Customer-Centric Supply Chains Study

Enhancing Customer-Centric Supply Chains is a research study by Martin Christopher, Emeritus Professor of Marketing & Logistics, Cranfield University, UK and Member of the Supervisory Board, SCM World.

SCM World conducted a GXS-sponsored research study in June 2010 on the complexities facing today’s customer-centric supply chains. Over 819 supply chain executives around the world were surveyed to gain an understanding of trends in customer-supplier relationships and supply chain technology. This is one of the largest studies ever completed on B2B e-commerce.

The results from the study demonstrate that suppliers encounter many demands from their customers, and they have to deal with significant supply chain complexity issues. Many of the respondents reported that they were often asked to use many different B2B standards when conducting business with their customers.

Key findings from the research include:

• 84% of supply chain executives expect supply chain complexity to increase in the next three years;
• 87% say that having a flexible business-to-business system (B2B) e-commerce provides differentiation;
• 92% agree that the strength of their B2B program is important for growing business at key customer accounts.

Manufacturers that can master the complexity in their demand chains will be long-term winners in the marketplace. Suppliers that can utilise technologies such as B2B e-commerce to overcome challenges of customisation will be able to delight customers by servicing their unique needs in a consistent manner.

This quantitative study unveils the trends of increasing complexity, the need to adapt to continual change and cost control associated with the move to the customer-centric supply chain. There is no doubt that a high-performance responsive supply chain that focuses on continuous improvements leads directly to competitive advantage.

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