Shaping the Future Supply Chains

While supply chains of the 21st century are more dynamic than ever before, meeting the constant demand and expectations of the consumer remains the number one challenge. If companies want to drive real business value and result in today’s globally competitive economy, they will need to better manage multiple aspects of their business such as costs and assets, processes shifts set are, and distribution.

With 2016 already moving so quickly, a number of fundamental shifts are set up, already starting to shape the future of supply chains: from delivering upon customer/client demand, building sustainable global collaborations, managing risks, and trying to keep up with digital consumers.

1. Predicting and delivering upon consumer needs
Up until now, supply chains have been having to service “demand” while trying to keep the logistics costs down. However, the focus will start shifting from the projected product consumption to predicting customer needs by engaging customers through processes unique paths to purchase.
To stay competitive, businesses need to now implement a supply chain network in the cloud that tracks inventory and demand changes and allows your company to respond to the latest demand signals from their consumers in near-real-time.

2. Global networking and collaboration
Supply chains are being reshaped by the internet and the new efficiency of e-business. The movement of goods and services from manufacturer to supplier through distribution channels into the marketplace and eventually delivered to the customer is being transformed by information technology at a rapid pace. The key trend that will enable the future of supply chains is electronic collaboration.

A new breed of cloud-based business networks is emerging to connect companies with a vast pool of potential suppliers, ultimately replacing catalogs, phone calls, emails, and sales meetings. Those platforms help companies evaluate potential partners and meet specific needs whether to boost diversity or local-country sourcing or to meet corporate social responsibility goals more effectively.

3. Keeping up with the digital consumers
In this day and age, every single consumer carries digital devices. Millions of these shoppers now insist on interacting with brands digitally, using their computers, tablets, and phones before they decide what to buy, where to buy it, or how much they’re willing to pay. 

With the dawn of online shopping, businesses need to find ways to keep consumers satisfied at all times. This is a shift in thinking, designing, and implementing supply chain resources not shaped just by cost or efficiency but by speed, smart software, and system optimization.

Regardless of which trend will affect your company the most, it will be critical to leverage technology at all levels of the supply chain to remain competitive in e-commerce over the next several years.

4. Reduce risk and manage crises more effectively
How we cope with risk and uncertainty is changing from a rigid “best plan” driven mindset. Companies will have to move to a much more dynamic, resilient, and adaptable approach.
Rather than striving for the best plan upfront solution, we are moving to a mindset of planning scenarios and possibilities and then letting the plan take shape as uncertainties unfold. These uncertainty estimates will look at not only things like recent sales patterns, on-hand, and planned receipts but also evolving indicators such as consumer sentiment, weather, recent delivery performance by suppliers, and projections of delays or risk along supply lanes.

The era of the supply chain that reacts to customer needs alone is over. With these new trends, companies will need to adapt in order to stay competitive in the industry.
Do you see these trends as well?  What other important trends are you seeing from your vantage point? We would love to hear what you think. 

Considering the shifts taking place in the supply chain industry, a number of opportunities are available. If you are looking for a change in your career, we can assist.  Supply Chain and Freight are just two areas of our expertise.