Supply Chain Multi Sourcing

The velocity of change is impacting all aspects of the marketplace from customer relationships to partner relationships to the manufacturing relationships and everything between. Retailers in the fashion industry seem to be the first to recognize and many of them have reacted to the changes to implement the fast fashion market segment. I find this as a great initial example of the results of the velocity of change in the marketplace and believe this will be the model for many of the aspects of the changes. The collaborative supply chain is providing the tools and the network to support the changes and the partners are expanding their experiments into all aspects of the collaborative network to improve their ability to meet the demands. The next step from a sourcing perspective is the expansion of the multi sourcing practice to develop manufacturing partners locally to meet spikes in demand and support end of life cycle demand to reduce overstock.




We have reached the point now in the retail marketplace where the specialty service providers are expanding in the services and even products they offer to support the specialty demands. This includes the local manufacturing of products in the marketplace. These collaborative practices in the extended supply chain along with the growth in capabilities of data analytics provide the tools now for retailers and manufacturers to improve planning and forecasting so demand to a point where the majority of retailers can improve their abilities to support the consumer demands. These capabilities now provide the framework for any retailer to utilize to their advantage.




There is no way to go back and the supply chain partners including manufacturers, transportation and retailers must accept and embrace the change. I see technology manufacturers embracing the global manufacturing and marketplace along with home products. These have all blazed the trail of this model and going forward the collaborative supply chain network will provide the support necessary to link and communicate in this global model. I envision this model to grow and expand as the market demands change and grow to require the global model to meet the demands. The multi sourcing model provides the framework to support the changing demands.




Just as the retail marketplace changed with the growth and expansion of the collaborative and social tools integration with the sales and shopping, these same tools and practices will expand into the sourcing and manufacturing realm to support the consumer demands more efficiently bringing with them a quickening and shortening of the product life cycle. The result of the collaborative supply chain growth and expansion will spread through the forecasting, planning and manufacturing practices in the supply chain. As this multi sourcing model expands the through the collaborative marketplace the results will change the way that consumer demands are met, increasing the flexibility to meet the spikes more efficiently to increase sales and opportunities.

Visibility Across The Supply Chain

The need, and demands, for visibility across the supply chain has always been a key focus in the extended supply chain network and to this end, the extended supply chain network has always been focused on using technology to achieve results.  The extended supply chain recognized early on that technology must be utilized to meet their objectives and moreover, have always been open to the investments in technology to meet these needs. The extended supply chain partners have recognized and achieved dramatic benefits through the use of investments in technology.  The Internet of Things is the most recent wave of technology investments for the extended supply chain partners and these tools combined with the growth and improvements in data collection and data analytics is fueling the next wave of improved and extended visibility across the extended supply chain.

The supply chain extended partners have shown over and over again an ability to incorporate technology and network capabilities to increase the visibility across the supply chain to help improve services and capabilities and each time these efforts have provided a great return on investment.  Now with the increase of collaboration and the even greater extension of the supply chain reach there is even more opportunity to leverage technology through enhanced collaborative practices. The key now to the efforts is the collaborative capabilities through the network. The growth of consumer interaction and demands on the market through their embrace of similar collaborative technologies is now pushing the edges of supply chain visibility even further.

Every partner in the extended supply chain including the end customer of the supply chain is now demanding increased visibility and capabilities to optimize and even adjust within the supply chain.  You see the results of this especially within the retail supply chain where the end consumer is interacting directly with not only the carriers to coordinate the last mile delivery but also interacting directly from the manufacturer to the end retailer in shopping and purchasing.  The enhanced visibility supports the endless aisles concept beautifully and efficiently and these capabilities have moved the baseline even higher.

The visibility drive is enhanced from the improved data analytics and the tools incorporated by the supply chain to track and manage the processes through the supply chain provide a treasure trove of data to be used to increase the visibility and tracking through the supply chain.  The data is the driving factor of the visibility across the supply chain. The technology improvements in networks and wireless capabilities allow the tracking and visibility of each individual delivery and shipment and container from cradle to grave. This capability is truly available now and in some industries has been incorporated and other industries have already started moving in this direction.

Enhanced visibility in the supply chain is a reality and the visibility is driven by the demands of all partners across the extended supply chain that is fueled by improved data analytics and expansion of the Internet of Things technology to capture data from additional outlets.  To put it into a consumer perspective, the days are limited where consumers will sit at home waiting on a morning or afternoon appointment. The number of partners that provide specific time and tracking of deliveries and repair trucks is increasing every day. This is only a surface example of the types of capabilities available and the extended supply chain is continuously pushing the limit to increase efficiencies and eliminate issues.  The increased visibility becomes now a key tool in the validation process of the continuous improvement process.

Growth of Supply Chain Collaboration

The supply chain collaborative network provides great potential for benefits to partners and as their participation grows the benefits will also grow. The importance of the collaborative network has been growing, as well, as a framework to support the disruptive transformation currently at work in the supply chain and in fact, I really do not see another option that provides the foundation and the flexibility to support the change driven in the supply chain by demands of consumers’ embrace of technology. I am viewing this as a dramatic change in the culture of the market where there has historically been a focus on develop, license or acquire companies with capabilities the market is moving into a much more nimble environment driven by an increasing velocity of discontinuous change based on technology combinations and demands of the marketplace. In this market the collaborative network capabilities take on a new, much higher, level of importance because there is just no time for development or acquisition.





Amazon probably provides the best example of creativity in utilizing the power of the collaborative network. Amazon has shown their creativity in extending their product offerings through partnerships with small and specialty manufacturers and even private citizens to provide a powerful shopping and sales outlet and they are showing again their commitment to collaboration by partnering with small carriers and even private citizens in the delivery of products to the end consumers. I see that Amazon has been building infrastructure to support an extended collaborative network for years and they are now expanding their collaboration to take advantage of this foundation and help them to change the market again.





This puts others in the retail market at a distinct disadvantage, again, and this extends out through the entire extended supply chain, including all partners, as well. In this arena Amazon is the 800 pound gorilla driving the change and they are now in an advantageous position because of all of the preparation in foundational activities and their drive the create the future. I think this may be the key differentiating factor for Amazon, in this market Amazon seems to have the vision and are driving to create the future. This means that they are able to define the future as it fits into their foundational framework and it puts an even greater significance on the collaborative network and partnerships that others must follow to keep up.





I see collaboration as the next transformation mechanism and market disruptor and Amazon has shown from the beginning their commitment to collaboration to grow their offerings and market share. We are now seeing the results of this collaborative culture through their acquisition and growth over the last few years. They are continuously focused on leveraging all aspects of their offerings, technology and shopping outlets to produce a cohesive image and flow across their offerings. This collaborative culture will provide the ability to quickly sense and respond to the time of disruptive change that we are entering and there will be a great deal of fall out during this time.