Requirements for Extended Supply Chain Network

In order to extend the supply chain collaborative network to support the retail marketplace and retailer requirements there are certain requirements that must be defined and met.  This is a significant type of work that must be collected and compiled by retailers based on their experience and there strategic direction and plans and then these requirements must be reviewed against the capabilities and the strategic direction of the supply chain collaborative network in order to identify and plan to deliver those requirements.  Delivery of these retail marketplace requirements, while focused on adding to the supply chain network, must be coordinated and developed by the retailers themselves. The supply chain network provides the framework and foundation that is the basis for this development and delivery that retailers will be required to complete in order to extend the supply chain network.

This is the beginning of the extended social network that develops the connections and the capabilities that add to the base and provide the social network framework to extend partner connectivity and the capabilities to support the market.  The collaborative network requirements are now at the point where no single network can support the demands of the marketplace. We have reached a point in the market and the demands of the market where any single network, supply chain or retailer, can meet the demands without the support of the other networks.  We have also reached the point where the supply chain collaborative network can provide the guidance and the direction for retailers to extend the network to support the retail marketplace demands. Supply chain partners of and to the retailers can provide guidance and support and there will also be some heavy lifting required of the retailer to meet the demands and extend the collaborative network as well.

There is some heavy lifting requirements of the retailers to connect and extend the network to meet their needs and this is where the retailers must focus to identify the requirements to meet their individual demands from the retail marketplace.  The supply chain partners cannot be expected to meet all of the retail marketplace demands and, on the other hand, the retail partners cannot be expected to meet the all of the marketplace demands on the supply chain. This is where the relationship and the social network aspects come into play and these relationships and social network capabilities can be extended and related to meet the supply chain and the retail marketplace demands.

It is, however, a much different level of effort requires to build a collaborative network from scratch than would be required to extend an established collaborative network.  This truly is the point where we are at from a connected and end to end collaborative network in the retail marketplace. Retailers have a customer facing network that provide a great deal of capabilities to support the shopping and purchasing demands of the consumers and then the retailers are connected to the supply chain network to interact in product procurement and delivery to the end customer and there is still a disconnect between the two.  It is my opinion that there is a great deal of value in this last piece of connectivity to extend the network and this is where the focus on the future should be placed.

Extended Supply Chain Network

The supply chain has been building a collaborative network made up of partners supporting the supply chain for years out of necessity and there is really no reason that a retailer should reinvent the capabilities or, most importantly, the partner relationships all over again.  Let’s face it, the supply chain has already developed the partnerships and the network connectivity with these partners and, on top of this, these partners are already a part of the supply chain network and would really only require the retailer to plug into that network as an extended partner in order to take advantage of the network and the relationships.  Retailers can then take advantage of the supply chain network as another partner and jump start the retailer collaborative network activities through both the partners and the collaborative network that supports the supply chain.

This is really the simply an embrace of the collaborative network and the social network properties available that can support the retail marketplace demands.  There is no reason that retailers should rebuild networking capabilities when the supply chain network can be extended. This is after all the foundational principle of social networking and on top of that the framework has already been developed by the supply chain.  This will allow the retailer to easily connect to the supply chain partners to take advantage of services and capabilities without the development or the maintenance of a separate and distinct network. There is no reason why the network relationships should be re-developed and there are many benefits to extending the supply chain collaborative network.

There is only one key challenge or inhibitor to the extension of the supply chain network to include retailers as a contributing partner and that is reluctance of the retailer to join the collaborative network as a partner and not an owner.  Retailers have traditionally been very protective of their capabilities and this has extended to the collaborative network as well. Retailers would do well to overcome these protective tendencies to partnership in the supply chain network because the benefits to the retailer are so great.  This is not an insurmountable challenge for the retailer but it does require a culture change to realize that they will be partnered through extension to other retailers it the supply chain collaborative network. Of course there are separations and each of the partners participates a different levels of sharing and openness so none of the partners opens their internal network to the collaborative network.  

If you think about the opportunities that will be opened as a result of the partnership and the relations open to the partners in the supply chain collaborative network I believe the inhibitor will be well worth the effort to overcome.  In fact, the simple truth is that without the benefits of the supply chain collaborative network retailers will continue to struggle with the velocity of change in the retail marketplace. We have reached the point now were the service in not the draw for consumers and the draw consumers is product, availability ease of shopping and flexible delivery and purchasing capabilities.  The majority of the requirements are supported through the supply chain network and then the retailer can focus on the brand and the product.

Supply Chain Leadership For Change

The retail marketplace supply chain is in a perfect position to help retailers and the related service providers to sense and respond to the changing marketplace because of the supply chain experience with change.  The supply chain is uniquely prepared to lead their retail partners in their efforts to change in reaction to the market through the guidance and the implementation of programs that have allowed the supply chain to successfully navigate the changes that have buffeted the supply chain for years now.  These same programs and practices that allowed the supply chain to sense and respond to changes can be swiftly implemented in the the retail collaborative network to allow the retail network partners to sense and respond to the changes impacting the retail market and most importantly help the retail partners to successfully react to the velocity of change as well.

There are two key strengths in the the supply chain network that can lead the retail change;

1. The breadth and depth of the supply chain collaborative network and especially the strength of the collaborative and inclusive practices that allow the supply chain collaborative network to quickly and efficiently react changing demands.
2. The technology that has been integrated in the supply chain collaborative network and especially the execution across the the supply chain that supports integration, communication and transparency in the practices and activities both supporting and interacting with the supply chain.

Retailers would be well served to fully engage with the supply chain network and most importantly to ask for the help of the supply chain partners in building the retail market collaborative network as an extension of the supply chain collaborative network.  

It is frankly a little silly for retailers to build a network from scratch when there is a robust model of a collaborative network that retailers can engage to extend.  Supply chain leaders would be foolish not to push for the extension of the supply chain network in support of retail market demands and more importantly, retailers would be foolish if they do not also partner with the supply chain leaders to extend the network. The genius of the supply chain network is the framework that focuses on and supports collaborative connectivity that is inclusive and open based on an open technology that can be supported and ‘owned’ collaboratively.  The supply chain network focuses on a concept of collaboration and is therefore built on a framework of open technology based on Internet standards that supports speed and ease of integration and communication.

Retailers cannot afford now to stay with the ‘not invented here’ practices when developing the retail network and would be well served to follow the leadership of the supply chain leaders and extend the framework of the supply chain collaborative network to support the retail market change demands.  This requires changing the retailer viewpoint to understand the importance of the supply chain network in supporting the retail market demands. The same technology and especially Internet of Things that has been harnessed by the supply chain can easily and quickly be harnessed by retailers with the help and guidance of the supply chain partners and supply chain collaborative network.