http://www.futuresupplychain.com Serving Consumers in a Sustainable Way Mon, 07 Jul 2008 19:10:39 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 en http://www.futuresupplychain.com/blog/2008/05/the-future-supply-chain-vision-calls-for-action-from-all-stakeholders/ http://www.futuresupplychain.com/blog/2008/05/the-future-supply-chain-vision-calls-for-action-from-all-stakeholders/#comments Tue, 27 May 2008 14:13:58 +0000 Kees Jacobs http://www.futuresupplychain.com/?p=36 The Future Supply Chain report includes a call to action for retailers and manufacturers of consumer goods to rethink their supply chains and establish new ways of working together. But this call to action is not just meant for retailers and manufacturers. There are three clear additional stakeholders that will play a crucial role in moving forward: logistics service providers, governmental bodies (e.g., city authorities) and shoppers.
Logistics service providers of course already play a major role in the physical distribution of consumer goods. And in many cases they are facilitators for collaboration between retailers and manufacturers. But the Future Supply Chain vision encompasses concepts for infrastructure sharing that go beyond the current practices. Smart LSPs have a unique chance to become strategic contributors to a much more sustainable supply chain.
Increasingly governments are urged to solve critical problems around (city) distribution caused by traffic congestion and environmental impacts (e.g., CO2 emissions). Traditionally they look for solutions that treat the symptoms, but do not address the root causes. The Future Supply Chain vision provides a toolkit that can help address some of these root causes – and thus help in solving these problems in an innovative way. For city authorities (e.g., mayors) it would be worthwhile to see how, together with retailers, manufacturers and LSPs, they can make significant steps forward.
Finally, consumers and shoppers play a crucial role. They ultimately drive the value chain: they are the originators of the demand signals that should trigger the supply chain. And in the future they will probably take new things into consideration regarding their (buying) behavior, such as sustainability aspects. For example, there is a clear sustainability argument for home delivery, in the context that most consumers currently take their (nearly empty) cars to go shopping. Efficient mechanisms for neighborhood delivery via pick-up points or at home will result in much lower carbon emissions.
The call to action for whoever reads this blog is clear: promote the Future Supply Chain vision to all stakeholders – retailers, manufacturers, LSPs, (city) authorities and shoppers.

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