Big Data, Near-Shoring, 3D Printing Among Anticipated 2014 Supply Chain Issues
‘Tis the season for consultants, analysts and vendors to offer their views and advice on supply chain trends for 2014 and beyond. One of those trend monitors, Richard Powell, managing director and co-founder of U.K. supply chain consultancy Crimson & Co., suggests that supply chains need to figure out how to use “big data” and brace for the effects of 3D printing technology.
Powell cites the expansion of big data to the mainstream and the rise of 3D printing as two developments that will affect supply chain leaders this year.
While 3D printing “is not yet a mainstream issue, it’s certainly something that cannot be ignored. It is remorsefully advancing and will wholly transform the supply chain universe when it hits,” he says in a recent forecast.
Supply chain analytics are on the horizon, according to Crimson. Most supply chain leaders don’t yet understand how to use big data, however, and need to give more thought to how to incorporate it into their plans if their organizations are to be competitive, Powell says.
“As organizations continue to overestimate changes over the next three years and underestimate changes over the next 10 years, it will be those who recognize these emerging trends and incorporate them at the earliest possible stage who soar,” Powell says.
The Crimson co-founder also says open discussions are being held about the real costs of so-called low-cost emerging markets like China and India. “When considering the increasing manufacturing costs, quality challenges, shipping and stock coverage issues, how sensible is it really to put all manufacturing eggs in one Far Eastern basket?” Powell asks.
Another trend monitor, global technology distributor Avnet Inc., touches on similar themes in its recent comments on industry trends, and notes that companies are realizing the business value of a “fully integrated and globally coordinated supply chain.”
The Phoenix company says its experts suggest that supply chain managers focus on risk management, counterfeiting, big data, manufacturing strategies such as near-shoring, and segmentation when implementing such supply chains.
Avnet cites a 2013 Capgemini Consulting study showing that more than half of companies acknowledge supply chain management can provide a competitive advantage. Companies can outperform competitors by collaborating with supply chain partners, the technology company adds.
“Collaboration is one of the most critical elements in an effective supply chain, and we expect to continue to see more companies fully integrate their supply chains throughout their extended network of suppliers and customers. Although we anticipate several factors to influence supply chain management this year, we also expect that those who employ a systematic approach to orchestrating their business ecosystem will continue to achieve the maximum financial impact,” says Lynn Torrel, Avnet’s senior vice president, global supply and strategic accounts.
Here are some of the company’s views on supply chain developments:
–Few organizations establish a comprehensive risk management strategy, Avnet says, calling such a plan critical to meeting demand regardless of economic or environmental disruptions.
–The company predicts that big-data analytics applications will keep expanding from demand-related sales, marketing, customer service and manufacturing, to supply-oriented areas such as procurement, inventory management and supply risk management. Implementation, however, will be slow and steady this year, Avnet says.
–Citing normalization of labor rates around the globe, Avnet predicts manufacturing reshoring and near-shoring will become more “actionable.” The benefits of reshoring and near-shoring – moving manufacturing to a domestic or nearby location — become more evident as businesses focus more on customer service, risk mitigation and other factors, the company says.
–As companies diversify their manufacturing strategies, they need to segment their supply chains, Avnet says. While segmentation is key to customer service, most companies haven’t embedded it into the end-to-end views of their supply chains, the company says.
–Avnet also notes that companies in the electronics supply chain have been focusing on counterfeit parts, and says technology manufacturers will be better able to fight counterfeits “as tools to help identify parts that could cause disruption to the electronics supply chain become more pervasive.”
