Traditional value chains can’t keep pace

I read an interesting article in today’s Logistics and Supply Chain newsletter. It was entitled “Traditional value chains can’t keep pace“. This statement comes from a report by the Consumer Goods Forum and Capgemini. The report “Rethinking the Value Chain: New Realities in Collaborative Business” recommends the adoption of a “value network” approach to doing business to secure long-term growth.

The report highlights three priorities:

1. Consumer engagement. Taking part in a true dialogue with consumers, justifying their trust in our industry. The industry needs to be consistently responsible with consumers’ data so it can add value in serving them and engaging with them. This will require companies to adopt common and clear principles for consumer engagement.
2. Transparency. Keeping consumers informed about the nature and traceability of products’ ingredients, nutrients and provenance – to inform consumers of the contents, safety, environmental and societal impact of products, while improving efficiency within the industry. This will require a step-change in collaboration on product global data definitions, data quality and data sharing, going beyond simple track-and-trace and audits.
3. The last mile of distribution. Reconsidering the assumption that distribution to stores and consumers is an area where companies operate independently of each other, and exploring opportunities to collaborate, under certain circumstances, to improve speed, efficiency and consumer satisfaction while minimising environmental impact. The new model would involve a new form of ‘network’ partnerships. To fully grasp these opportunities, the industry will need to invest in flexible technologies, interoperability of new processes and more open corporate cultures.

Some interesting thoughts worth thinking about.