Supply Chain Design Must Change with the Times
As the covid 19 pandemic underscores, the design of supply chains is not static — it changes in response to shifting market conditions and unexpected disruptions. Over the last two decades or so, these design-altering events appear to have become more frequent and wide-ranging, yet company responses have not kept pace with these changing demands. One of the main reasons for the misalignment is that enterprises are using outdated methods and data sources to review and re-engineer supply chain designs. This shortcoming blunts their ability to respond to market changes, a potentially disastrous weakness in today’s fast-paced competitive environment. The imperatives for change The supply chain design methods in everyday use today date back to the 1990s, when the competitive demands were different from those that firms now face. Meanwhile, the design discipline has moved on in terms of its areas of focus and the tools available to designers. Here are five ways in which supply ch...