Future Proof Retail Supply Chain

There are many companies and service providers out there that promise to future proof your retail supply chain through various features and services.  I believe the simple truth is that there is no software or service per say that can truly make that claim without the condition that you must maintain the software or the service in order to meet their claims.  This is the place where the retailer can, and should, maintain their ability and take action to build a process and and network that can provide the same future proof abilities while maintaining their participation and influence on the results of the activities.  Future proofing your retail supply chain requires commitment and participation by the retailer and partners in a robust collaborative partnership network. This network and especially the partners provide the abilities to support the future demands and the cost is active participation from all partners.

Software will be an integral part of the equation to future proof your retail supply and this software will focus on the omni-channel shopping and sales capabilities.  It is important to maintain the software to enable the latest capabilities though because these shopping and sales capabilities complete the supply chain. Efficiencies and capabilities are important in these capabilities and this is the reason to continuously upgrade and as necessary even add new modules and software to support the shopping and purchasing capabilities demanded by the market.  These are important aspect of the equation to future proof the supply chain although these are also basically the price of admission to the market. The latest and greatest shopping and purchasing capabilities are expected by consumers across the marketplace and deficiencies can and will hamper the success of the retailer and the supply chain, however while these are important aspects, they are also only pieces of the overall solution that support the retail supply chain.

The future of the retail supply chain is multi-functional collaboration across services and product availability and delivery and this requires commitment and long term participation in order to succeed.  These capabilities and practices supported by the long term commitment of the partners in the collaborative network are truly the means that will ensure the future of the retail supply chain. The network capabilities and social connections to consumers and partners is becoming a key differentiating factor and this is truly where retailers and the supply chain must focus in order to maintain their place in the market.  

I think that at this point we have reached a level of shopping, purchasing and delivery in the omni market that provides the capabilities to support all of the needs of the consumer.  The future of the market will be driving by the collaborative network supporting the shopping and purchasing. This network is changing and becoming a type of organic network that can support many partners, including retail partners, in a manner that extends and supports the services that extend the shopping and purchasing capabilities.  I think that the future requires these social networking capabilities and collaborative partnerships in a non-exclusive manner to efficiently support the demands of the market. These networking capabilities require culture changes and a long term commitment so in reality I guess the retail supply chain requires culture changes and long term commitment in order to future proof the supply chain.