Gartner recently released a new set of findings on supply chain management issues based on research they’ve done with end customers (you can purchase the research here).  Among the many good insights is this: about 93% expect the pace of change will increase through 2010 (the specific question was: “Between now and 2010 do you expect the pace of change in your supply chain market to decrease, stay the same or increase?”).  Based on this, Gartner concludes that “the pace of change will force enterprises to move away from their myopic emphasis on tactical issues, currently driven by economic conditions and an overly conservative business climate.”

If you’ve read anything on this blog you know that I’m in strong agreement about the pace of change.  I see this every day in the companies that we speak to.  I also tend to agree with their conclusions.  I sense that companies view the pace of change as a negative right now, something they need to find a way to deal with.  I think the truly visionary companies are seeing it as a huge opportunity.  The companies that figure out how to thrive in an environment of fast paced changes are the ones that are going to differentiate themselves with greater customer service and better operations performance.

Customer expectations are not likely to reverse course and decline.  They are only going to continue to expect more, faster, cheaper.  And, with more global competitors to choose from, there are more options for customers to find someone that can meet these needs.  A huge opportunity awaits those that can harness the pace of change for competitive advantage.

This entry was posted on Friday, April 11th, 2008 at 2:53 pm and is filed under Risk management. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.