Supply Chain As Customer Experience Channel

It would seem at odds with common accepted practice to view the supply chain as a customer experience channel, however, the omni market and especially the growth in collaborative market now push the supply chain out as a key touch point with the customer.  As a key touch point, retailers and service providers must account for all consumer touch points in all interactions with consumers as an opportunity to interact and impress the consumer. This makes the supply chain an even more important piece in the puzzle picture and increased the importance of a strong partnership to both drive the positive touch point and also incorporate both consumer and supply chain feedback to improve the consumer experience and relationship.  Retailers must leverage all consumer touch points in their relationship and the supply chain has become an extremely important partners in this relationship with the growth of the omni channel market.

Supply chain partners have a great deal of information that is relevant to the consumer relationship to start with and the supply chain provide that final touch with the consumer that can make or break an initial relationship.  The speed at which the market is changing and especially in the area of consumer demands and experience challenges has caused the supply chain to grow dramatically in importance in supporting the consumer relationship. These demands, coupled with the imagination and focus on improvements from the supply chain in the last mile type of delivery services have driven the supply chain partners to delivery new and improved services, especially in delivery flexibility, that have not only increased choice and options, they have also improved the supply chain carrieres, and the retailers relationships with their consumers.

While the touch points are extremely important for the retailer it is also important to manage and improve the efficiencies of the supply chain from the manufacturer as well.  The supply chain has improved their support activities and especially transparency in the coordination and delivery from the suppliers to the point where the retailer can more effectively plan for the availability of product for that last mile delivery.  The blockchain practices are improving the visibility and transparency of the entry supply chain to enable the retailers and by extension their customers to better trace the heredity and the steps along along the supply chain delivery process and this information can then be used to improve and streamline the entire supply chain.  Consumers are demanding increasing improvements in delivery and value add services and these demands are driving the global market to increased efficiencies and transparency to meet these demands.

In addition to the customer experience interactions above with the supply chain there are also demands and new capabilities continuously entering the picture that must be evaluated and incorporated into the retail offerings and this is where the collaborative network takes on an important role.  The market is at the point now where the velocity of changing demands requires a great deal of cooperation and collaboration across all partners in the marketplace, from supplier to the end consumer and the partners along the way, from supplier, to transport, to storage, to consumer shopping and purchasing require a network that supports the efficient flow of communications to support these demands and this is where the collaborative network increases in importance.