SUPPLY CHAIN
“ Most firms are working on the what , where and how of digitising their supply chain ”
Sometimes , progress requires out-of-the-box thinking – the ability to seek inspiration from unusual quarters .
A pizza delivery service and the banking sector might seem unlikely use cases to help a business digitally transform its supply chain , yet , interestingly , bestpractice deployment of tech is often transferable from sector to sector .
So much is changing , and so fast , in supply chain that lessons have to be learned wherever one can find them . Predigitalisation supply chains were typically designed to balance costs . In terms of performance , the goal was to give customers similar service levels , with a bias towards the needs of the largest customers .
But technology means businesses now have increased access to data across the supply chain , and with increased data comes better insight , which allows them to provide a bespoke service to customers . In short , supply chain digitisation requires that businesses rethink what customers really value .
Digitalisation helps segment markets Venky Arun , Partner of Strategic Operations with Kearney , is an expert in this field . He says digitisation “ enables companies to further segment its customers across channels and provide customisation on what they truly value ”.
VENKY ARUN , PARTNER OF STRATEGIC OPERATIONS ,
KEARNEY
Not just this , but he also says technology allows organisations to adjust evolving priorities – such as real-time visibility , customised promotions and growing demands – for sustainable supply chains .
Venky says : “ In terms of real-time visibility , customers want to know about status and updates throughout the order to delivery process . The more transparent your supply chain is , the more your company can meet the wants , needs , and expectations of customers .”
He gives as an example the pizza giant , Domino ’ s , who pioneered real-time order tracking in 2008 when it introduced a feature that let customers know when their pizza order was received , when the pizza was in the oven , and when the order was en route .
“ This concept has extended across business-to-business ( B2B ) and businessto-consumer ( B2C ) segments in the supply chain ,” says Venky .
As well as causing businesses to shift the focus of supply chain away from costsavings and on to customer needs , digital transformation is also changing the nature of supply chain roles – particularly through automation . Businesses are increasingly
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