Culture Of Disruption

In order to support the current retail market disruption generated by continuously changing market demands retailers must themselves create a culture of disruption.  This culture of disruption must implement a practice and processes to support the change demanded by consumers as a means to address the  velocity and amount of change demanded by consumers.  Retailers must think in terms of the next market disruption to materialize and this view will allow the retailer and the extended supply chain partners to be prepared and as their own disruption skills increase even predict new disruptions.  This culture of disruption requires an extreme level of engagement and collaboration across the the market from consumer to retailer to supply chain partner, and even collaboration across retailers.

Competition and change are healthy activities in the marketplace and they drive the reactions and results to move the market forward to meet consumer demands.  The level and velocity of change now requires a high degree of engagement and collaboration across partners to reach and adjust to the velocity of change.  The interesting background to this level of engagement and collaboration is that while individual retailers are competing they are also integrated with many if not most of the same extended supply chain partners.  This creates a type of one-off collaboration across retailers that allow them to take advantage of the same support capabilities.  

For a long time retailers have been ignoring this reality and acting as if they are in control of their destiny, which has caused a great deal of friction in the market as a result of demands by these retailers to control integration and interface communications.  Consumers however have already moved past this retailer competition to create a marketplace that supports their lifestyle requirements using technology and social networks to bring this about.  Now it is time for retailers to realize and embrace these operational consistencies and increase their own engagement and collaboration across the extended supply change and by doing this enable their own culture of disruption.

The retail market has become a federation of extended supply chain partners, retailers and consumers where in reality the consumer and the extended supply chain are now taking leadership roles in reacting to the market disruption generated by changing consumer demands.  Retailers are now the face of the product to the consumer where all of the operational activities are supported by the extended supply chain.  Retailers can improve their ability to react to the disruption by embracing these changes in leadership roles and focus on the activities that make them different, the products, while engaging and collaborating with the extended supply chain to support supply and delivery demands.

And now for the audience participation portion of the show…

ECommerce will have wide ranging impacts on both the retail and manufacturing sectors.  How can you focus these abilities to improve the consumer's experience?  Improving the consumer’s experience will require a re-evaluation of the sales channels, the manufacturing channels and practices and the supply chain channels and practices from the raw materials to the consumers’ homes.  In order to ensure and maintain success in this new reality you must harness the tools and capabilities in many new areas.  How can you support these continuously changing requirements?