Once upon a time, operating a supply chain at peak efficiency was a key to success. But in today’s business climate, customer expectations have grown more complex, which is fragmenting supply chains and shortening cycle times. As a result, supply chain efficiency alone is not sufficient; supply chains must become more agile in order to successfully respond to global trends and business pressures.
Demand itself is becoming more diverse, fragmented, complex, and volatile, and it’s happening just as companies are facing new economic, technical, and regulatory pressures. Potential business markets and optimum manufacturing locations are continually shifting. And thanks to increased interdependencies at every level, supply chain networks today are more vulnerable to costly disruptions.
Given the greater role that supply chains will play in determining a company’s success, it’s critical that these functions become more adaptive. Supply chain strategies need to more closely mirror or support the overall business strategy. In addition, the supply chain ecosystem and its management must be well defined, including how other functions interact with the supply chain.
Ultimately, the most effective and adaptive supply chains will possess high-definition demand responsiveness, smart deployment, and planned resilience.
The wide availability and acceptance of newer and more powerful technologies means agile companies are achieving dramatic results from their digital investments—and leaving less nimble competitors behind.
Learn moreSustained supply-chain excellence is more than effective design and execution. It requires recognizing and responding to changing conditions.
Learn MoreThrough our decades-long work in many different industries, BCG has identified principles that can help organizations achieve supply chain mastery in a fully integrated, end-to-end way.
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