Collaborative Partner Network

A successful supply chain partner network knits together the pieces of objectives and benefits to the network partners into a strategic plan that brings value to all of the partners.  It is in the best interest of all of the partners in that network to participate so that the strategic objectives for the partnership can be met and not just one or two of the partners.  The value of the partnership lies in the benefits achieved by the partner members when all partners work towards the strategic objectives of the network.  These benefits are greater for the network than can be achieved by any one partner alone and this is the glue that holds the network together.

The partner network requires that each of the partners gives up a little bit of control and autonomy to the network in order to achieve the benefits promised by the strategic objectives. This should be viewed as a positive result of the partnership because the collaboration with the partners makes the decision a greater value decision.  One of the benefits of the network is that each partner within the network has the opportunity to take advantage of the experiences that each partner brings to the table.  This sharing of experiences makes the decisions stronger and more beneficial without requiring each partner in the network to learn or experience the same challenges as their partners have already overcome.  I think these improved decisions based on the partner experience is one of the key benefits of the supply chain partner network.  Bottom line is that each partner gives up a bit of control for the benefit of sharing the experience of each of the network members.

A continuous improvement process and procedures must next be implemented in your network in order ot ensure the continued participation of your partners in the management and development of a robust supply chain network.  These network building activities are not just a ‘once and done’ exercise and they must be developed into the continuous improvement process and procedures that will guide the execution and development of the network partners.  The continuous improvement procedures are built upon regular communication and review of the supply chain along with the business processes supported by the supply chain.  The world and your supply chain are continuously changing and morphing into new processes and capabilities.  The network continuous improvement procedures ensure that your supply chain network will take into account the changes across the supply chain, from raw materials to the end consumer, when making decisions.  

You should expect your supply chain network to expand and contract as partners, objectives and requirements change.  This change is the essence of the network and must not only recognized, it must be embraced in order to survive in the future.  

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?

Collaborative Partner Attraction

A strong supply chain partner network is important to your consumer eCommerce site and these partners also require their own attraction and retention program.  You cannot hope to achieve the sales and consumer retention objectives without a strong supply chain partner network made up of suppliers, carriers and logistics providers.  In addition, the development and maintenance of this partner network requires a strategy that includes many of the same actions and objectives as the strategy to attract and retain consumers to the eCommerce site.  Whether attracting a consumer to a web site or developing a partnership with a supplier, carrier or logistics provider, the objectives are similar; provide a value as a reason for starting and maintaining the relationship.

The supply chain partner network requires values in their reasons to participation focusing on the values and potential delivered by the network to the partner members.  The key to developing a strong supply chain partner network is delivering a value to belonging and participating in the network.  Your partners in the network must commit to participation based on their own values and objectives.  The network of supply chain partners must be viewed and developed as a community of partner members with the same objectives to achieve their own value from the community.  Partners join the community because they believe they will achieve a value from the relationship and not because they are compelled to provide a value to others with no return.  From this perspective, the supply chain partner members are no different that consumer shoppers; there must be a reason to begin the relationship and there must be a continued reason or reasons to continue the relationship.

These partner values and return can be based on both monetary and guarantee of business values; either a direct return or a soft return in other words.  The of the partner network is to work together to define a strategy and then define the actions to meet that strategy.  The incentive of the partners is the same for all supply chain partners; a stable and robust eCommerce community will provide strong and robust return on investment of the supply chain partners through both a stable demand channel and also increasing sales due to the growth of the eCommerce and an omni-channel retail community.  Your partner members in the community will understand these objectives and will see that it is in their own self interest to participate and grow the sales of the omni-channel retail environment.

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?

Collaborative On-Going Attraction

The on-going attraction and retention of consumers on a site is a difficult objective due to the many factors that must be taken into account.  You have found that the initial attraction of consumers to a site can be very intimidating and also very difficult because there are so many different aspects and methods that must be taken into account to achieve the desired results.  The simple fact of the matter is that the term ‘initial attraction’ really describes the entire effect and is only a fragile beginnin of the relationship with the consumer.  The on-going attraction and retention efforts make up the marathon of the relationship and these require a continuous focus and drive to maintain.

Think of the consumer relationship in terms of an iceberg; the initial attraction is the actions and offerings that you see above the water, then the on-going attraction and retention are all of the actions and offerings that you don’t think about that are under the water.  The scariest part of the iceberg is the volume and makeup of the ice under water.  So it should come as no surprise that the scariest part of the consumer relationship is the volume and makeup of the actions and activities to succeed in the on-going attraction and retention of consumers.  As with any major and especially a business impactful undertaking you must break it down into pieces that can be achieved to develop and maintain a momentum and culture of achievement.

The first step in developing your strategy is to define your objective or how you want to attract consumers to your site, for example your strategy may be low price or uncommon products or a community.  Your strategy must be able to sustain your community though and will direct the tone of the relationship with your members.  I suggest a strategy that will not be driven by price, this is a losing proposition because there is always another site that will offer a lower price.  Your strategy should focus on the unique practices and offerings that allow you to maintain an on-going attraction and long term retention of your members.  In addition, you must constantly refine and revise your on-going attraction and retention strategy to maintain a fresh viewpoint.  This fresh viewpoint along with a focus on direct interaction with the consumer will help to maintain an on-going attraction.

I suggest a focus on community because this builds a real commitment from the consumer.  A sense of community built on service, selection and relationships will encourage and maitain the retention of the community members as opposed to a price focused strategy which only gives one reason for consumers to return.  What we find over and over is that consumers are searching for a sense of community, where they belong and can exchange recommendations and suggestions with other consumers and most importantly with the retailer.  The retailer should focus on the soft values to retain customers and this will bring the hard value of increased sales.  The benefit of this focus is that the return and the increases in sales are built on a solid, long term, foundation rather than the fickle search for low cost.        

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?