demand.

This helps you to:

• Reduce missed pickups and late deliveries
• Avoid under-utilised or overbooked trucks
• Minimise costly last-minute surcharges for extra capacity

To get the best results, review and refresh forecasts regularly, including for seasonal peaks, promotional events, and known disruptions such as public holidays.

During busy periods, provide weekly updates to carriers so they can position the right resources where and when you need them most.

2. Is your carrier mix still the best fit for your network?

Your carrier mix should evolve with your business. As delivery profiles change, the mix that worked last year may no longer be the most efficient or resilient option.

A regular review can help you to:

• Ensure you have the right balance of metro, regional and specialist carriers
• Match the most cost-effective carrier to each lane and consignment type
• Spread volumes strategically to reduce dependency on any single provider

This keeps your network flexible and competitive, with the capacity to respond quickly to disruptions or new customer requirements.

Are you tracking cost and service performance together?

Looking at service or cost metrics in isolation can create blind spots. Measuring DIFOT on its own, for instance, can drive a “service at any cost” mindset, while tracking cost-to-serve without service metrics risks eroding the customer experience.

Service performance can be measured in many ways, such as DIFOT, on-time delivery rates, customer complain trends or delivery exceptions. Cost can also be tracked at different levels – from total freight spend and cost per consignment through to full cost-to-serve models that include warehousing, labour and returns.

The goal is to bring whatever data you have into the same conversation so you can:

• Identify areas where premium services are being used unnecessarily
• Pinpoint hidden costs caused by repeated exceptions, reships, and complaints
• Balance service levels and cost to find the most efficient operating point

Reviewing cost and service performance together gives you the  visibility to make confident, data-driven decisions.

Do you have buffers planned for peak and disruption?

Capacity crunches and disruptions are inevitable, but businesses that prepare in advance recover faster and protect customer experience. Building buffers into your supply chain helps you to:

• Secure additional carrier and warehouse capacity ahead of peak trading periods
• Model “what-if” scenarios for events such as weather disruptions or labour shortages
• Pre-approve contingency carriers and routes to activate when issues arise

Proactive planning reduces the impact of disruptions and allows you to respond quickly, keeping customers informed and confident even during challenging periods.

Are you measuring customer satisfaction post-delivery?

Delivery is one of the most important moments in the customer experience. Measuring satisfaction after delivery gives you visibility of where things are working well and where issues are creating noise for your team.

Tracking customer sentiment helps you to:

• Identify trends in complaints and negative feedback by lane or carrier
• Address recurring issues before they impact loyalty
• Strengthen your brand reputation by resolving problems proactively

Collecting post-delivery NPS, surveys, or complaint data creates a feedback loop that helps you maintain high service standards and improve retention over time.

6. Are your SLAs aligned with your current business goals?

As your delivery mix evolves, service level agreements (SLAs) that were set years ago may no longer reflect your business priorities or customer promise.

Regularly reviewing SLAs ensures they continue to:

• Match current customer expectations for speed, visibility and reliability
• Include the right performance metrics, beyond just DIFOT
• Hold carriers accountable without setting unrealistic or unachievable targets

Aligning SLAs with today’s needs provides clear accountability, reduces disputes and ensures everyone is working towards the same outcome.

7. Are you consolidating and using your data effectively?

If your data lives in multiple systems, making fast, confident decisions becomes difficult. A single source of truth helps you to:

• Monitor carrier performance and cost in one place
• Spot exception trends before they escalate
• Analyse customer complaints alongside operational data

Consolidated dashboards improve visibility and speed to insight, allowing your teams to focus on action rather than chasing information.

8. Are you proactively managing returns?

Returns can be an expensive part of a logistics service, but they are also an opportunity to recover value. A well-managed returns process allows you to:

• Prevent avoidable returns with better product information
• Triages stock quickly for resale, refurbishment, or recycling
• Reduce waste and recover revenue where possible

An efficient returns process lowers cost, reduces workload for your team  and creates a better experience for customers who need to send items back.

9. Do you have a continuous improvement rhythm?

The best-performing supply chains don’t just respond to issues; they get better over time. A structured approach to improvement helps you to:

• Conduct quarterly business reviews to monitor performance
• Benchmark processes and practices against industry standards to  identify gaps and opportunities
• Track the outcomes of improvement initiatives over time

This rhythm creates a cycle of learning and progress, keeping your supply chain competitive and resilient.

10. Are you exploring strategic partnerships to unlock more value?

Managing a supply chain entirely in-house can stretch resources and make it harder to see the full picture. Partnering with a strategic partner like efm can help you to:

• Reduce cost-to-serve through smarter carrier allocation and network optimisation
• Gain technology-enabled insights and performance dashboards to support decisions
• Free up internal teams to focus on customers and business growth

Working with a strategic partner like efm gives you access to expertise, technology and a broad carrier network that turn your supply chain into a source of competitive advantage.

Bringing it all together

When managed strategically and proactively, your supply chain can be a powerful driver of growth. Running these 10 checks can help you to uncover hidden savings, lift service performance and stay ahead of risks before they disrupt customers.

At efm, we give you the visibility, the insight and the practical support to switch from being re-active to forward planning. Book your complimentary analysis today.