Home » 2018 Supply Chain Management Resource Guide - Surviving the Age of Disruption

2018 Supply Chain Management Resource Guide - Surviving the Age of Disruption

February 7, 2018

Brad Berger, Group President & Publisher, SupplyChainBrain

Yet, those vying for the same market share that you and others seek may fall out of the running for reasons that have nothing to do with competitors’ superior business acumen or ill wishes. Sometimes business initiatives falter, if only temporarily, or even fail permanently due to disruptions stemming from entirely different sources.

Ours is the quintessential age of disruption in business, especially in supply chain, and inadequate preparation can be disastrous for companies, not to mention careers. Clearly, natural disasters threaten or shut down supply chains: witness in recent years a microchip factory fire in New Mexico leading to Ericsson leaving the mobile phone business; ash-filled skies from an Icelandic volcano keeping much European airfreight grounded; a tsunami wreaking havoc on Japanese assembly plants; floods ruining hard-drive factories in Thailand; and fire and explosions destroying thousands of vehicles in Tianjin, China.

Supply chain disruption often can’t be predicted and survival can be difficult to guarantee. But even though natural disasters present their own unique challenges, some precautions and safeguards can still be built in. Other disruptions, however, can be readily anticipated and should be protected against up front. Take, for instance, relying on suppliers who are woefully underfunded. Their promises are worth little or nothing if they can’t deliver. Are you relying on someone who can’t perform?

Also in the realm of supply chain finance is the pressure to optimize costs for bottom-line impact. Cost-optimization is critical to success, but are your cost intervention strategies stuck in the past? If so, you’re courting disruption or worse.

Today, one might ask, how’s your data, and what the heck are you doing with it? The question isn’t academic or merely polite. Data quality and analysis is not a nice-to-have but indispensable to achieving success. If your data governance is not up to par, your business growth is seriously threatened.

Digital demand management processes and technologies align and enable vertical functional silos with horizontal process flows, ensuring that you can rapidly respond to demand variability. That, in turn, can help you cut your operating costs in half. Just watch how that disrupts the competition.

In this, the 2018 Supply Chain Management Resource Guide, experts weigh in on the many forms of disruption and detail how to mitigate or avoid them entirely.

The bottom line? While some disruptions can be quite difficult to deal with, threats from business rivals don’t have to be. Unfortunately, you can’t simply vote the competition out of the game, but you can be prepared for anything they throw at you.

It’s called Surviving the Age of Disruption.

Brad Berger

Analysis/Consulting
Supply Chain Analytics, the Key to Success in the 'New Normal'

Apparel
3D Virtual Technologies: The Industry’s Next Innovation Frontier
The Growth of Exclusive Brand Labels

Asia Pacific
Redefining the Retail Industry in China

Automation & Robotics
Emerging Technologies Changing the Way We Solve Distribution Challenges
Advances in Robotic Capabilities and Feasibility

Automotive
Innovative Products Redefine Transportation, But They Require New Processes and Efficiencies
How Supply Chain Finance Can Fund the Future of Automotive

Big Data/IoT
Will Advanced Analytics Leveraging Digital Technology Be An Extinction Event?
The New World of Business Analytics Offers Promise for Supply Chain Leaders
How Big Data is Revolutionizing Six Sigma Application in Manufacturing
How Industrial IoT is Disrupting Supply Chains

Business Strategy
Avoid Strategic Drift in Your 3PL Relationship with a Sound Governance Structure
How Well Does My Past Predict My Future?
Collaboration 4.0: The Digital Revolution

Chemicals & Energy
After Years of Falling Prices, 2017 Marked an Explosion for Natural Gas

Demand Management
Digital Demand Management: Connecting the Silos

E-Commerce/Omnichannel
Digital Disruptions Continue to Drive Retail Evolution
Delivery of Online Bulky Items Creates New Competition for FedEx and UPS
E-Commerce Disruption and the Rise of Omnichannel Retail