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Growth is clearly back on the executive agenda. Yet executives
increasingly find that growing profitably is extremely challenging
due to the complexity and volatility characteristic of today’s business
environment. Further complicating matters is the fact that, after several
years of intense focus on cost reduction, most companies’ supply
chains are operationally efficient but are not tuned to support growth.
As companies pursue profitable growth, they will have to move past
operational efficiency – largely table stakes in today’s environment – to
construct a growth-enabling supply chain that is information rich and
technologically robust, highly flexible, tightly integrated and organized
and measured to address the needs and preferences of highly dynamic
customers. In short, a company’s supply chain will spell the difference
between success or failure in its chosen markets.
Customers are much more demanding and fickle than ever; they want
low cost, high availability, a broad selection — and they want it now.
Uncertainty in the financial markets and in the economy overall creates
challenges in effective planning for the future. In many industries,
businesses are facing new competition from companies in emerging
markets like China, India, Brazil or Eastern Europe. Constant change
in the political and regulatory environments in various countries –
including customs regulations, laws such as Sarbanes-Oxley, and environmental
regulations in Europe and directives aimed at increasing
security of physical and information assets – make it difficult for companies
to efficiently and effectively run their global sourcing, manufacturing
and selling operations. Furthermore rapid technological
innovation and introduction of disruptive technologies create new
opportunities but also new challenges for managing operations.
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