Our Supply Chain Matters and Ferrari Consulting and Research Group 2016 Predictions for Industry and Global Supply Chains were featured throughout December and are now available for downloading in our Research Center.
During the process and over the past few days, we have also read and received other supply chain management related predictions which we found interesting and feel should be of interest to our audience as well.
In alphabetical order:
Chris Jones, Executive Vice President, Marketing and Services at Descartes produced a number of insightful predictions. Two that resonated were:
Parcel power- There will be more of it and it will cost more in 2016. The continued double-digit growth of E-commerce has carriers clearly having market leverage and the impact will be felt by B2B and consumer-oriented commerce alike. With the recent changes in shipping charges, optimizing parcel shipping will be critical for E-commerce-based companies to maintain their margins in 2016.
Increased security- The recent attacks in Paris and San Bernardino will drive more screening of supply chain partners, carriers, employees, etc. Rather than traditional batch or bulk screening, the screening process will be more dynamic and at a transaction level in 2016. Governments will continue to reach further into importer and exporter supply chains for information to better understand all of the parties involved and how goods are being moved. One of the biggest challenges for importers and exporters in 2016 will be the ability to efficiently gather timelier supply chain data to keep goods flowing across borders.
Phil Lambert– The termed SupermarketGuru came out with eight 2016 Predictions featured on Consumer Goods Technology. Two that caught our attention were:
Trend #3. Bioregions:“Local” has been one of the biggest trends in the supermarket aisles for almost ten years. It is an unsustainable trend as weather conditions and climate change force changes to the sourcing of foods. Think bioregions. Nature defines the regions for what crops and livestock grow and thrive best in which climates, and we will see changes accordingly. Think about this: California farmers moving to Georgia because of the cost of water, and more wines coming from South Carolina. Produce growers moving to Peru. A recent study by A.T. Kearney found that women and children – are willing to pay more for locally produced food. The ultimate in local? Growing lettuces, herbs and yes even kale in your own kitchen year-round without herbicides. Perhaps the ultimate in bioregions? The Urban Cultivator and Grove are coming to your home very soon.
Trend #4. Micro-stores:Far from the everything-and-the-kitchen-sink hypermarkets, look for smaller, neighborhood grocers to spring up. These stores, such as ALDI (with over 1,400 locations in the U.S. and counting), Bfresh in Boston, Green Zebra in Portland are more relaxed, attentive and curated, with a heavy emphasis on products that Millennials yearn for, and buy. Excellent private and exclusive brands with prices that this generation can afford. Think about how Lund’s & Byerlys’ Kitchen with 17,000 square foot that includes a 4,000 square feett sit-down restaurant and scores of local beers on tap. The grocerant trend will continue as more supermarkets look to share of stomach vs. market share against their traditional competitors. These retailers are proactive offering benefits to their shoppers to build that relationship across many touch points. One example is how ALDI announced their decision to remove certified synthetic colors, partially hydrogenated oils and MSG from all its exclusive brand foods by the end of 2015. Look for these micro-stores to take a stand and dispel the belief that you need to stock 50,000 SKUs to be successful, or that you have to serve everyone everything.
Brian Miller, Vice President of Services at Intesource points to the expected increase of foodborne diseases and food recalls next year and strategies that companies will need to implement in order to counteract these issues.
Mickey North Rizza, Vice President of Strategic Services at BravoSolution believes that in 2016, the focus will be on supplier value, not just supplier relationships — a supplier’s total economic contribution to the buying organization’s operating profit will be the new financial value by which procurement teams will be measured.
Pierre-Francois Thaler, co-CEO of EcoVadis, believes that in 2016, companies will finally realize sustainable procurement is about more than just compliance and reporting and can shed some light into what leading organizations will do to integrate sustainability throughout all their systems and practices.
Continue to send us 2016 Predictions you feel are important and we will publish them in another Supply Chain Matters predictions update.
Bob Ferrari
