Are retail giants on the brink of extinction?
Since the 1970s, the growth of retail giants, selling every imaginable product all under one roof, has been fueled by mass demand for bargain price products. In many American towns, huge retailers have eroded away local independent outlets, while in the UK 58p of every pound is now spent in a supermarket. An interesting article featured in the Huffington post blog this week however, highlights an achilles heel in an otherwise unstoppable super power.
According to the article, an increasingly difficult business environment is threatening the sustainability of the supermarket business model. A host of supply chain issues including; rising fuel costs, global currency wars and shifts in demand, threaten to change the shape of retail. Perhaps in the next few years both the UK and USA may witness the current global supply chain transform into a far more local operation.
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Supply Chain Resiliency…what is that?
Supply Chain resiliency is a phrase that has been used by companies in the high-tech sector for some time now, but what does this relatively vague phrase really mean? Resiliency is defined as an occurrence of rebounding, or springing back. When applying this to the supply chain, resiliency represents the degree to which companies are able to bounce back after supply-chain disruptions as well as their ability to deal with the complex risks involved in supply chain management. We have written about some of the challenges supply chain managers face such as natural disasters and changing product life cycles. These issues highlight the growing importance of creating a resilient supply chain. Improved data and information flow as well as more advanced alert/warning systems are just two of many measures companies can implement to help create a resilient supply chain.
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