The collaborative supply chain network and the integration of social networking practices in the retail omni market is the perfect application for a control tower framework to support the integration and coordination of the communications across the network. A key aspect to this network framework is the distributed nature of the integration and communication that is not focused on any one partner or function within the network and this is one of the key strengths of the control tower framework. There is a great deal of disruption generated and driven by consumers through social network capabilities and their interactions between retailers and all partners in the extended supply chain and retailers must put a framework in place that will allow the navigation and through the network and the integration and collaboration with the partners in the network.
The control tower framework has been historically utilized to coordinate and support interaction and collaboration across the extended supply chain and this model fits very well with the social interactions and the collaborative network now developing and growing in the retail omni market. There are a great deal of touch points across the retail omni market and consumers are leveraging these touch points to support their lifestyle demands in their shopping and purchasing practices. These aspects are now disrupting the retail marketplace and present the next frontier for the retailers especially who will be required to support these changing demands.
Consumers have taken the lead in this interaction and the extended supply chain partners such as transportation carriers and manufacturers have encouraged and extended this interaction through their own new services and capabilities. This has caused the retailer to move from the center of retail marketplace to an orbit around the consumer and really on the same level as the other partners in the extended supply chain. I view this as the most significant development in the retail omni market and as such requires the next round of development from the retailers to support this new framework and new reality.
This framework becomes something of a virtual mall with the consumer at the center and the stores and services in this mall constantly developing and changing to support consumer demands. This framework requires a means for the partners to quickly connect to new partners, support new capabilities while insulating their internal business systems and operations from the storm of this discontinuous change cycle. In all of this the control tower framework provides the means to support the interaction of new partners, existing partners in new manners and new and changing services without upheaval of the partner business systems.
The retail marketplace is in a time of turmoil and transformation that will continue for the the foreseeable future. There is a critical need for the partners, and especially retailers, in the marketplace to implement a framework that allows them to support the external turmoil and allows the internal back office operations to continue without the same velocity of disruption. This control tower framework supports this need and demands effectively and efficiently and I see more partners in the marketplace embracing this framework moving forward.
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