Omni Supply Chain And Consumers

Consumers are demanding new methods and options for delivery that will require a heightened level of collaboration for the entire extended supply chain.  These demands are being ignored and misunderstood by most retailers and the extended supply chain.  This has required that consumers ‘settle’ for options that are least offensive.  This is a very similar environment as retail shopping from five or more years ago.  In the supply chain retailers and the extended supply chain offer services that fit in with their framework and their cost structure.  This has worked in the past because the marketplace tools and capabilities were not available for consumers to put together their own solutions.  All this has changed over the last couple of years and this is now coming together to disrupt the entire extended supply chain to create an omni supply chain.

The catalyst in this disruption is the millennial growth in the marketplace driving change as a result of their comfort in the virtual world and their imagination to mash together options and capabilities in new ways.  Millennials are leading the way in collaboration and developing collaborative methods of shopping and these practices will naturally spread to the supply chain.  Millennials think nothing of rebuilding virtual environments through collaboration with other consumers to create new capabilities that better support their lifestyles.  They have already been instrumental in developing a social shopping environment that blends channels.  It seems to me that it is only natural that the next step then in this growth in influence for millennials should extend to the supply chain.  

I think this is where Amazon enters into the equation to push the disruption forward and I think that the consumer supply chain marketplace is watching their activities with anticipation.  This new social shopping and purchasing consumer environment is searching for a partner to share their vision to incorporate the supply chain and support their lifestyle.  Amazon historically has been a leading factor in reshaping the retail marketplace and now they are extending their focus on the supply chain with their own delivery services and solutions.  Amazon brings an important practice to the table in this area which is their desire and ability to collaborate with consumers to understand the consumer demands.  Add to this the Amazon practice to experiment with solutions and this will be the factor to disrupt the consumer supply chain.

It will be interesting to see how these factors and players come together to reshape the marketplace.  One thing for certain though, the change in the marketplace will only increase going forward by embracing and building new capabilties.  We are in for very interesting and exciting times in the retail market as new consumer demands and new consumer generations remake the market to meet these lifestyle demands.  The constant going forward is the spirit and practice of collaboration.

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?

Omni Supply Chain Direction

The omni supply chain is blending across all retail channels to support a cohesive social shopping network in a manner that allows consumers to purchase and obtain products in the most beneficial manner to support their lifestyles.  This requires heightened collaboration across all supply chain partners and all consumer interaction channels.  This direction has been coming together now for years and just as the combination of mobile technology and improved wireless network capabilities allowed consumers to control their shopping experience, these same technologies will also very quickly impact the entire extended supply chain with similar demands.  The extended supply chain must recognize this and implement a strategy to begin moving in this direction in order to adjust to, and limit, the impact consumers will drive on the supply chain.

One of the greatest disrupters in the retail market is now also moving into the final consumer delivery market and will be sure to disrupt these services just as much as they have disrupted the retail marketplace. The Internet and the Internet of Things (IoT) have broadened now and allow Amazon to offer a range of options to support the consumer demands.  These options were limited by the consumer delivery carriers and supply chain partners performing these services.  These services are limited or offered based not only on consumer demands and they are also limited by the carrier existing limitations and framework.  For instance, FedEx home delivery in my area delivers on Saturday, but it doesn’t deliver on Monday.  Carriers offer and limit services based on their margin and then the service itself contains ‘idiosyncrasies’ based on the carrier overall service framework and limitations.  

This leg of the supply chain I believe is ripe for upheaval by the methods used by Amazon to up end the retail marketplace.  Amazon’s first and most important tools are their focus on the consumer demands and collaboration with the consumer.  Another and perhaps more important point is that Amazon supply chain is not limited by the legacy framework that is now limiting the omni supply chain partners.  For instance, Amazon can easily offer delivery 7 days a week without the turmoil of legacy practices and schedules.  I also see Amazon extended their relationship with the consumer to provide customizable delivery options to meet consumer lifestyle demands.  

The last frontier in the retail marketplace is the omni supply chain that provides that last link to the consumer and also the final opportunity to impress the consumer.  I see the millennial demands to support lifestyle impacting the omni supply chain just as they impacted the retail shopping and purchasing marketplace.  In addition, I see a remarkable resemblance in the supply chain to the retailers in the market from 5 - 10 years ago; the omni supply chain partners are focused on achieving economies of scale to maintain margin which creates difficulties in customizing solutions and developing and maintaining a relationship with the retailers and consumers.  Amazon now is positioning itself to disrupt the omni supply chain just as it disrupted the retail marketplace.

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?

Omni Supply Chain Collaboration

The changes coming to the omni channel supply chain resulting from the demands and lifestyle support of consumers will require a heightened and continuous level of collaboration from all partners that has not been required in the past.  Just as with retail shopping and purchasing you can expect millennials to mash features and functionality across the supply chain partners to support their lifestyle demands and then these capabilities will quickly be embraced by all consumers.  Supply chain partners will be forced to increase their collaboration in order to incorporate and support the changes or they will suffer the same type of consequences that large department store retailers are now suffering in the shopping and purchasing marketplace.

These types of services will include services such as scheduled delivery options such as a one hour window and abilities to re-route deliveries within a service area at any time up to the delivery.  The purchases will also vary based on the product types and the consumer delivery requirements.  The deliveries will blend across purchases and other consumer shipments and value added services such as gift wrapping and setup and configuration.  The service demands will grow and change based on the types of products and delivery requirements of the consumer.  The point to be aware of and embrace for the omni supply chain is the absolute requirement to increase partner collaboration in order to survive.  

The chief lesson to be learned from the changes buffeting the retail and even real estate marketplace is the combined requirement of flexibility and collaboration.  Consumers have embraced collaboration in dramatically new levels that is supported by the practices of millennials along with the social network enhanced and expanded capabilities enabled by wireless technologies.  These lessons and practices are going to be extended deep into the supply chain now in order to support the shifting and growing demands of consumers.  These demands extend to and link all partners across the extended supply chain bringing new demands and dramatic changes to the basic consumer interaction.

Consumer demands are increasing and changing in an ever quickening cycle and it is only natural as the changes shift and grow that they extend deeper across the supply chain.  Retailers will not be able to support all of the changes as they grow and this will require increased collaboration with other supply chain partners to meet the demands.  Supply chain partners must start now to collaborate and share experiences in order to support the demands that are coming.

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?