Lessons Learned: Requiem for COVID-19

This is an excerpt of the original article. It was written for the September-October 2021 edition of Supply Chain Management Review. The full article is available to current subscribers.

September-October 2021

This time every year, we publish Gartner’s Top 25 supply chains, the annual list of the supply chains that have made it to the top, a list that now also includes 5 Masters, or companies that have consistently outperformed year after year. You can read the article in this issue, along with the web exclusive material we publish on scmr.com, to find out what it takes to become a supply chain leader.

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Digital transformation in organizations is well underway as companies embrace connected “ecosystem commerce” and leverage Business 4.0 technologies. While the COVID-19 pandemic brought a pause in the progress, it also altered the way organizations will approach the new normal—emphasizing the absolute requirement to adapt quickly, plan on the go and execute from anywhere. It has also hastened the need for organizations to transform, and in some cases reinvent, themselves.

New normal or new beginning

As the world contemplates a new, post-pandemic beginning, organizations are re-evaluating priorities and charting the way forward. To begin with, companies must invest in unlearning the supply chain operating strategies they have relied on for years and learn how emerging ecosystem business models will redefine the supply network landscape. They need to consider which ecosystem commerce strategies and technology infrastructure will be required to compete in the post pandemic environment. Simultaneously, companies will have to deal with the uncertainty and volatility that persists. Companies are seeking to improve their supply chain resilience with flexibility and responsiveness.

For example, sourcing and manufacturing from China used to be the bedrock of global trade. Considering the various geo-political and economic issues, many organizations are now exploring alternatives to reduce their reliance on China and evaluating multiple sourcing and supply network strategies before embarking on the transformation.

A fork in the road?

While undergoing transformation, companies have typically split the process into two programs—first, by defining strategy and, second, by working with multiple systems integrators on various implementation aspects often without clear strategic alignment amongst them. As a result, gaps often crop up between the strategy and the solution integration necessitating changes to the plan. Ensuring that a transformation program office that aligns strategy with infrastructure and implementation is in place throughout the transformation reduces the risk that the transformation can move off course.

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