Researchers at Michigan State University, in East Lansing, Michigan, have launched an ambitious research project that will predict what supply chains will look like in the future and how they are related to the business model.
The university has joined with APICS, an international supply chain professional organization, to identify the capabilities necessary for strategic supply chain success in the 21st Century. The study, called “Supply Chain Management: Beyond the Horizon” will be carried out over a two-year period and results are expected to be published in 2014.
But members of the research time offered a sneak preview of the group’s work during APICS’ annual conference, held last month in Orlando, Florida.
Supply Chain of the Future
The study will look at supply chain from three perspectives: An organization’s business model, management, and the interrelationship between the business model and actual supply chain operations.
MSU Professor David Closs, who chairs the university’ department of supply chain management, told attendees of a roundtable that the group was looking into innovative ways for the supply chain to connect to customers’ specific needs.
“We cannot talk about a strategic supply chain without talking about the business model,” Closs was quoted saying in a news release. He added that the business model must revolve around the needs of its key customers, in addition to the company’s value proposition and competencies.
Antiquated Models No Longer Applicable
Linear supply chains may have worked in the past, but today’s marketplaces are more efficient and require a more sophisticated approach.
“Linear models are no longer effective for our dynamic, highly complex global supply chain,” Closs said.
Another MSU researcher, Patricia Daugherty, who also participated in the roundtable discussion, added that the plan will only succeed if both ends of the value chain — both suppliers and customers — collaborate. This represents a radical departure from the traditional view, which says that technology adoption, continuous performance measurement, and formalization were what determined a business’s success.
Sharon Rice, executive director of the APICS Foundation, said her expectation is that the project will lead to genuine advancements in supply chain efficiency.
“This major undertaking … will generate relevant, actionable insights that promise to advance the design and execution of supply chain operations going forward,” Rice said in a news release announcing the project.
Researchers will use a multi-tiered approach that includes a detailed review of existing supply chain literature, case studies, Delphi surveys and academic publications, along with academic workshops and practitioner-targeted publications.