Supply chain resilience: A balancing act

By Dani Sheehan. 

Supply chain resilience starts with understanding the moving parts from raw materials to the unloading of a shipment at the jobsite. 

Getting materials to a jobsite isn’t the straight line that we often think it is – place an order, get the product, install it. In reality, every roof component represents the invisible supply chain web that can affect the success of manufacturers, suppliers and contractors on every project. 

In a recent episode of Roofing Road Trips®, USG’s Senior Director of Supply Chain, Matt Sylvester, and Senior Director of Procurement, Mattias Ruegge, offered a behind-the-scenes look at what it really takes to build supply chain resilience – and why roofing contractors who understand these moving parts can better protect their own businesses against disruption. 

Managing what you don’t see 

“Supply chains have very long tentacles,” Matt shared. “We’re dealing with our suppliers, our suppliers’ suppliers, our customers and at times our customers’ customers.” Contractors are very aware of the outbound logistics, such as, is the truck showing up on time? But the inbound logistics such as ensuring the manufacturer has the proper raw materials to keep production running smoothly take the most time.  

At USG, managing inbound logistics means coordinating 80 different vehicle types – rail, barge, lakers, trains, trucks – and leveraging a national warehousing footprint to redistribute inventories closer to the markets that need them. It also means spending countless hours on planning: monthly plans, weekly plans and even daily plans to keep materials moving efficiently. While you can’t necessarily plan for a disaster, Matt explained that knowing your constraints can help you make fast, smart decisions when the unexpected happens. 

Local versus global supply chains 

On the sourcing side, not all supply chains look the same – and that matters when it comes to managing risk. 

“We have hundreds of suppliers for very different materials,” Mattias said. “We have very short, local supply chains for our minerals especially, and very extended, globally sourced supply chains in the case of our chemical additives.” Heavy, lower-value raw materials like minerals are typically sourced nearby. But high-value raw materials might come from halfway across the world – and the suppliers themselves are sourcing globally, creating long, fragile chains with more points of potential failure. 

Balancing cost and resiliency in your own business 

Resilience doesn’t come from eliminating risks – it comes from balancing cost and supply security in smart, strategic ways. “You can mitigate a lot of risks by throwing a lot of money at it,” Mattias said. “But at the same time, we also want to be cost-competitive.” 

USG manages this balance by investing in long-term supplier partnerships, setting volume commitments, collaborating on innovation and maintaining strong relationships that can withstand disruptions. You can – and should – do the same with your own key suppliers and distributors. 

Building those long-term partnerships, planning ahead and keeping open lines of communication about project timelines and material needs can make the difference between a small hiccup and a major delay when the unexpected happens. 

Read the transcript or Listen to the podcast to learn more about balancing your own supply chain resiliency.