Supply chains of the future

Filed in archive Research on December 12, 2007

CAPS Research, A.T. Kearney, and the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) recently conducted a research study to find the answers for three key questions:

- What external forces will have the greatest effect on business over the next ten years?
- How will business models change as a result of these forces?
- How will the mission, goals, performance expectations and strategies for supply management change to support these new business models?

The report is a quite detailed one but one of the main observations out of it, according to SCMR, is :

Looking out to a period of anywhere from six months to a few years ahead, companies must be alert for directional shifts that signal an upcoming change in strategies and markets for their company, its customers, and its suppliers. These will trigger a rethinking of supply chain structures, processes, technology, and relationships.

New customer strategies will change ordering patterns. A shift to more frequent new product introductions or to a make-to-order strategy will place very different requirements on a supplier. New products or markets will likely require new channels of distribution. New processes supported by advances in information technology by one company will often affect the technologies that its trading partners must use.

Industry and cross-industry collaborative efforts will typically require new processes and technologies. New environmental or security regulations will mean new requirements for product tracking and recycling/reuse logistics.
(From Supply Chain Management Review)

You can find the detail version here. It's called Succeeding in a Dynamic World: Supply Management in the Decade Ahead .