Supply Chain and Marketing drive the Business

In that context, there are exciting and evolving synergies between the supply chain and marketing functions, as together they become the principal business drivers for companies in the modern era. Each of them is both a functional discipline and a profession. Taking the broadest perspective of the two disciplines, these functions together embrace all of the mission-critical business activities of a company, with IT, HR and Finance playing important supporting roles.

With marketing comprising the four P’s of Product, Price, Promotion and Place and supply chain encompassing the five operational activities of Plan, Source, Make, Deliver and Return, then Logistics becomes the point of intersection and convergence – the essential linkage between the Deliver function of supply chain and the Place (distribution) function of marketing.

Together therefore, supply chain and marketing are becoming the primary engines that drive the business – hugely influential in driving business growth, increasing market share and generating revenue and profits.

In the enlightened C-suite of the future, the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) and the Chief Supply Chain Officer (CSCO) will be the most critical leadership roles to sit alongside the CEO and CFO.

Reinforcing how supply chain can drive competitive advantage for your business, the FT Lexicon explains how “Ecosystems also create strong barriers to entry for new competition, as potential entrants not only have to duplicate or better the core product, but they also have to compete against the entire system of independent complementors and suppliers that form the network”.

Conclusion

Any chain is only as strong as its weakest link – and it’s the same with a supply chain. Except that within a supply chain ecosystem the linkages are not consecutive and not linear. There are numerous multi-dimensional connections with profound inter-dependencies.

Nevertheless, the “Find and Fix, Repeat” strategy of persistently working on strengthening the weakest link still endures as the basis of the never-ending journey of continuous improvement.

Companies who adopt the continuous improvement methodology will successfully leverage their global supply chain ecosystems for competitive advantage in our complex, connected world.

Mark Millar is an internationally renowned Keynote Speaker (550+ events in 33 countries); a respected authority on supply chain and logistics; and author of the widely-acclaimed book Global Supply Chain Ecosystems.

Mark leverages 30+ years’ global business experience to provide practical insights and independent perspectives that empower executives to make betterinformed business decisions. He serves as an Advisor to companies large and small, helping clients with their strategic growth objectives and supply chain strategies.

The recipient of numerous industry awards – including Thought leadership Champion, Mark is a Visiting Lecturer at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and serves on the Advisory Board at the Foundation for Future Supply Chain.

http://www.markmillar.com/