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Integrated visibility
With supply chain volatility now the norm, value-chain visibility must become one.
By Shady Ghattas and John Buckley
The days of consumer-packaged goods companies( CPGs) operating in largely predictable environments are over. The coronavirus pandemic – an epic disruption – appears to have marked a permanent departure from a world of slow-paced planning based on reliable assumptions and extended execution cycles.
Instead, political, trade-policy, conflictrelated, competitive, social, regulatory, and climate-driven disruptions that affect much more of a CPG than just the supply chain have become more the rule than the exception. If the technologies to enable tighter planning cycles, more dynamic forecasting that covers wide areas of potential impact, and speedy adaptation across the business didn’ t exist, CPGs could simply go on as before, if exposing themselves to more risk and making less money. But the technologies are out there, and they’ re getting better as AI embeds into so many workflows. CPGs must adapt because their competitors will adapt.
Value-chain visibility
Conceptually, at least, it’ s simple. When iterative short-range planning becomes more important amid endemic volatility, the
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