Across almost all sectors and regions, companies face unprecedented disruption. The competitive advantages that once gave companies a defensible position - their product lineup, scale or legacy position - are no longer as secure as they were. Some upstart with a newer and more agile operating model will start taking market share - if it hasn't already.
As an industry, global consumer products companies have historically underinvested in plants and manufacturing capabilities. In fact, a significant number of organizations may still be running their operations on equipment and processes that were last updated in the prior millennium. Under these circumstances, throughput can rarely keep pace with current needs. At the same time, many of these same companies have made one or more large acquisitions that slow the supply chain down even more: duplication and redundancy at the plant level; disparate operating and ERP systems that cloud visibility; and manual processes that consumed valuable resources.
Everyone talks about risk in the supply chain, but the increasing complexity of it makes identifying and mitigating risks difficult. In fact, almost half of executives are afraid that their supply chain risk management is only somewhat effective or has no impact at all, according to a recent survey from Deloitte.
In 2012, three decades of supply chain management have passed. It is time to learn from history and look forward. I feel that organizations need to train for supply chain 2020.
The increased complexity of global supply chains has led to longer lead times, more pipeline inventory, and the need to control downstream an upstream logistics, according to Supply Chain Visibility Excellence: Mastering Complexity and Landed Costs, a report from Aberdeen Group.
