Tuning Supply Chain Network

The supply chain is a key participant in the collaborative business partnerships providing a menu of services and partners to support the needs of their partners along with development of market improvements.  These market improvements and are driven by the imagination of the partners as well as the demands of the market. However there are two additional activities that are key contributing factors to the partnerships that provide a basis for market disruption; review and tuning of the supply chain network to support a continuous renewal process and imaginative partners to spark creativity.  The value of the network is in the partners involved and not in any one individual. This is very different than any past experience or market participant, this is the expansion and growth of the social network practices and capabilities into the commercial market.

These networks require a continuous tuning in the way that services are provided, in the types of services provided and most importantly in the partners participating in the network.  There is a continuous growth and change in the network that both reacts to the market and directs the market, this is a new type of disruption in the market that feeds on itself and the needs of the partners.  The partners in this network are truly dependent on the other partners in the network because of the level of specialization and because of this dependency there is a very high requirement to also continuously tune the network to sense and respond to change.  The change can come from many different directions and also many different partners and even markets.

Tuning this network is the result of a robust collaborative continuous improvement process based on frequent open and robust communications along with a desire to experiment and change.  These improvements come from many different directions and not just the market influences. The integration changes and grows into other markets and networks based the requirements at the time and the reaction and communications are growing and changing along with the networks.  The collaborative and networking practices are being driven by the entry and growth of millennials in these networks. The entry of millennials first changed the shopping and purchasing practices of consumer industry and now they are changing the work practices and collaborative networking practices.

These changes are being embraced by the supply chain now because they are a natural fit to their needs and practices.  The supply chain extended network is a natural fit to these practices and the network is ripe and open to embracing the change.  The supply chain has always embraced change and this change is no different. The supply chain network will expand and grow in new and creative ways that bring together new practices to deliver new capabilities to the supply chain network and in so doing will surly disrupt the markets that are engaged with their services.  There is a need for continuous tuning in the supply chain network to support new practices and also to update and improve current systems. The marketplace is changing and the supply chain network is playing s significant role in this change and this is because the supply chain is a natural partner in change.