SUPPLY CHAIN
Supply ecosystems – networks of suppliers , plants and transportation companies , driven by data visibility – are the future for organisations who seek resilience
WRITTEN BY : SEAN ASHCROFT
Today ’ s world is so riven with uncertainty that it has become part of the ‘ new normal ’ for businesses . As such , organisations that want to thrive , not just survive , know how crucial it is that they are plumbed into supplier and partner ecosystems .
Speaking to Supply Chain Digital magazine in March 2022 , Maria Rey-Marston – Global Supply Chain Innovation at Accenture – coined the term ‘ Demand Response Network ’. She said that , far from being linear , supply is now “ a network of suppliers , plants , and transportation companies , as well as intelligent locations for placing products ”.
Such networks are greater than the sum of the participating businesses . They enable organisations to collaborate with trading partners to streamline processes , create value in real time , and solve problems quickly , as they arise .
Helena Jochberger is Global Lead Manufacturing at CGI , the global IT and business consulting firm . She says that one area in which strong supplier ecosystems can help businesses is by offsetting the effects of inflation caused by supply disruption .
“ With increasing uncertainty , the question of real-time scenario planning and multicriteria risk management becomes more relevant . This is the point where data-driven ecosystems can provide significant support .”
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