2015 Readers' Choice Survey: Supply Chain Execution

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With game-changing factors like omnichannel fulfillment reshaping supply chain execution capability needs, it is essential to make this area of investment a priority in the consumer goods industry. Here, Mark Y. Newberry and Andrew Crane, of the TCS Supply-Chain Center of Excellence, further discuss the evolving changes and trends of the supply chain execution landscape.   

Can you comment on this list?
Newberry/Crane: The list  this year is largely as expected, but we think respondents will begin to select niche players in the last mile delivery space, as omnichannel fulfillment is the dominating force reshaping supply chain execution capability needs for retailers, and soon, consumer packaged goods firms as well.    

Where should supply chain execution fall on consumer goods companies’ priority lists in 2015 and beyond?
Newberry/Crane: The supply chain execution space is an imperative for consumer goods companies in 2015. With the explosion in omnichannel offerings from retailers, executing the fulfillment of the omnichannel orders will differentiate a retailer from its competitors, but it will also drive up the cost of retailing. With expanded product offerings from Amazon and other similar retailers, consumer goods companies are now being incorporated into the  e-commerce product offering. As the omnichannel consumer and the retail market evolves, the need for direct-to-consumer shipments from consumer packaged goods manufacturers will become a new, and potentially more cost-optimal, channel of service for their loyal customers. With as much as 40 percent of the revenue from a consumer goods product going to the retailer, it is an opportunity for consumer goods manufacturers to increase their profit margins by going directly to the consumer or through the higher margin yielding e-commerce channels.

Connected to the previous question, how will developments in big data and mobility change supply chain execution? How will technology providers evolve their offerings to accommodate these developments?
Newberry/Crane: Technological advancements combined with big data will lead to the evolution of direct-to-consumer fulfillment of consumer goods. Consumer goods organizations will have direct access to consumer purchasing habits and demand patterns and will utilize this data to develop consumer-specific demand forecasts as well as provide recommended replenishment and fulfillment orders without a consumer having stepped foot in a retail store. Smart devices will predict and capture consumption and enable families to modify suggested fulfillment orders for direct delivery.