Electronics supply chain managers generally agree that social media has a role to play in business, but nobody’s sure exactly what it will be. All partners are struggling with the same set of questions regarding social: What information should be shared, and with whom? What do businesses do with incoming data? How much can this information be trusted? And what will it cost to get involved?
Right now, many individual companies are working within their respective silos to figure this out. E2open, which provides a connectivity platform for supply chain networks, is expanding the base through an initiative to integrate social technologies into its E2open Business Network. “Our customers tend to be innovative, and want to use this technology to be more productive,” Lorenzo Martinelli, SVP Corporate Strategy at E2open, told EBN in a recent phone interview.
Improved communication and collaboration through social technologies could raise the productivity of interaction workers by 20 to 25 percent... These technologies, which create value by improving productivity across the value chain, could potentially contribute $900 billion to $1.3 trillion in annual value.
E2open is focusing on three key areas most pertinent to the supply chain: issue collaboration, demand sensing, and supply risk monitoring. These areas could benefit from social media application, Martinelli says.
Issue collaboration
The most common communication among trading networks is collaboration to resolve supply chain issues, E2open has found. Currently, this communication is typically done via email, instant messaging, phone/conference calls, war rooms, and face-to-face meetings. “There is a belief that the current structure, with different companies in different time zones, is not as productive as it could be,” Martinelli said. He went on:
Since the supply chain already uses a process of exception management, this is a good context in which to start the conversation. For example, if there’s a shortage, have the right people been notified? Are there costs associated with this shortage? Since mobile is already a common communications tool, we think that could be escalated to a higher level of structure. Facebook and Twitter may not be the right platform for this; if not, we could provide one.
Demand sensing
One of the biggest challenges across trading networks is inaccurate demand management due to the volatile nature of forecast planning and limited real-time visibility. According to Martinelli:
The concept is pretty simple. Let’s say I come up with a new lipstick in red and pink. Our forecasts are at best a guess. Now, let’s say we are tracking what people are saying on the social network on red vs. pink. We see more people talking about pink, but my production forecast is for 50 percent red and 50 percent pink. Social can be an indicator to what people really want, and that can help a forecast.
Supply risk monitoring
A critical risk across trading networks is the occurrence of an unplanned event that has a negative impact on the supply of products and/or their logistics movements. Many E2open customers have identified the combination of social media monitoring with cloud-based, big-data, predictive analytics as a potential way to change the economics of supply risk monitoring. Martinelli went on to explain:
There may be a problem with a particular supplier, or a problem that affects all suppliers and logistics lanes in a specific geography. The concept is similar to demand modeling, but the information is about a specific supplier or the logistics route a company takes. Let’s say the Occupy movement has shut down a seaport and I have cargo coming in next week. I could contact a commodity manager and let them know that there will be a delay and help this supplier rebalance inventory. The challenge is building the knowledge base to look for the right things. If we had known about the rains in Thailand, we could have saved millions of dollars.
E2open's customers -- and most members of the supply chain -- spend most of their time just resolving issues, Martinelli says. "If you approach these things in a more structured way, you can improve productivity.”
Anyone interested in the initiative can get involved through this link.
Business is discussed on social media, but certain strategic topics aren't. For businesses, there's a difference between getting product feedback/opinion and revealing too much about their partners or future plans. That's where a more secure forum would be necessary.
"But no one is willing to talk about business over there."
Waqas, I had seen many social media forums, where business talks or product reviews are taking place. If the product are meeting standard qualities, then the positive reviews are helpful for business, otherwise it have a negative impact..
Barbara, there won't be any doubt that "Social Medias" can boost the sales or business because of its reachability. So any updates about products or latest additions, will be appear to all the followers or group members and hence an immediate reachability. Another advantage is its cost effective too because there is no postage or printing associated with it.
@ Barbara
I get your point exactly. Once I was an intern at an electronic enterprise and my task was to search suppliers for a particular model on relevant forums. What I concluded was that most messages on the forums were from suppliers who were serious in dealing but there geographical locations made it unsuitable for me to recommend them further. Point is that forums have a lot of potential and are an alternate of social networks.
It looks like the creators of E2Open are creating another Silo , another compartment and for a global supply chain it may provide a limited sense.
While the supply chains are trying to become global, they need tools which are also global in nature -such as FB or Twitter to get any meaningful advantage for the supply chain operations - be it a demand forecast, interaction with the consumers or any such thing
Facebook and Twitter both attract a large population but no one is willing to talk about business over there. It is extremely difficult to gather the like minded vendors and buyers at a single social platform. There are many forums that are doing good in connecting the supply chain partners but gathering the right group is still a challenge.
Hi Susan: The model E2open has in mind integrates social functionality into a secure enterprise-type system or platform. A few companies are doing this already for internal social tools. Facebook and Twitter don't have the type of "rules" that would make them safe or practical for supply chain use, so a more structured environment is necessary. Martinelli explained it this way: with e-mail, you have to make sure the right people are cc'd every time you send something out. With social, the right people are automatically cc'd if they are part of the community. But that community has to have some kind rulebook or structure.
I'm not sure I understand how it will work, but it's beginning to make sense :-)
EBN Dialogue enables and encourages you to participate in live chats with notable leaders and luminaries. Not only editors and journalists, but the entire EBN community is able to comment and ask questions. Listed below are upcoming and archived chats.
Archived Dialogues
Thailand Stages a Comeback Join EBN contributor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday August 23, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. EST for a live chat on how electronic manufacturers in Thailand have shored up their supply chain to reduce the impact of future natural disasters.
Euro-Crisis: What It Means for High-Tech Firms Join EBN Editor in Chief Bolaji Ojo and Contributing Editor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday, July 12, at 10:00 a.m. EDT for a Live Chat on high-tech and Europe's economic difficulties.
Microsoft Surface: Potential Winners & Losers What are the implications for the electronics industry supply chain of Microsoft Corp.'s decision to launch its own tablet PC? Join industry veteran and EE Times' systems and OEM expert Rick Merritt on Tuesday, July 3, at 12:00 pm EDT for a Live Chat on this subject.
Join EBN contributor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday August 23, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. EST for a live chat on how electronic manufacturers in Thailand have shored up their supply chain to reduce the impact of future natural disasters.
Peter Drucker famously said "Trying to predict the future is like trying to drive down a country road at night with no lights while looking out the back window." Yet in the razor's-edge world of electronics—with a lean supply chain and just-in-time demands—the need to know the future is vital.
You've heard the saying "the No. 1 supply chain risk is your people." That hasn't always been the case. But today's complex global supply chain requires a new type of multitalented employee. It's one who understands, finance, marketing, economics, is savvy with technology, graceful with relationships and can think analytically.
Where are these people? Are universities properly preparing the next generation supply chain professionals? How do train your existing workforce for these new, demanding positions?
Brian Fuller, editor-in-chief of EBN, will lead a 60-minute Avnet Velocity panel discussion that will ask and answer these and other questions swirling around today's supply-chain talent challenges.
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