Future for supply chain collaboration unlocked

Source: SupplyManagement.com

Products shipped to collaborative warehouses where multiple manufactures store their products. Competing firms will then collaborate to collect and deliver the goods. Finally, they will be driven by demand for carbon-efficient distribution and limited supply chain capacity.

Welcome to the new driving force behind greater supply chain collaboration: Consumers. Year 2020.

According to the Consumer Goods Forum, an industry group that includes Unilever, Nestle and Kraft, consumers will be the driving force behind greater supply chain collaboration by 2020. 

‘They are the trigger for an optimised collaborative supply chain flow: this next level of supply chain optimisation is based on transparency and collaboration,” the report said.

Over the next decade, supplier production will be brought into line with predicted and actual demands for consumers, rather than based on the forecasting models used today.

“There are clear trends that drive the need to optimise and share our supply chains,” the report said.

“Increasing urbanisation – which leads to strict regulations by city governments – requires new collaborative formats for city distribution. Consumer awareness about sustainability demands a more CO2-friendly supply of products and services. Increased adoption of consumer technologies and the ageing population will significantly change shopping behaviour and will lead, for example, to strong growth in home shopping.”

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