10 Hot Supply Chain Business Opportunities In Nigeria

Trying to start a business that solves an acute consumer problem can sometimes be difficult to do. This then drives many people to go on to start their businesses based on how passionate they are about their ideas, only to end up failing because there was no real product-market fit, and it addressed no real problems.

If you find yourself in this quagmire, there’s an industry that may take you in quite comfortably, profitably, and still make you a lot of money. This is the supply chain management industry.

The supply chain management industry is one where revenues are generated largely from the supply of goods and services demanded by various organisations, to be repaid within a certain period of time, usually between 2 to 6 weeks.

An individual that’s able to build a very large network stands a chance of growing a very successful supply chain management business, depending on the type of products supplied, the number of organisations on their supply list, and the quality of the organisations in terms of how fast they pay back for the goods and/or services supplied to them.

That said, here are 10 hot supply chain management business opportunities in Nigeria:

1). Diesel Supply Business:

This is one of the most lucrative supply chain businesses in Nigeria. Several organisations from hospitals to bluechip companies, and even government organisations consume a lot of diesel monthly. A general hospital for instance could consume up to 33,000 litres of diesel in a month, some could consume more, and it all goes on.

If you want to start a diesel supply business, you’d need to build a wide network while you get a sponsor for your diesel supplies. Based on the fluctuating prices of diesel daily, your profit margin from a supply of a full diesel truck would usually be around 10%, which could be anywhere from 600,000 Naira ($1,500) to 850,000 ($2,125) Naira (bound to change based on fluctuating prices).

At 600,000 Naira, if you supply 20 full trucks of about 33,000 to 36,000 litres of diesel each in a month, you’d make up to 12 million Naira ($30,000) profit that month.

To achieve this, you may need a supply sponsor or bank finance, and a wide network.

See Also: How To Start A Diesel Supply Business In Nigeria: The Complete Guide

2). Office Equipment And Furniture Supply Business:

Office equipment, stationery, and furniture supplies is a large supply chain management business area. Many organisations usually change their office utilities a lot. Sometimes their supply needs could be for a fresh set of stationery, computer hardwares & accessories, and even educative materials for schools.

By approaching several organisations to let them know about your supply capabilities, they’d let you know their most recurrent needs, and how you could fit into them if they choose to partner and list your business as one of their suppliers.

3). Medical Equipment Supply Business:

Medical equipment supplies is also another lucrative supply chain business to venture into. A lot of hospitals get a new influx of medical materials every month, due to the large number of patients that come in and how they’re used.

With this, you could start a medical equipment and material supply business and let various hospitals in your state know about your company.

As you start supplying a few hospitals, even with petty medical materials like syringes and more, you’d someday be qualified enough to supply larger equipment or materials to them and to even larger hospitals.

See Also: 20 Lucrative Medical Business Ideas For Healthcare Professionals

4). Cooking Gas Supply Business:

This is a rather new supply chain management business. Many startups in Africa are moving towards the supply of cooking gas directly to homes, corporate kitchens, and even restaurants.

If you can structure a great community engagement plan, you can get many homes in a vicinity or a local government to subscribe to your cooking gas supply plan for lesser than what they could have paid if they went out to buy it themselves.

5). Food Supply Business:

Many offices now order-in their lunch. This eliminates the need for their staffs to go out to find food, especially if there’s a lot of work to be done.

If you’re a really good cook with some awesome recipes, introducing your food supply business to a lot of organisations and offering them free sample meals can land you a great daily supply deal with many of them in your state or country.

6). Engineering Equipment Supply Business:

Engineering equipment are always required to be supplied before work even commences.

For example, the Dangote Refinery and many other types of similar organisations are constantly procuring engineering equipment. What this means is when a Request for Proposal is made available, a lot of businesses would have to bid for the contract. Some of these supply contracts could run into billions, and may be repaid in 6 months instead of the usual 2 to 6 weeks.

See Also: How To Write A Winning Business Proposal: The Complete Guide

7). Grocery Supply Business:

Groceries are pretty much the products you’ll see in a typical supermarket. Now, this category isn’t about the supply of groceries to homes, but instead, the supply of groceries to the supermarkets themselves.

Most supermarkets go out a lot to buy products from markets to be stocked in their shops. You could help them save more time by becoming a distributor with some Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) companies, and offer logistic services to the supermarkets. This way, you’ll always know when to supplement their stock before it runs out.

8). Supply Chain Management Consulting:

After all is said and done, supply chain management consulting is another great business model in the supply chain management industry.

You could position yourself as a consultant with several organisations to help structure their supply chain management issues, processes, and needs. You could also organise trainings and workshops in this regard, and earn from every individual who makes a payment for the training.

By including supply chain management consulting in your supply chain arsenal, you would not just earn an income supplying requested goods and services to organisations, but also earn an income teaching and consulting for organisations on what you’re good at.

See Also: The Right Way To Market A Service Based Business

9). Warehousing:

In the supply chain process, warehousing is a very important aspect. Many companies who import products for supplies to various organisations or distributors usually need a place to store these items. This is where warehousing comes in handy.

If you’re financially capable enough to either acquire or build a warehouse, approaching the supply chain management industry from this end is a great bet.

10). Haulage:

Haulage is simply the movement of goods from one place to another. You could start a supply chain and logistics business that helps people move their products for delivery.

An example could be to purchase a diesel tanker to help people transport their diesel products. Another example is to purchase low-beds to help construction companies and other organisations transport their heavy duty goods like bulldozers, excavators, tractors, swap buggies, and a lot more to various locations.

See Also: 10+ Legal Requirements For An Import And Export Business in Nigeria

To Sum It Up

The supply chain management industry is a very vast and lucrative one. Once you can build a wide network and have access to enough finance to grow your business, the sky would be your stepping stone.

P.S: I run a supply chain business focused on the supply of petroleum products, medical equipment, office supplies, and supply chain consulting.

What are your thoughts on these 10 hot supply chain management business opportunities in Nigeria? Let me know by leaving a comment below.

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