Enabling SMEs to share raw materials across industries using a digital platform

Disrupted supply chains lead to raw material shortages in the manufacturing sector. The number of disruptions within supply chains is steadily increasing and is influenced by extreme climate events such as the current heat wave in India and Pakistan or the Corona pandemic and the war in Ukraine. For manufacturing companies, the current shortage of raw materials resulting from disrupted supply chains has negative effects such as higher purchase prices, longer waiting times, or even lost sales due to over- or under-utilization of machines. SMEs in particular are planning to increase their stockholding in order to avoid negative effects in their economic operations. Together with the volatile and intransparent market environment caused by the disrupted supply chains, the increased warehousing leads to an uneven distribution of raw materials. A temporary exchange or lending of raw materials with the certainty of exchange back at a defined point in time would be possible at low risk for companies with high storage capacities and would reduce the unequal distribution. In this case, unused raw materials can be given to other companies for the period in which they are not yet needed, thus generating additional income for the loan. Alternatively, required raw materials that cannot be covered by the company's own capacities can be requested. This balancing distribution can reduce the scarce availability, which also leads to increased warehousing.